Semester 1 Exam Practice Questions to Direct Your Review
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____
1. Living things do all of the following except
a. make adjustments to nonliving factors around them.
b. maintain a steady internal environment.
c. respond to other organisms.
d. pass an identical genetic code to their offspring for many generations.
____
2. Which of the following would most likely be the major focus of a biologist?
a. bacteria found in hot springs
b. the composition of water in hot springs
c. the temperature of hot springs
d. the location of hot springs
____
3. What is a possible benefit of studying plants in the rain forest?
a. The plants may hold medicines to treat human diseases.
b. The plants may produce needed carbon dioxide.
c. The plants may be cut down and sold in floral shops.
d. The plants may make toxins for human consumption.
____
4. Which of the following correctly sequences the steps of the scientific method?
a. question, observe, explain, design and conduct experiment, collect and analyze data, report
findings
b. observe, question, make a testable explanation, experiment, collect and analyze data, state
findings
c. form a hypothesis, observe, investigate a testable question, collect and analyze data, state
results
d. design and conduct an investigation based on a testable question, form a hypothesis,
collect data, state findings
Figure 2-1
____
5. Referring to Figure 2-1, suppose 10, 000 units of energy are available at the level of the grasses. What is the
total number of energy units lost by the time energy reaches the coyote?
a. 90 units
c. 9900 units
b. 990 units
d. 9990 units
____
6. Referring to Figure 2-1, the coyotes would be considered ____.
a. herbivores
c. second-level consumers
b. third-level consumers
d. decomposers
Figure 2-2
____
7. The group of animals in Figure 2-2 is an example of what?
a. community
c. population
b. ecosystem
d. biosphere
Figure 2-3
____
8. In the energy pyramid shown in Figure 2-3, which level has the smallest number of organisms?
a. fox
b. birds
c. grasshoppers
d. grass
Figure 2-5
____
9. The graph in Figure 2-5 is probably showing which of the following?
a. amount of biomass at three trophic levels in a particular community
b. number of food chains that can be drawn from the same food web
c. number of species present in a community at each of three trophic levels
d. number of abiotic factors affecting three species in the same community
____ 10. A student notices that her guppies reproduce most when her fish tank water is slightly alkaline. They stop
reproducing if the water becomes acidic or if the water becomes too alkaline. This is an example of ____.
a. secondary succession
c. communities
b. zones of tolerance
d. intertidal zones
A team of ecologists measured the salinity of the water in an estuary at various distances from the river
mouth. They also sampled populations of two species of clam worm, Nereis occidentalis and Neanthes
succinea, at each point. The results are tabulated below.
Table 3-1
____ 11. Which of the following hypotheses is most valuable in explaining the trends seen in the data?
a. Nereis occidentalis outcompetes Neanthes succinea at salinities under 14‰.
b. Neanthes succinea reproduces most rapidly in areas at least 20 meters from the river
mouth.
c. Both Neanthes succinea and Nereis occidentalis can survive at any salinity.
d. Nereis occidentalis is more resistant to salinity than Neanthes succinea.
____ 12. If the ecologists were to take a population sample of Neanthes succinea in an area 65 meters from the river
mouth with 30‰ salinity, what do you infer that they would find?
a. 40–50 individuals
b. 10–20 individuals
c. fewer than 5 individuals
d. more than 50 individuals
____ 13. Compare primary and secondary succession. What is the distinction between them?
a. Primary succession is the sequence of species that become established early in a newly
colonized area, and secondary succession is the sequence of species that move in later.
b. Primary succession is the establishment of a community in an area with no soil, while
secondary succession is the establishment of a new community in an existing ecosystem
that was disturbed.
c. Primary succession is the establishment of a new community in an existing ecosystem that
was disturbed, while secondary succession is the establishment of a community in an area
with no soil.
d. Primary succession is the sequence of plants that colonize a new area, while secondary
succession is the sequence of animals that move in later.
____ 14. Density, distribution, and growth rate are characteristics used to classify which one of the following?
a. biomes
c. limiting factors
b. populations
d. age structure
____ 15. Which of the following involves a situation in which a density-dependent factor influences a population?
a. Several seasons passed during which rainfall was ample, winters were not severe and food
for snow hares was in good supply.
b. A hurricane severely disrupted a salt marsh and uprooted most of the marsh grass in an
estuary.
c. A forest fire on the north side of a mountain forced the white-tailed deer from the north
side to move into the range of the white-tailed deer on the south side of the mountain,
making food more scarce.
d. After a heavy rain, pesticides that were applied to a cotton crop to control weevils ran off
into a waterway that flows next to a field.
____ 16. Island A has an area of 30 square kilometers. Island B has an area of 400 square kilometers. The islands are
near each other. Which of the following statements is most likely to be true?
a. Island A has greater biodiversity and a higher percentage of edge effect than Island B.
b. Island A has less biodiversity and a higher percentage of edge effect than Island B.
c. Island A has greater biodiversity and a lower percentage of edge effect than Island B.
d. Island A has less biodiversity and a lower percentage of edge effect than Island B.
Figure 5-2
____ 17. What does the graph in Figure 5-2 tell you?
a.
b.
c.
d.
the farther from land, the more biodiversity
the larger the islet, the more biodiversity
islet size and biodiversity are not related
biodiversity decreases with islet size
____ 18. Using the graph in Figure 5-2, extrapolate what would happen to biodiversity on a large island or continent.
a. biodiversity would increase greatly
b. biodiversity would decrease greatly
c. biodiversity would first increase, then decrease
d. biodiversity would first decrease, then increase
Figure 5-4
____ 19. Examine the food web shown in Figure 5-4. What would most likely happen to the organisms in this food
web if the robin began to disappear?
a. The hawk would be forced to start eating the dragonfly.
b. Most of the organisms in the ecosystem would starve and die.
c. The terrestrial organisms would starve, but the aquatic organisms would survive.
d. There would be an overpopulation of caterpillars, which would kill many elm trees.
____ 20. Which is present only in eukaryotic cells?
a. cell membrane
b. chromosomes
c. DNA
d. nucleus
____ 21. Which substance on the plasma membrane helps identify chemical signals from outside the cell?
a. carbohydrate chain
c. membrane protein
b. cholesterol
d. transport protein
____ 22. Which organelle converts sugars into energy?
a. lysosome
c. nucleus
b. mitochondrion
d. ribosome
____ 23. What is a major difference between facilitated diffusion and active transport?
a. Active transport moves substances against the concentration gradient.
b. Active transport uses proteins in the process.
c. Facilitated diffusion moves molecules through the plasma membrane.
d. Facilitated diffusion requires large amounts of energy.
____ 24. Which of the processes shown in Figure 8-2 do not use a cell’s energy?
Figure 8-2
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. D
____ 25. If yellow, red, and orange pigments exist in the leaves of trees, why are leaves green except for in the
autumn?
a. Chlorophyll is the most abundant of all the pigments.
b. Chlorophyll molecules are the largest of the all pigment molecules.
c. Chlorophyll reproduces faster than the other pigments.
d. Green is the color of the spectrum most easily seen by humans.
____ 26. By the end of prophase, each of the following has occurred except ____.
a. tighter coiling of the chromosomes
b. breaking down of the nuclear envelope
c. disappearing of the nucleolus
d. lining up of chromosomes in the cell
Figure 9-2
____ 27. If cancer (line A) is present, what is the likely explanation for what happened to the normal cells depicted in
the curves labeled B and D in Figure 9-2?
a. They thrived with the cancerous cells.
b. They were harmed by radiation therapy.
c. They died off due to natural causes.
d. They died off because the cancerous cells deprived them of nutrients.
____ 28. The correct order of phases in the cell cycle are
a. prophase, anaphase, interphase, metaphase, telophase, cytokinesis
b. G1, S, G2, prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase, cytokinesis
c. anaphase, interphase, metaphase, prophase, telophase, cytokinesis
d. G1, G2, S, prophase, anaphase, metaphase, telophase, cytokinesis
____ 29. Which of the following is NOT a goal of science?
a. to investigate and understand the natural world
b. to explain events in the natural world
c. to establish a collection of unchanging truths
d. to use derived explanations to make useful predictions
____ 30. Science differs from other disciplines, such as history and the arts, because science relies on
a. facts.
b. testing explanations.
c. observations.
d. theories.
____ 31. Information gathered from observing a plant grow 3 cm over a two-week period is called
a. inferences.
b. variables.
c. hypotheses.
d. data.
____ 32. Based on your observations, you suggest that the presence of water could accelerate the growth of bread
mold. This is
a. a conclusion.
b. a hypothesis.
c. an experiment.
d. an analysis.
____ 33. During a controlled experiment, a scientist isolates and tests
a. a conclusion.
b. a mass of information.
c. a control group.
d. a single variable.
____ 34. A student sees a bee on a flower. The student wonders how the bee finds flowers. This student is displaying
the scientific attitude of
a. creativity.
b. curiosity.
c. open-mindedness.
d. skepticism.
____ 35. Which of the following is a question that can be answered by science?
a. What is beauty?
b. Is it ethical to do experiments on animals?
c. How does DNA influence a person’s health?
d. Do people watch too much television?
____ 36. Which of the following is NOT a way that science influences society?
a. Science provides answers to some of society’s practical problems.
b. Science gives society answers to difficult ethical issues.
c. Science advances technology that is useful to society.
d. Science increases society’s understanding of how people affect the environment.
____ 37. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of all living things?
a. growth and development
b. ability to move
c. response to the environment
d. ability to reproduce
____ 38. Which of the following characteristics of living things best explains why some North American birds fly
south for the winter?
a. Living things respond to their environment.
b. Living things maintain internal balance.
c. Living things are made up of units called cells.
d. Living things are based on a universal genetic code.
____ 39. The process by which organisms keep everything inside their bodies within certain limits is called
a. homeostasis.
b. evolution.
c. metabolism.
d. photosynthesis.
____ 40. The basic unit of length in the metric system is the
a. gram.
b. liter.
c. yard.
d. meter.
____ 41. The standard or English system of measurement uses units such as yards, miles, quarts, and gallons. The
metric system uses units such as meters, kilometers, milliliters, and liters. Why is the metric system easier to
use than the English system?
a. Metric units are easier to measure than English units.
b. The metric system is based on multiples of 10.
c. The metric system is used by everyone in the world.
d. Metric units are smaller than English units.
____ 42. The three particles that make up atoms are
a. protons, neutrons, and isotopes.
b. neutrons, isotopes, and electrons.
c. positives, negatives, and neutrals.
d. protons, neutrons, and electrons.
____ 43. Isotopes are atoms of the same element with the same number of protons and a different number of
a. electrons.
b. molecules.
c. neutrons.
d. ions.
____ 44. A covalent bond is formed as the result of
a. transferring electrons.
b. sharing electrons.
c. transferring protons.
d. sharing protons.
____ 45. What type of ion forms when an atom loses electrons?
a. neutral
b. positive
c. negative
d. radioactive
____ 46. When salt is dissolved in water, water is the
a. reactant.
b. solution.
c. solute.
d. solvent.
____ 47. Why is carbon so special compared to other elements?
a. Carbon atoms can bond to one another and form a lot of different structures.
b. Carbon atoms have four valence electrons and can form quadruple bonds.
c. Only carbon atoms can form covalent bonds with oxygen and hydrogen.
d. Only carbon atoms can be dissolved in water solutions and suspensions.
____ 48. Amino acid is to protein as
a. fat is to lipid.
b. DNA is to RNA.
c. sugar is to fat.
d. simple sugar is to starch.
____ 49. Which of the following is NOT a monomer?
a. a glucose molecule
b. an amino acid
c. a nucleotide
d. a protein
____ 50. Which of the following is NOT a function of proteins?
a. store and transmit genetic information
b. help to fight disease
c. control the rate of reactions
d. move substances into or out of cells
____ 51. When hydrogen and oxygen combine to form water, water is
a. a product.
b. a reactant.
c. an enzyme.
d. a catalyst.
____ 52. Identify the reactant(s) in the chemical reaction, CO2 + H2O  H2CO3.
a. CO2, H2O, and H2CO3
b. CO2 and H2O
c. H2CO3
d. CO2
____ 53. The energy needed to get a reaction started is the
a. adhesion energy.
b. activation energy.
c. cohesion energy.
d. chemical energy.
____ 54. Which of the following statements about enzymes is NOT true?
a. Enzymes work best at a specified pH.
b. All enzymes have the same shape as their substrates.
c. Enzymes are proteins.
d. The shape of an enzyme allows it to do its job.
____ 55. Which of the following statements is true about catalysts?
a. Catalysts slow down the rate of chemical reactions.
b. All catalysts are enzymes.
c. Catalysts are used up during a chemical reaction.
d. Catalysts lower the activation energy of a chemical reaction.
____ 56. A substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction is called
a. a catalyst.
b. a lipid.
c. a molecule.
d. an element.
____ 57. Enzymes affect the reactions in living cells by changing the
a. products of the reaction.
b. speed of the reaction.
c. temperature of the reaction.
d. pH of the reaction.
____ 58. The branch of biology dealing with interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
environment is called
a. economy.
b. modeling.
c. recycling.
d. ecology.
____ 59. Plants are
a. primary producers.
b. primary consumers.
c. herbivores.
d. omnivores.
Figure 3–1
____ 60. The algae at the beginning of the food chain in Figure 3–1 are
a. primary consumers.
b. decomposers.
c. primary producers.
d. heterotrophs.
____ 61. How do most primary producers make their own food?
a. by using light energy to make carbohydrates
b. by using chemical energy to make carbohydrates
c. by changing water into carbon dioxide
d. by breaking down remains to make carbon dioxide
____ 62. In what way are herbivores and carnivores alike?
a. They both use photosynthesis to make their own food.
b. They both obtain energy by consuming other organisms.
c. They both directly consume producers.
d. They both are considered to be autotrophs.
____ 63. The total amount of living tissue within a given trophic level is called the
a. organic mass.
b. trophic mass.
c. energy mass.
d. biomass.
____ 64. A model of the complex feeding interactions among organisms in a community from producers to
decomposers is called a
a. food web.
b. ecosystem.
c. food chain.
d. population.
____ 65. What animals eat both producers and consumers?
a. herbivores
b. omnivores
c. chemotrophs
d. autotrophs
____ 66. What is the term for each step in the transfer of energy and matter within a food web?
a. energy path
b. food chain
c. trophic level
d. food pyramid
____ 67. A bird stalks, kills, and then eats an insect. Based on its behavior, which pair of ecological terms describes
the bird?
a. herbivore, decomposer
b. producer, heterotroph
c. carnivore, consumer
d. autotroph, herbivore
Figure 3–2
____ 68. What goes in Box 5 of the food web in Figure 3–2?
a. herbivores
b. scavengers
c. carnivores
d. decomposers
____ 69. Only 10 percent of the energy stored in an organism can be passed on to the next trophic level. Of the
remaining energy, some is used for the organism’s life processes, and the rest is
a. used in reproduction.
b. stored as body tissue.
c. stored as fat.
d. eliminated as heat.
____ 70. A word that means the same thing as consumer is
a. producer.
b. autotroph.
c. heterotroph.
d. carbohydrate.
____ 71. Matter can recycle through the biosphere because
a. matter does not change into new compounds.
b. matter is assembled into chemical compounds.
c. biological systems do not use up matter, they transform it.
d. biological systems use only carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen.
____ 72. The repeated movement of water between Earth’s surface and the atmosphere is called
a. the water cycle.
b. the condensation cycle.
c. precipitation.
d. evaporation.
____ 73. Carbon cycles through the biosphere in all of the following processes EXCEPT
a. photosynthesis.
b. transpiration.
c. burning of fossil fuels.
d. decomposition of plants and animals.
____ 74. Nitrogen fixation is carried out primarily by
a. humans.
b. plants.
c. bacteria.
d. consumers.
____ 75. Animals get the most of the nitrogen they need
a. by consuming plants or other animals.
b. by breathing in atmospheric nitrogen.
c. directly from bacteria in the soil.
d. from the process of denitrification.
____ 76. Each of the following is an abiotic factor in the environment EXCEPT
a. plant life.
b. soil type.
c. rainfall.
d. temperature.
____ 77. Which is a biotic factor that affects the size of a population in a specific ecosystem?
a. average temperature of the ecosystem
b. type of soil in the ecosystem
c. number and kinds of predators in the ecosystem
d. concentration of oxygen in the ecosystem
____ 78. Which is an example of how biotic and abiotic factors interact?
a. Sunlight increases the temperature of pond water.
b. Water and soil mix together to make mud.
c. Tree roots split apart rocks in the ground.
d. Humidity in the air forms fog in a valley.
____ 79. What is at the base of all ecological pyramids?
a. consumers
b. decomposers
c. producers
d. scavengers
Figure 3–4
____ 80. Which of the following is a food chain in the food web shown in Figure 3–4?
a. tree, rabbit, hawk, snake
b. grass, grasshopper, snake, hawk
c. grass, caterpillar, robin, hawk
d. tree, deer, mountain lion, fox
Figure 3-1
Use the figure below to answer the corresponding question(s).
____ 81. The process illustrated in Figure 3-1 is called:
a. condensation.
b. protein synthesis.
c. hydrolysis.
d. dehydration synthesis.
e. denaturation.
____ 82. The products of the process in Figure 3-1 are:
a. amino acids.
b. molecules of glycerol.
c. representative of a glycoside linkage.
d. enzymes.
e. monosaccharides.
____ 83. This molecule transmits heredity information:
a. cholesterol.
b. adenosine triphosphate.
c. nucleic acid.
d. fatty acid.
e. polysaccharide.
Figure 3-3
Use the figure to answer the corresponding question(s).
____ 84. The molecular fragment represented in Figure 3-3 is:
a. ATP.
b. RNA.
c. a protein.
d. a nucleotide.
e. a polysaccharide.
____ 85. ATP is important in living organisms because:
a. like all other nucleic acids, it stores hereditary information.
b. like RNA, it acts as a source code for the formation of proteins.
c. it can transfer some of its energy to other chemicals.
d. it is an important structural component of cell membranes.
e. it is easily converted to starch for long-term storage.
____ 86. Which portion of the following molecule is most directly involved in transferring energy?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 1 and 2
e. 2 and 3
____ 87. The average conditions of the atmosphere in a particular area are referred to as the area’s
a. weather.
b. latitude.
c. ecosystem.
d. climate.
____ 88. How does an area’s weather differ from the area’s climate?
a. Weather involves temperature and precipitation and climate involves only temperature.
b. An area’s weather depends on where it is located on Earth and the area’s climate does not.
c. An area’s weather does not change very much and an area’s climate changes many times.
d. Weather is the area’s day-to-day conditions and climate is the area’s average conditions.
____ 89. Earth has three main climate zones because of the differences in latitude and, thus,
a. amount of precipitation received.
b. distribution of sunlight.
c. ocean currents.
d. prevailing winds.
____ 90. An organism’s niche is
a. the range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way it
obtains what it needs to survive and reproduce.
b. all the physical and biological factors in the organism’s environment.
c. the range of temperatures that the organism needs to survive.
d. a full description of the place an organism lives.
____ 91. Several species of warblers can live in the same spruce tree ONLY because they
a. have different habitats within the tree.
b. don’t eat food from the tree.
c. occupy different niches within the tree.
d. can find different temperatures within the tree.
____ 92. Polar bears live in the arctic. The arctic is their
a. niche.
b. habitat.
c. tolerance.
d. microclimate.
____ 93. An interaction in which an animal feeds on plants is called
a. carnivory.
b. herbivory.
c. predation.
d. symbiosis.
Figure 4–1
____ 94. What would happen if the population of the bird species shown in the ecosystem in Figure 4–1 were to
suddenly decrease?
a.
b.
c.
d.
The grass population would increase.
The fish population would increase.
The fish would occupy the birds’ niche.
The grass and fish would compete for resources.
____ 95. A wolf pack hunts, kills, and feeds on a moose. In this interaction, the wolves are
a. hosts.
b. prey.
c. mutualists.
d. predators.
____ 96. A symbiotic relationship in which both species benefit is
a. commensalism.
b. mutualism.
c. predation.
d. parasitism.
____ 97. A symbiotic relationship in which one organism is harmed and the other benefits is
a. mutualism.
b. parasitism.
c. commensalism.
d. predation.
____ 98. How is parasitism different from commensalism?
a. Both organisms benefit in parasitism and only one organism benefits in commensalism.
b. One organism benefits in parasitism and no organisms benefit in commensalism.
c. One organism is harmed in parasitism and both organisms are harmed in commensalism.
d. One organism is harmed in parasitism and no organisms are harmed in commensalism.
____ 99. Primary succession would most likely occur after
a. a forest fire.
b. a lava flow.
c. farm land is abandoned.
d. a severe storm.
____ 100. What is one difference between primary and secondary succession?
a. Primary succession is rapid and secondary succession is slow.
b. Secondary succession begins on soil and primary succession begins on newly exposed
surfaces.
c. Primary succession modifies the environment and secondary succession does not.
d. Secondary succession begins with lichens and primary succession begins with trees.
____ 101. Which of the following occurs during the ecological succession of an ecosystem?
a. An ecosystem reaches a final, unchanging stage.
b. Animals move out of the ecosystem until succession is complete.
c. Living organisms modify their environment a little at a time.
d. Parts of communities split off to form new communities.
____ 102. Which is a factor that could interrupt the progress of succession?
a. colonization of surfaces by lichens
b. different animals appearing at each stage
c. another natural disturbance
d. long-term fluctuations in climate
Figure 4–2
____ 103. Figure 4–2 shows succession in an ecosystem. What organisms are found in the climax community for this
ecosystem?
a.
b.
c.
d.
lichens and moss
trees and shrubs
weeds and grasses
volcanoes and soil
____ 104. The ability to meet humanity's current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their needs is:
a. environmental sustainability.
b. species richness.
c. biosphere diversity.
d. resource conservation.
e. habitat regeneration.
____ 105. Habitat destruction is the primary cause of animal extinctions. Which of the following is not an example of
habitat destruction?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
human beings filling in and draining wetlands
human beings obtaining land for farms
human beings obtaining land for housing developments
human beings obtaining land for industrial developments
All of these.
____ 106. The death of a species, occurring when the last individual member of a species dies, is:
a. extinction.
b. extantion.
c. endangered.
d. threatened.
e. None of these.
____ 107. The breakup of large areas of habitat into small, isolated patches is called:
a. extinction.
b. habitat fragmentation.
c. invasive species.
d. unsuitable territory.
e. None of the answer choices are correct.
____ 108. Deforestation:
a. retards soil erosion.
b. releases carbon dioxide that may contribute to global warming.
c. has no effect on the extinction of biological species.
d. promotes the preservation of tropical birds.
e. is only a threat to tropical rain forests.