Course Introduction
Biology for Liberal Arts Final
Exam Questions
Biology for Liberal Arts introduces non-science majors to the fundamental principles of biology within the context of contemporary issues. The course explores key topics such as cell structure and function, genetics, evolution, ecology, and the diversity of life, emphasizing their relevance to everyday life and society. Through engaging lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students develop scientific literacy and critical thinking skills while examining how biological concepts impact health, the environment, and ethical decision-making. No prior scientific background is required, making this course accessible and valuable for students from all disciplines.
Recommended Textbook
Biology Now Core 1st Edition by Anne Houtman
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Nature of Science
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Q1) During an experimental study,a control group is maintained under a standard set of conditions with no change in the independent variable.The ________ group is maintained under the same standard set of conditions as the control group,but the independent variable is adjusted.
Answer: treatment experimental
Q2) The first two steps of the scientific process typically include making ________ and forming a ________.
Answer: observations;hypothesis
Q3) A scientific hypothesis must be ________;if not,science cannot evaluate it.
A)provable
B)testable
C)accepted
D)rejected
Answer: B
Q4) A way to visualize the breadth and scope of life,from the smallest structures of atoms and cells to the broadest interactions between living and nonliving systems that we can comprehend,is typically referred to as the ________.
Answer: biological hierarchy
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Chapter 2: Chemistry of Life
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Q1) Antibodies are an important class of human proteins that function in immune defense.If scientists fragmented antibodies under laboratory conditions,what chemical building blocks would they recover?
A)monosaccharides
B)phospholipids
C)amino acids
D)nitrogenous bases
Answer: C
Q2) form the major framework of biological membranes
A)lipids
B)carbohydrates
C)nucleic acids
D)proteins
Answer: A
Q3) Carbon atoms are bound to each other by A)ionic bonds.
B)polar bonds.
C)hydrogen bonds.
D)covalent bonds.
Answer: D
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Chapter 3: Life Is Cellular
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Sample Questions
Q1) cytoskeleton
A)photosynthesis
B)regulate what moves in and out of cell
C)structure and support for cell
D)lipid synthesis
E)tags proteins for movement
F)enzymatic breakdown of large molecules
G)protein synthesis
H)cellular respiration
I)water and solute storage
J)location of DNA
K)internal organization and structural support
Answer: K
Q2) Which of the following would be likely to require facilitated diffusion to move across the plasma membrane?
A)water (H O)
B)sodium ions (Na ),hydrogen ions (H ),sugars,and amino acids
C)oxygen (O )
D)carbon dioxide (CO )
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: How Cells Work
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Q1) The step of cellular respiration that produces a product that will eventually be used in the Calvin cycle is the ________.
Q2) ________ reactions release energy by breaking down complex molecules.
A)Catabolic
B)Anabolic
C)Photosynthetic
D)Respiration
Q3) The energy required for life processes must be extracted from an organism's A)nucleus.
B)environment.
C)predators.
D)biosynthesis.
Q4) produces carbon dioxide
A)photosynthesis only
B)cellular respiration only
C)both photosynthesis and cellular respiration
D)neither photosynthesis nor cellular respiration
Q5) A cell is found that is able to use sunlight to produce ATP,but it does not produce NADPH.The portion of the light reaction that is not functioning is ________.
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Chapter 5: Cell Division
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Q1) S phase
A)Duplicated chromosomes are separated during this phase.
B)Cells prepare to divide and check that the proper steps have occurred for division.
C)Phase in which cells duplicate the genetic material.
D)Resting stage assumed by cells that exit the cell cycle.
E)Two new daughter cells grow in preparation for division.
Q2) The G phase of the cell cycle is distinguished by
A)the failure of cells to divide following telophase.
B)a doubling of chromosomes.
C)an absence of preparation for DNA synthesis.
D)the appearance of a metaphase plate.
Q3) Model organisms (like mice)used in the study of genetic disease
A)are selected strictly for ethical reasons.
B)cannot be trusted since they are very different from human cells.
C)should either be mice or bacteria.
D)may accurately reflect how diseases like cancer occur in humans.
Q4) Consider mitosis,meiosis,and binary fission.Which one of these three processes is the simplest for a cell to complete? Explain.
Q5) Sister chromatids are held together at a constriction point called a ________.
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Chapter 6: Patterns of Inheritance
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Q1) Mendel's manuscript discussing his pea-breeding results is considered one of the two most important scientific papers of the nineteenth century because he was the first to explain how
A)mutations produced the variety of alleles displayed by individuals of the same species.
B)traits are passed from one generation to the next.
C)meiosis controls the distribution of alleles to each gamete.
D)genes are arranged on chromosomes in the cell.
Q2) Which of the following statements is true of Mendel's laws?
A)They are less accurate than Punnett square results.
B)They are useful only in unusual situations.
C)They correctly explain how genes are inherited.
D)They correctly predict the phenotype of an organism.
Q3) We need a hammer to pound nails into a board.Even if we have the nails,we cannot pound them without first getting hold of a hammer.This is similar to the genetic relationship known as
A)heterozygosity.
B)codominance.
C)epistasis.
D)independent assortment.
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Chapter 7: Chromosomes and Human Genetics
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Sample Questions
Q1) The gender of a human child is determined by the A)loci.
B)egg.
C)autosomes.
D)sperm.
Q2) Most inherited human disorders are the result of
A)recessive mutations of genes located on autosomes.
B)dominant mutations of genes located on the X chromosome.
C)recessive mutations of genes located on the Y chromosome.
D)simultaneous mutations of the same gene on homologous chromosomes.
Q3) A karyotype shows a chromosomal abnormality that does not change the length of any of the chromosomes.Which abnormality is indicated?
A)inversion
B)deletion
C)translocation
D)duplication
Q4) Except for the sex chromosomes,all the chromosomes shown in a karyotype are numbered and are called ________.
Q5) Why are dominant genetic disorders more rare than recessive disorders?
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Chapter 8: What Genes Are
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Sample Questions
Q1) The difference between the different alleles of a gene is
A)their DNA base sequences.
B)the way they are copied when the cell divides.
C)the type of lipid they are composed of.
D)they are not heritable.
Q2) When studying genomes of organisms,scientists often will only list the sequence of a single strand.Explain why the sequence of the second strand would be unnecessary information.
Q3) A strand of DNA has the sequence GCAATTCG.The sequence of the complementary strand is ________.
Q4) This is the next larger.
A)gene
B)base
C)nucleotide
D)genome
E)base pair
Q5) People with xeroderma pigmentosum frequently exhibit skin cancer.The disease is a result of a mutation in a gene that produces a ________ protein.Without this protein,cells cannot fix changes in their DNA sequence caused by exposure to ultraviolet (UV)light.
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Chapter 9: How Genes Work
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Q1) Protein coding genes specify the production of ________ as their immediate product.
A)rRNA
B)tRNA
C)DNA
D)mRNA
Q2) Some viruses produce an enzyme called reverse transcriptase.Based on your understanding of gene expression,what should this enzyme do?
A)It produces RNA from a DNA template.
B)It produces DNA from an RNA template.
C)It produces proteins from an RNA template.
D)It produces RNA from a protein template.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a feature of the genetic code?
A)Every individual has a different genetic code.
B)Each codon in the genetic code specifies only one amino acid.
C)The genetic code is redundant.
D)The same genetic code can be applied to virtually every organism on Earth.
Q4) A researcher finds a molecule that is made of nucleotides and has a single amino acid bound to one end.This molecule is most likely ________.
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Chapter 10: Evidence for Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Fossils found in deeper layers are ________ than fossils found in more shallow layers.
A)older
B)younger
C)more informative
D)less informative
Q2) Explain how an intermediate fossil can provide evidence for the lineage of current species.
Q3) The fossils of organisms that existed when the continents were connected are distributed across ________ continents than the fossils of organisms that evolved after the continents separated.
A)more
B)fewer
C)older
D)younger
Q4) The human appendix is an example of a(n)________ structure.
Q5) Dolphin embryos have both forelimbs,which will become the flippers,and hind limbs,which will not develop.Explain how this supports the conclusion that dolphins are related to humans.
Q6) The preserved remains of formerly living organisms are called ________.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Mechanisms of Evolution
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Q1) The wings of a bird and the wings of a bat both form from the front appendages (arms).The bird wing is covered by feathers,and the bat wing consists of a thin layer of skin stretched between the "finger" bones.Are the wings of the bird and bat homologous or analogous?
A)homologous,because they evolved from the same body part
B)analogous,because birds' flight requires feathers and bats use skin;both are wings,but they evolved differently
C)both;they are homologous because they both evolved from a front appendage,but analogous because they evolved differently
D)neither,because birds and bats do not share a recent common ancestor
Q2) The color of a certain species of beetle is determined by a single gene.Two beetles homozygous for green coloration (meaning they have two copies of the green allele)produce a single offspring with brown coloration.Brown color appeared in this offspring as a result of A)bottleneck.
B)gene flow.
C)genetic drift.
D)mutation.
Q3) The original source of genetic variation within a population is ________.
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Adaptation and Species
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Q1) Which of the following must occur for one species to split into two or more species?
A)The species must move into a new habitat.
B)DNA sequences of genes must accumulate differences.
C)Morphological changes must be obvious within the population.
D)One species must undergo geographic isolation.
Q2) Based on the ________ species concept,organisms that breed asexually are most likely classified as species.
Q3) Individual organisms with inherited characteristics that enable them to survive and reproduce are said to have greater ________ fitness than individuals who fail to survive and reproduce.
Q4) Individuals of the same species generally
A)experience prezygotic barriers to reproduction.
B)do not interbreed extensively.
C)share many common physical and behavioral characteristics.
D)vary only very slightly in appearance.
Q5) If two populations of beetles living in isolated areas are physically different but genetically similar,would they be considered one species or two? Explain your answer.
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Page 14
Chapter 13: The History of Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) The mass extinction at the end of the Ordovician period killed
A)50 percent of marine animal families,including many trilobites.
B)50 percent of terrestrial and marine animal families,including many trilobites.
C)90 percent of terrestrial and marine animal families,and 100 percent of terrestrial plants.
D)100 percent of trilobites and 90 percent of terrestrial and marine animal families.
Q2) Evolutionary trees are based on
A)the principle of convergent evolution.
B)a set of shared characteristics believed to have arisen in a common ancestor.
C)similarities in the function of a characteristic or trait.
D)consensus among biologists regarding the usefulness of particular traits.
Q3) What criteria best characterize membership in the kingdom Protista?
A)a continuous lineage of descent from a common ancestor
B)a large assortment of unique shared derived traits
C)a common evolutionary heritage
D)the inability to meet the characteristics that define each of the remaining eukaryotic kingdoms
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Chapter 14: Human Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the eighteenth century,a Swedish naturalist devised a system of biological classification known as ________.
Q2) Which of the following categories of the Linnaean hierarchy would include the most closely related organisms?
A)order
B)genus
C)class
D)family
Q3) All primates have opposable thumbs.This means the thumbs
A)can be touched together.
B)can be touched to each of the other fingers on the opposite hand.
C)can be touched to each of the other fingers on the same hand.
D)can be touched to each of the toes on both feet.
Q4) The development of upright posture in hominins is likely
A)an adaptation for living on the ground instead of in the trees.
B)an adaptation for living on land instead of on the water.
C)an adaptation for no longer needing to carry tools.
D)an adaptation for having no functional knees.
Q5) All of your mitochondrial DNA was inherited from your ________.
Q6) Briefly explain the difference between hominids and hominins.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: General Principles of Ecology
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Q1) Drought,species extinction,and melting of glaciers are all consequences of
Q2) Climate change will affect
A)animals but not plants.
B)all organisms in the biosphere.
C)natural organisms but not humans.
D)weak organisms but not strong organisms.
Q3) Earth
A)biotic
B)abiotic
C)biosphere
D)weather
E)climate
Q4) Nonliving factors in the biosphere are called ________ factors.
Q5) How much has Earth's mean surface temperature increased since the early twentieth century?
A)0.1° C
B)0.8° C
C)1.1° C
D)1.8° C
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Growth of Populations
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Q1) Describe one negative consequence that has been linked to China's one-child policy,and explain how this consequence is impacting China.
Q2) Which of the following choices best explains why some introduced species experience an initial period of exponential growth when they first move from their native habitat into a new habitat?
A)They do not yet have any natural predators in their new habitat.
B)Most introduced species show better survival in new habitats than in their old ones.
C)Because most native species display exponential growth,many introduced species will do so also.
D)Native species always leave open habitat types that a new species can inhabit.
Q3) Predation increases are responsible for density-________ changes in population size.
Q4) China's population ________ is 137 people per square kilometer.
Q5) If there are 100 people living in a 2-square-kilometer area,the population density is ________ people per square kilometer.
Q6) Weather is a density-________ factor that can affect the size of a population.
Q7) China's one-child policy was designed to reduce the population ________ in China.
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Communities of Organisms
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Q1) Compare and contrast exploitative and interference competition.
Q2) One of the factors governing diversity within a community is species ________,which is defined as the total number of different species living within that community.
Q3) An ecological ________ is an association of populations of different species that live in the same area.
Q4) A "keystone" is defined in masonry as the stone at the top of an arch that holds the arch together.Using this definition and your knowledge of keystone species,explain how the role of a keystone species within an ecological community is analogous to the keystone within an arch.
Q5) In which of the following situations would secondary rather than primary succession be most likely to occur?
A)on an island that has just risen out of the ocean
B)on bare ground exposed by the retreat of a glacier
C)on the surface of recently cooled lava
D)in a forest that had burned to bare ground
Q6) A community whose species are NOT replaced by other species is classified as a ________ community.
Q7) How does primary succession differ from secondary succession?
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Ecosystems
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Q1) The primary contribution of decomposers to an ecosystem occurs when they
A)capture solar energy.
B)recycle nutrients sequestered in organisms back to the physical environment.
C)regulate the number of producers.
D)prevent consumer overpopulation.
Q2) Found at the poles and on mountaintops,the vegetation of this biome is dominated by low-growing flowering plants,and the rock landscape is covered in mosses and lichens.Rodents provide food for carnivores like foxes and wolves.The few large mammals include bears and musk oxen.
A)tropical forest
B)chaparral
C)boreal forest
D)tundra
E)desert
F)temperate deciduous forest
G)grassland
Q3) Producers capture energy from the ________ and transform it into fuel energy that passes up the food chain as one organism eats another.
Q4) Describe how chemical nutrients enter and are recycled through an ecosystem.
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Chapter 19: Applying the Science
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Q1) When individuals use the scientific process to question information and make informed decisions about the world around them,they are acting in a(n)________ literate manner.
Q2) According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC),by the end of September 2014,roughly 8,000 cases of whooping cough had been reported in California for that year;more than 250 patients (mostly infants and young children)were hospitalized with 58 of them requiring intensive care.Several other childhood diseases that were once common but then eradicated through high vaccination rates have returned since the antivaccination movement grew in the 1990s.The epidemiological data collected by CDC indicates this resurgence of childhood diseases is most likely the result of
A)reduced herd/community immunity.
B)reduced vaccine effectiveness.
C)increased virulence of the pathogens causing these diseases.
D)simply the increased number of people present in the United States.
Q3) Journal of the American Medical Association,a peer-reviewed scientific journal
A)primary
B)secondary
Q4) What is a first step an individual should take when beginning to assess a "scientific" claim made by another person?
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