Biology for Non-Majors
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Biology for Non-Majors is an introductory course designed to provide students with a foundational understanding of biological principles without requiring an extensive scientific background. The course covers essential topics such as cell structure and function, genetics, evolution, ecology, and the diversity of life. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students will explore the relevance of biology to everyday life, current societal issues, and global challenges. Emphasis is placed on developing scientific literacy, critical thinking, and an appreciation for the complexity and interconnectivity of living systems. This course is ideal for students in non-science disciplines seeking to fulfill general education requirements or broaden their knowledge of the natural world.
Recommended Textbook
Biology Today and Tomorrow without Physiology 5th Edition by Cecie Starr
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18 Chapters
1779 Verified Questions
1779 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Invitation To Biology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Energy flow is one-way because ____.
A)all of the energy in an ecosystem stays constant
B)the amount of energy a producer harvests is equal to the amount of energy consumers consume
C)with each energy transfer, some energy escapes as heat
D)energy cannot be created but it can be destroyed
E)there is only one form of energy
Answer: C
Q2) All populations of all species in a given area
Answer: H
Q3) The category of organisms that get their energy and nutrients by feeding on the tissues,wastes,or remains of other organisms are generally called ____.
A)producers
B)prokaryotes
C)consumers
D)archaea
E)plants
Answer: C
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3
Chapter 2: Molecules Of Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) The neutral subatomic particle is the ____.
A)neutron
B)proton
C)electron
D)quark
E)Higg's boson
Answer: A
Q2) Hydrogen bonding ____ the movement of molecules,therefore,substances that form a lot of hydrogen bonds,like water,will require ____ energy to increase their temperature by one degree Celsius.
A)decreases; less B)decreases; more
C)doesn't affect; no additional D)increases; less E)increases; more
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Cell Structure
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Sample Questions
Q1) ____ are cellular structures that act like propellers to move a cell through fluid environments.
A)Pilli
B)Microvilli
C)Cilia
D)Flagella
E)Microfilaments
Answer: D
Q2) The phospholipids of plasma membranes contain _____.
A)a hydrophobic head and a hydrophilic tail
B)two hydrophobic heads and a hydrophilic tail
C)a hydrophobic head and two hydrophobic tails
D)a hydrophilic head and two hydrophobic tails
E)a hydrophilic head and two hydrophilic tails
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Energy And Metabolism
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Sample Questions
Q1) What happens to a molecule when it is phosphorylated?
A)It loses energy.
B)It receives a phosphate group.
C)It becomes denatured.
D)It loses electrons and protons.
E)It gains electrons.
Q2) A plant wilts when ____.
A)the soil water becomes hypotonic with respect to the cytoplasm
B)the soil water becomes hypertonic with respect to the cytoplasm
C)the turgor inside the cell increases
D)the turgor in the soil disappears
E)osmotic pressure is equal to the turgor pressure
Q3) Energy ____.
A)can be created, but not destroyed
B)cannot be created, but can be destroyed
C)can be created and destroyed
D)cannot be created or destroyed
E)can be created using a particle accelerator
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Chapter 5: Capturing And Releasing Energy
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Sample Questions
Q1) In lactate fermentation,____ is converted into lactate.
A)pyruvate
B)acetaldehyde
C)ethanol
D)glucose
E)NADH
Q2) Leaves appear red in the fall when ____.
A)anthocyanin synthesis increases
B)chlorophylls are disassembled and recycled to allow other pigments to become more visible
C)other pigments, including the orange and yellow accessory pigments, are recycled
D)synthesis of other pigments, including the orange and yellow accessory pigments, increases
E)the red wavelength range of visible light increases due to changes in Earth's position relative to the sun.
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Chapter 6: DNA Structure And Function
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Sample Questions
Q1) Repair enzymes _____.
A)repair only mutations that occur in mitochondrial DNA
B)repair only mutations that arise during replication
C)repair only DNA mismatch mutations
D)can only repair mutations that occur prior to replication
E)can only repair mutations that occur after replication
Q2) The structure of a DNA molecule is analogous to a _____.
A)paper clip
B)ladder
C)fork
D)rope
E)coiled spring
Q3) DNA was first described by _____ in 1869.
A)Johannes Miescher
B)Frederick Griffith
C)Oswald Avery and Macly McCarty
D)Alfred Hershey and Martha Chase
E)Maurice Wilkins
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8
Chapter 7: Gene Expression AND Control
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Sample Questions
Q1) an mRNA code for one amino acid
A)anticodon
B)rRNA
C)codon
D)ribosome
E)genetic code
F)translation termination
G)messenger RNA
H)promoters
I)transcription
J)translation
Q2) What are the non-coding segments of DNA called?
A)introns
B)exons
C)promoters
D)transcription factors
E)knockouts
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Chapter 8: How Cells Reproduce
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Sample Questions
Q1) Chromosomes are unduplicated during which phase of cell cycle?
A)S
B)prophase
C)G1
D)G2
E)metaphase
Q2) The cell plate in dividing plant cells is composed of _____.
A)microfilaments
B)the cytoplasmic membrane
C)vesicles with wall-building materials
D)Golgi bodies
E)microtubules
Q3) How do microtubules separate chromosomes during anaphase?
A)Microtubules pull chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell.
B)Microtubules push chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell.
C)Microtubules push and pull chromosomes to separate poles of the cell.
D)Microtubules attach to telomeres and pull chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell.
E)Microtubules attach to telomeres and push chromosomes to opposite poles of the cell.
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Chapter 9: Patterns Of Inheritance
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Sample Questions
Q1) genotype
A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D
E)E
Q2) In a person with cystic fibrosis,the CFTR mutation causes the protein to be ____.
A)embedded in the plasma membrane
B)destroyed in the endoplasmic reticulum
C)shuttled to the nuclear membrane instead of the plasma membrane
D)shuttled to the plasma membrane instead of the nuclear membrane
E)expelled from the cell by exocytosis before it can do its job
Q3) Face length in dogs is controlled by ____.
A)a dozen alleles
B)a dozen genes
C)multiple chromosomes
D)sex-linked alleles
E)trisomies
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11
Chapter 10: Biotechnology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which human body system is affected in individuals with SCIDs?
A)digestive
B)immune
C)reproductive
D)nervous
E)cardiovascular
Q2) After DNA unwinds and becomes single-stranded in a PCR reaction,the temperature is lowered to allow the ____ to hybridize with the DNA template.
A)vectors
B)primers
C)tracers
D)restriction enzymes
E)DNA ligase
Q3) DNA with a targeted sequence is mixed with primers,nucleotides,and Taq DNA polymerase. A)A
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Chapter 11: Evidence Of Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) A mass extinction,in which the dinosaurs disappeared from Earth,occurred approximately ____ years ago.
A)6500
B)65,000
C)650,000
D)65,000,000
E)650,000,000
Q2) To determine the dietary habits of dinosaurs,their _____ can be analyzed for the presence of undigested plant material or bones.
A)coprolites
B)eggs
C)fossilized body parts
D)footprints
E)soft body parts
Q3) The theory of continental movement is called ____.
A)plate tectonics
B)plate drift
C)seismology
D)fault line movement
E)sea floor spreading
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Chapter 12: Processes Of Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Heterozygotes for the sickle cell trait have an adaptive advantage in areas where malaria is prevalent.This is an example of ____.
A)a fixed allele
B)genetic drift
C)a balanced polymorphism
D)sexual selection
E)disruptive selection
Q2) Overhunting of species,such as tigers,reduces their numbers and their genetic diversity.This is an example of _____.
A)a bottleneck
B)a mutation
C)a founder effect
D)gene flow
E)genetic drift
Q3) distribution of traits in a population before selection occurs
Q4) directional selection - the form of a trait at one end of a range of variation is adaptive.
Q5) stabilizing selection - extreme forms of a trait are eliminated,and an intermediate form is adaptive.
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Chapter 13: Early Life Forms And The Viruses
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Sample Questions
Q1) ____ are believed to have once existed as independent prokaryotes.
A)Bacteriophages
B)Chloroplasts
C)Slime molds
D)Protists
E)Nuclei
Q2) membranous sac that contains interacting organic molecules
A)protist
B)prokaryote
C)photoautotroph
D)Pathogen
E)protocell
F)halophile
G)strain
Q3) The ____ water mold was responsible for the Irish famine in the mid-1800s.
A)Phytophthora
B)Plasmodium
C)E.coli
D)Staphylococcus
E)Trichomonas
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Chapter 14: Plants And Fungi
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Sample Questions
Q1) gymnosperm resistant to air pollution; flagellated sperm; only one living species
A)angiosperms
B)conifers
C)club mosses
D)bryophytes
E)ferns
F)gymnosperms
G)ginkgos
H)horsetails
Q2) Mosses have threadlike structures,called ____,that hold the gametophyte in place.
A)mycorrhizae
B)fronds
C)rhizoids
D)sporangia
E)rhizomes
Q3) ovary
Q4) petal
Q5) stigma
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Chapter 15: Animal Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which animal lacks a "true" coelom?
A)flatworms only
B)annelids only
C)roundworms only
D)flatworms and annelids
E)flatworms and roundworms
Q2) The earliest hominin fossils were found in ____.
A)Africa
B)Asia
C)Australia
D)the South Pacific
E)Europe
Q3) The cause of schistosomiasis is a ____.
A)fluke
B)tapeworm
C)planarian
D)leech
E)roundworm
Q4) first opening of the embryo becomes a mouth,and the second becomes an anus.
Q5) first opening of the embryo becomes an anus,and the second becomes a mouth
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Chapter 16: Population Ecology
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Sample Questions
Q1) A type III survivorship curve is characteristic of ____.
A)dogs
B)goats
C)hawks
D)clams
E)horses
Q2) invention of agriculture
A)Africa
B)11,000 years ago
C)18th century
D)Mid-1300s
E)1800s
F)1940s
Q3) Density-independent controls over population growth include ____.
A)parasites
B)temperature
C)disease
D)competition
E)predation
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Communities And Ecosystems
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Sample Questions
Q1) A species that withdraws nutrients from another species (its host),usually without killing it.
A)competition
B)predation
C)mutualism
D)commensalism
E)parasitism
Q2) The first plant to colonize the plains of Mount Saint Helens after this volcano erupted in 1980 was a prairie lupine.The prairie lupine is therefore an example of ____.
A)a secondary successor
B)a pioneer species
C)a keystone species
D)an exotic species
E)an introduced species
Q3) carnivore
A)A
B)B
C)C
D)D
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Chapter 18: The Biosphere And Human Effects
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Sample Questions
Q1) Scientists are documenting the level of radiation in ____ forests along the western coasts of North America because they tend to take up and concentrate radioactive material,making it easier to detect.
A)aspen
B)alder
C)Douglas fir
D)cedar
E)kelp
Q2) Which biome is generally found between the polar ice cap and boreal forests?
A)desert
B)taiga
C)grassland
D)estuary
E)tundra
Q3) The genetic diversity within a species of a given region is called the ____.
A)biodiversity
B)dominance hierarchy
C)biogeographic distribution
D)biome
E)community
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