Biology EOC Formative Items
Standard: SC.912.L.16.2: Discuss observed inheritance patterns caused by various modes
of inheritance, including dominant, recessive, co-dominant, sex-linked, polygenic, and
multiple alleles.
1a. Observe the flow chart below:
Purebred tall plants are crossed with purebred short plants
F1 offspring are all tall
F1 offspring are allowed to self-pollinate
F2 offspring are tall and short
How were short plants produced in F2 if all F1 plants were tall?
a. The tall plants got more fertilizer than the short plants
b. Some of the F1 plants were homozygous and some were heterozygous
c. F1 plants were heterozygous for pink flowers
d. All F1 plants were heterozygous for plant height
1b. Use one of Mendel’s laws of inheritance to support your choice in 1a.
2a. Using the chart below, answer the following questions:
What percentage of the offspring will have short hair?
a. 25%
b. 50%
c. 75%
d. 100%
2b. Use one of Mendel’s laws of inheritance to support your choice in 2a:
3a. Suppose the heterozygous short-haired cat parent was replaced with a homozygous shorthaired cat. What would be the genotype of the offspring?
a. 25% short-haired
b. 50% short-haired
c. 75% short-haired
d. 100% short-haired
3b. Do you consider the Mendelian patterns of inheritance as a law, theory, hypothesis, or data?
Why do you think that?
Standard: SC.912.L.15.15: Describe how mutation and genetic recombination increases
genetic variation.
4a. Green (G) is the dominant color for pods in pea plants. Yellow (g) is the recessive color for
pods in pea plants. Is it possible to have a heterozygous yellow pod?
a. Yes
b. No
4b. Explain your answer in “A” above.
Standard: SC.912.L.16.10
5a. Below are three statements related to cloning. Circle the statement that is TRUE.
a. A clone has exactly the same genetic information as the original organism from which
it was produced.
b. A bud is one way to make a clone of an animal.
c. It is easier to clone an animal than it is to clone a plant.
Standard: SC.912.L.16.3: Describe the basic process of DNA replication and how it relates
to the transmission and conservation of the genetic information
The diagram below shows protein synthesis. The type of protein produced by the cell depends on
the information contained in the DNA.
6a. Identify structures A-E in the diagram.
6b. What genetic process is occurring in the figure above?
6c. What labeled features can be used as evidence to support your answer in 6b? Explain.
6d. Suppose messenger RNA contains bases A-G-U. What three bases in transfer RNA would
pair with these bases?
Standard: SC.912.L.15.1: Explain how the scientific theory of evolution is supported by the
fossil record, comparative anatomy, comparative embryology, molecular biology and
observed evolutionary change.
7a. Below are several statements related to evolutionary relationships of organisms. Circle all the
statements that are TRUE.
a. RNA comparisons show that dogs are more similar to coyotes than to wolves.
b. Scientists can compare protein structure to determine how closely two species are
related.
c. A phylogenetic tree shows how scientists think different groups of organisms are
related.
d. DNA evidence shows that humans are not related to any other animals.
7b. Explain how the scientific theory of evolution is supported by evidence from:
a. the fossil record;
b. embryo structures; and,
c. anatomical features
Standard: SC.912.L.16.2 Discuss observed inheritance patterns
The pedigree below shows the inheritance of free earlobes and attached earlobes in five
generations of a family. Attached earlobes is caused by a recessive allele (f).
8a. Predict the genotype and phenotype of individual 14 in the pedigree above. Individual 14 will
be
a. homozygous for free earlobes
b. homozygous for attached earlobes
c. heterozygous for free earlobes
d. heterozygous for attached earlobes
8b. Use patterns of inheritance to support your choice from 8a.
Standard: SC.912.L.16.3: Heredity and reproduction describe the basic process of DNA
replication and how it relates to the transmission and conservation of genetic information.
9a. The karotype pictured above represents
a. a normal female
b. an abnormal female
c. a normal male
d. an abnormal male
9b. Describe what genetic process could have resulted in this genetic combination.
9c. Why are there two copies of each chromosome?
9d. Will there be any phenotypic changes as a result of the genetic combination displayed in the
karotype above?
Standard: SC.912.L.16.3: Heredity and reproduction
10a. The following figures represent what kind of genetic change?
a. Mitotic
b. Translational
c. Chromosomal
d. Ribosomal
11a. Christina and her friends are discussing the theory of evolution. One friend
states that there is no evidence to support the theory of evolution. Which line
of evidence could Christina offer to contradict her friend’s statement?
a. Animals have evolved structures in order to perform specific functions.
b. Fossil evidence demonstrates that all species have undergone major changes.
c. Humans have bred dozens of dog varieties from ancestral wolves.
d. Vertebrate embryos share common ancestral features such as tails.
11b. Explain why you chose your answer and how it supports the theory of evolution.
12a. A population of giant anteaters lives on a small island off the coast of South America. These
anteaters are about the size of a German shepherd dog and are covered with stiff, straw-like
hair that grows up to 40 cm long on the tail. As the name suggests, anteaters eat ants and
termites in vast quantities, sometimes up to 30,000 insects in a single day. The anteater will
rip open a termite hill with its clawed hand and work its tubular snout into the opening,
sticking its long, worm-shaped tongue down into the heart of the colony and trapping the
insects on its tongue’s sticky coating.
One year, the island where these anteaters live experiences a drastic change. It became very
cold and even snowed. This cold snap killed all the ants and termites on the island. The trees
also lost their leaves, but plenty of dried seeds, grasses, and mice remained on the island.
Circle any of the things that you think happened to the anteaters living on the island after this
dramatic change.
a. The anteaters’ hair grew longer and thicker
b. The anteaters switched to eating seeds, grass, and mice
c. The anteaters left the island in order to find a better habitat
d. The anteaters went into hibernation until the cold period ended
e. All the anteaters on the island will die
12b. Explain your thinking.
Standard: SC.912.L.15.13
13a. Over time, the climate of an island became drier, which resulted in changes to the
poulations of various island finch species. Finch populations with a certain beak shape
thrived, while those not having that beak shape decreased. Which of the following describes
a necessary condition for these changes in the finch populations to occur?
a. fewer mutations
b. limited food resources
c. limited beak variations
d. overproduction of offspring
14. In shorthorn cattle, the coat colors read or white are controlled by a single pair of alleles. A
calf which receives the allele for red coat from its mother and the allele for white coat from its
father is called a “roan.” It has an equal number of red and white hairs in its coat. Is this an
example of codominance or of incomplete dominance?
a. Codominance
b. Incomplete dominance
Explain your reasoning.
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15. Which of the following statements is most acceptable from an evolutionary point of view?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Apes and humans have evolved from a common ancestor.
Humans have evolved from apes.
Certain apes have gradually evolved into humans.
Apes and humans are related.
Explain your answer. ___________________________________________________________
16. A new pesticide that inhibits egg cell development in cockroaches is being widely used in
U.S. homes. As predicted, a number of common cockroach species have dramatically declined.
However, one species of cockroach initially declined but is now more common than it was
before the pesticide was introduced. Which of the following is most likely true about this
species of cockroach?
a. The surviving species has learned how to avoid the pesticide.
b. This species had a lot of genetic diversity before the pesticide was introduced.
c. This cockroach species was probably the most evolved species in the United States.
d. This cockroach species got used to the pesticide and has learned to live with the chemical.
Explain your
answer.______________________________________________________________
17. Use the information and diagram below to answer the following item. Animal cells contain an organelle
that helps release energy. A diagram of this organelle is shown below.
Which function would the energy-releasing organelle most likely have in the animal cell?
A.
cellular control
B.
cellular respiration
C.
removal of wastes
D.
storage of nutrients
Explain you answer.
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