Contemporary Biology Test
Preparation
Course Introduction
Contemporary Biology explores the fundamental principles of biological science, emphasizing recent advances and applications in genetics, ecology, evolution, and cellular biology. The course examines how modern research techniques such as biotechnology, genomics, and molecular biology are shaping our understanding of living systems and addressing real-world challenges including disease, environmental sustainability, and ethical considerations in biological sciences. Through lectures, discussions, and hands-on activities, students develop critical thinking skills and a comprehensive appreciation for the dynamic nature of biology in the 21st century.
Recommended Textbook
Biology Now 2nd Edition by Anne Houtman
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21 Chapters
1862 Verified Questions
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Nature of Science
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the main mechanism used to reduce researcher bias,or even prevent fraud,in science.
Answer: When scientists communicate their results to fellow scientists during the peer-reviewed publication process,reviewers who are subject experts with no direct contact in the study being reviewed scrutinize the submitted work.If there are any concerns about the methodology,results,or analysis,the researcher submitting the work must address those concerns before his or her work is published.
Q2) The human heart pumps blood throughout the blood vessels in the body.This is a scientific
A) theory.
B) hypothesis.
C) fact.
D) experiment.
Answer: C
Q3) When a hypothesis is well constructed,a prediction can be made using a(n)"________" statement.
Answer: if then
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Chapter 2: Evaluating Scientific Claims
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Q1) The reliability of primary scientific literature is strengthened by the ________ process,in which the work is examined by other leaders in the same field.For instance,a scientific paper examining the evolution of tetrapods would be reviewed by other evolutionary biologists and paleontologists.
A) peer-review
B) basic research
C) applied research
D) random research
Answer: A
Q2) A pharmaceutical company conducts trials on animals and cell lines to determine the safety of a new vaccine before performing clinical trials on adult human volunteers.This is an example of
A) basic research.
B) applied research.
C) a case-control study.
D) a cohort study.
Answer: B
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Chapter 3: Chemistry of Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) form the major framework of biological membranes
A)lipids
B)carbohydrates
C)nucleic acids
D)proteins
Answer: A
Q2) Stomach acid has a pH value of 1.5-2.0.Antacids have a pH value of 10.5.Antacids are a common medication used to reduce the "burning" effect of stomach acid moving back up into the esophagus (the tube that carries food to the stomach).Describe how antacids affect the concentration of free hydrogen ions to provide relief from "heartburn."
Answer: Antacids are a base and bases remove free hydrogen ions from a solution.In the case of heartburn,highly acidic stomach acid is causing damage and pain.By adding antacids to the solution,the pH is raised as free hydrogen ions are accepted by the antacids (the solution becomes more basic)and the burning sensation is relieved.
Q3) A solution with a higher free H ion concentration is more ________ than a solution with a lower free H ion concentration.
Answer: acidic
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Life Is Cellular
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Sample Questions
Q1) Dialysis tubing is a selectively permeable membrane that can be filled with a solution to simulate a cell.A piece of dialysis tubing has been filled with a cloudy white solution of 5 percent starch,5 percent egg albumin (protein),and 5 percent glucose (a small sugar)dissolved in water to simulate a cell.This simulated cell is weighed and then placed in a beaker of water.After soaking in the water for one hour,the simulated cell is once again weighed. Over time,the weight of the simulated cell can be expected to
A) decrease because it is hypotonic to the beaker environment and water will enter the simulated cell through osmosis.
B) decrease because it is hypertonic to the beaker environment and water will leave the simulated cell through osmosis.
C) increase because the solution in the beaker is hypotonic to the simulated cell and water will enter the simulated cell through osmosis.
D) remain constant because it is isotonic to the beaker environment and water will be drawn into the simulated cell because of the albumin.
Q2) All cells living today came from a preexisting ________.
Q3) Using what you know about cell theory and viruses,explain why viruses are not alive.
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Chapter 5: How Cells Work
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Q1) In a popular video game an ax is used to chop trees into individual blocks of wood.
A)anabolic
B)catabolic
Q2) produces energy carriers
A) light reactions
B) light-independent reactions
Q3) List the energy carriers in a cell.Which of the energy carriers carries the most energy?
Q4) What products are produced by the light reactions of photosynthesis? Of these products,which are by-products that are released to the atmosphere? Which products are used within the Calvin cycle?
Q5) A hypothetical chemical forms a permanent bond between the phosphates in ATP.How would this affect the cell?
Q6) produces sugars
A)photosynthesis only
B)cellular respiration only
C)both photosynthesis and cellular respiration
D)neither photosynthesis nor cellular respiration
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Cell Division
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the purpose of having cell cycle checkpoints? What are the consequences of not having them?
Q2) Which of the following predicts a likely outcome of bypassing the G checkpoint in the cell cycle?
A) Damaged DNA would be immediately replicated and passed on to the two daughter cells, giving rise to helpful, new alleles.
B) Incompletely replicated DNA may be passed to the two daughter cells; these cells could be lacking specific genes or chromosomes and would likely not survive.
C) The cell cycle would pause if cell size or nutrient supply is inadequate, DNA is damaged, or DNA replication is incomplete.
D) The cell cycle would simply skip mitosis and go directly to G1 to start over.
Q3) Which of the following is a difference between binary fission and mitosis?
A) replication of the genetic material
B) breakdown of the nuclear envelope
C) cell growth and expansion
D) increase in cytoplasmic factors
Q4) The result of ________ is to increase genetic diversity by creating a new diploid individual from haploid cells.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Patterns of Inheritance
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following did Gregor Mendel notice in garden peas?
A) Some plants always produced offspring with flowers that were the same color as the parent plants' flowers.
B) The first generation from a genetic cross of true-breeding plants always produced offspring that were intermediate in their phenotype and did not look like either parent.
C) Garden peas always produce a variety of phenotypes in their offspring, which result from frequent mutations.
D) Any individual pea plant carries at least three different alleles for flower color.
Q2) Mendel used ________ as his research organism to study patterns of genetic inheritance.
A) garden peas
B) snapdragons
C) mice
D) Siamese cats
Q3) The individual who used data from breeding garden peas to discover the patterns of inheritance that form the foundation of modern-day genetics was ________.
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9
Chapter 8: Chromosomes and Human Genetics
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Sample Questions
Q1) An allele that appears more frequently in males is MOST likely
A) dominant.
B) nonhomologous.
C) autosomal.
D) sex-linked.
Q2) A karyotype of an individual with mild mental retardation shows three copies of the X chromosome.If this individual decides to have children,how is her chromosomal abnormality likely to affect her offspring?
A) All of her children will inherit an extra copy of the X chromosome.
B) Any female children have a 75 percent chance of inheriting an extra copy of an X chromosome.
C) She will be unable to produce male children.
D) Half of her eggs will contain an extra copy of the X chromosome.
Q3) On chromosomes within an individual,there are ________ alleles for a given gene found on ________ chromosomes.
A) two; homologous
B) four; maternal
C) four; paternal
D) two; Y
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Page 10
Chapter 9: What Genes Are
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Q1) The CRISPR-Cas9 system is a combination of guide ________ and ________ proteins.
Q2) The significance of specific base pairing in DNA is that A) it stabilizes the sugar molecule.
B) it provides a method for making exact copies of DNA.
C) it prevents errors in DNA replication.
D) protein copies can be made directly from the DNA.
Q3) If DNA polymerase did not have the ability to proofread,then DNA replication would A) not proceed at all.
B) proceed more slowly.
C) result in more mutations.
D) result in additional copies of DNA.
Q4) The hereditary genetic material present in all living cells is A) carbohydrate.
B) protein.
C) DNA.
D) RNA.
Q5) A scientist adds a single polymerase and primer to a polymerase chain reaction (PCR)but does not add nucleotides.How many strands would be present after three replications if a single original strand was present? Explain your answer.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: How Genes Work
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Sample Questions
Q1) A mutation occurs in the promoter of a protein-encoding gene.How might this mutation affect the production of the protein encoded by the gene?
A) The mRNA made from this gene would exhibit the same mutation and, therefore, would not fold or function properly.
B) The protein made from the promoter would have a different amino acid sequence and, therefore, would not function properly.
C) The promoter might not be recognized by RNA polymerase, so the enzyme would be unable to attach to the promoter and start transcription.
D) The start codon would be missing from the mRNA made from this gene, so the mRNA could not be translated.
Q2) Following transcription,the
A) strands of DNA bond back to each other.
B) mRNA is digested.
C) DNA molecule is broken down.
D) ribosome is released from the tRNA molecule.
Q3) Explain how different cells in a human body,such as liver cells and skin cells,house the same genetic material but have different functions.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Evidence for Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) A population of grasshoppers,ranging in color from bright green to greenish-tan,live in a lush green grassland; their coloring helps to camouflage them in their environment and helps them hide from predators.Over the course of several years,a severe drought kills off the grasses,leaving mostly dry,tan-colored sand and topsoil with sparse green vegetation.Predict what the surviving population of grasshoppers will look like in the changed environment.Explain your answer and indicate which evolutionary process has occurred.
Q2) An organism from which more than one species has evolved is referred to as a(n)________.The group of organisms arising from it have a common descent.
Q3) Explain how an intermediate fossil can provide evidence for the lineage of current species.
Q4) The human and chimpanzee insulin genes are 98 percent similar.
A)comparative embryology
B)fossil evidence
C)comparative anatomy
D)comparative DNA
E)biogeographic evidence
Q5) The geographic locations where an organism (or its fossils)can be found are described as the species' ________.
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Chapter 12: Mechanisms of Evolution
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Q1) Gene flow between two populations
A) makes the genetic composition of the two populations more similar.
B) eliminates harmful alleles.
C) magnifies the effects of genetic drift.
D) creates genetic differences between the populations.
Q2) In a shallow bay,a population of oysters is the food source for the local crabs.The lightest colored oysters blend with the color of the rocks and the darkest colored oysters are concealed in the shadows cast by the rocks.Oysters with an intermediate coloring are easily detected by the crabs and become a tasty meal for them.Over time,fewer and fewer oysters display the intermediate coloring while more oysters are either the lightest coloring or the darkest coloring.This is an example of
A) stabilizing selection.
B) directional selection.
C) disruptive selection.
D) genetic drift.
Q3) Explain why a mutation in an individual's skin cells does not directly contribute to evolution.
Q4) Natural selection and other mechanisms of evolution act upon the ________ that result from the novel genotypes produced by mutations.
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Chapter 13: Adaptation and Species
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Sample Questions
Q1) A lizard learns to avoid predatory birds after being attacked and losing part of its tail to a bird.What is required for this avoidance behavior to be considered an adaptive trait?
Q2) Choose two different reproductive barriers that lead to sympatric speciation and explain how they work.
Q3) Two populations of ________ are NOT an example of speciation.
A) sea urchins in the same territory, which are physically unable to mate
B) small rodents that look similar but have genetic differences
C) morphologically distinct lizards that lack differences in DNA sequences
D) butterflies that live in the same area but breed in different seasons
Q4) Speciation may be described as either allopatric or sympatric.What is the primary difference between the two types of speciation?
Q5) 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.
Q6) Two species live near each other but do not respond to each other's courtship displays.This is an example of ________ isolation,a type of prezygotic barrier.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: The History of Life
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Q1) If a plant evolved during the Permian period and spread across the continent of Pangaea,where might the fossils of this animal be found now?
A) North America only
B) North and South America
C) North and South America, Europe, and Asia
D) North and South America, Europe, Asia, and Africa
Q2) <i>Canis lupus</i> is the scientific name for wolves.<i>Canis</i> refers to the ________ name.
Q3) 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.
Q4) List the three domains of life.Then,identify which two domains are most closely related to one another.Finally,indicate which domains are classified as prokaryotes and which are classified as eukaryotes.
Q5) When did photosynthesis evolve and how did it influence the evolution of life on Earth?
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Chapter 15: Bacteria and Archaea
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Q1) In which of the following environments would archaea be expected but not bacteria?
A) a hydrothermal vent
B) a belly button
C) water in a cave
D) dead matter in shallow water
Q2) Archaeans known as halophiles would most likely be found living in a(n)
A) salt lake.
B) mineral hot spring.
C) deep-sea hydrothermal vent.
D) abandoned copper mine.
Q3) List three characteristics shared between bacteria and archaea.
Q4) After boiling water for a short period of time,the water is checked for the presence of living cells.When it is determined that no active,living cells are present,the water is used to make agar,a media used for bacterial growth.Within 48 hours there are numerous colonies of cells growing on the agar.What type of prokaryote is growing? Why was the organism not detected in the water?
Q5) Prokaryotes typically reproduce by splitting in two through a process called
Q6) In what way do prokaryotes directly help plants?
Page 17
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Chapter 16: Plants, Fungi, and Protists
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Q1) Grapes harvested and crushed into juice will often produce a fermented beverage containing alcohol.Grains (such as wheat,barley,rye,or corn)will also produce an alcoholic beverage if they are soaked and allowed to ferment.Which of the following organisms,naturally present in the environment,is the likely cause of the fermentation?
A) angiosperms
B) yeasts
C) basidiomycetes
D) ciliates
Q2) Some protozoa move and obtain food using shape-changing,cellular projections called ________.
Q3) domain Eukarya,kingdom Plantae
A)brown algae
B)liverworts and mosses
C)<i>Streptococcus thermophilus</i> (bacteria used in making yogurt)
D)zygomycetes (molds)
Q4) Correctly use the terms "fruiting body," "hypha (hyphae)," "mating type," "mycelium (mycelia)," and "sexual spores" to describe the life cycle of a fungus.
Q5) Single-celled species of fungi are typically referred to as ________.
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Chapter 17: Animals and Human Evolution
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Q1) In 2012,researchers determined that the Neanderthal DNA had been introduced into the human genome between 90,000 and 40,000 years ago.Does this support the hypothesis that Neanderthal DNA present in the human genome is a remnant from a common hominin ancestor? Support your answer by indicating roughly when DNA from Neanderthals would have been introduced to the human genome if that Neanderthal DNA was a remnant from a common hominin ancestor.
Q2) The hypothesis that Neanderthals evolved sometime after hominins migrated out of Africa would be supported by the presence of Neanderthal DNA in the
A) mitochondria of modern African humans.
B) genomes of modern African humans.
C) genomes of modern humans in all ethnic groups except for those of Africans. D) genomes of <i>Australopithecus africanus</i>.
Q3) Briefly explain the difference between hominids and hominins.
Q4) Which of the following is an example of the last segment of an arthropod's body having evolved into a beneficial trait?
A) human thorax with an arm
B) bird thorax with a wing
C) lizard abdomen with a leg
D) wasp abdomen with a stinger
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Chapter 18: General Principles of Ecology
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Q1) The Amazon rainforest
A) is an example of a biosphere.
B) is part of the biosphere.
C) contains one biosphere.
D) contains multiple biospheres.
Q2) Describe an analogy between greenhouse gases and an inanimate object such as a winter jacket.
Q3) Nonliving factors in the biosphere are called ________ factors.
Q4) Which of the following does NOT represent evidence for global warming?
A) The 10 hottest years on record have occurred since 1990.
B) In Europe, bird and butterfly species have shifted their ranges northward.
C) The hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica has been growing.
D) Plants in northern latitudes have increased the length of their growing seasons.
Q5) Species that will most likely prosper as projected climate change occurs will
A) have narrow tolerances and can live in specialized environments.
B) have broad tolerances and can live in a variety of habitats.
C) live in very stable environments.
D) live only if they form mutualistic relationships with other organisms.
Q6) How do trees in the Amazon help prevent global warming?
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Growth of Populations
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Q1) Is a death rate increase from influenza an example of a density-dependent population change or a density-independent population change?
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 habitats into a new habitat?
A) They do not yet have any natural predators or diseases 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) Which of the following has the highest population density?
A) 1 grasshopper living in an area of 10 square meters
B) 100 rabbits living in an area of 10,000 square meters
C) 200 sparrows living in an area of 20,000 square meters
D) 1,500 oysters living in an area of 1,500 square meters
Q4) What causes an S-shaped growth curve to flatten out at the top?
Q5) Weather is a density-________ factor that can affect the size of a population.
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Page 21
Chapter 20: Communities of Organisms
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Q1) How does primary succession differ from secondary succession?
Q2) Why would a food web rather than a food chain be the preferred way to represent the movement of food through the community?
A) Food chains are oversimplified and suggest that a consumer eats only a single food item.
B) Food webs place producers at the bottom, whereas food chains place them at the top.
C) Food webs are based on a foundation of producers.
D) Ecologists prefer to use food chains to describe food movements.
Q3) a bird building a nest within a tree
A)mutualism
B)commensalism
C)exploitation
D)competition
Q4) Pathogens are considered a special type of parasite because they
A) invariably kill their prey.
B) affect specific portions of the host.
C) cause disease in their hosts.
D) live on or in the host organism.
Q5) Compare and contrast exploitative and interference competition.
Page 22
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Chapter 21: Ecosystems
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Q1) The chemical and physical components of an ecosystem are considered to be ________ or nonliving.
A) abiotic
B) biota
C) biotic
D) abalone
Q2) Describe how chemical nutrients enter and are recycled through an ecosystem.
Q3) Which of the following is NOT an easily testable hypothesis regarding net primary productivity?
A) An increase in temperature will likely result in an increase of net primary productivity (NPP) in some terrestrial ecosystems.
B) An increase in temperature will likely result in an increase of NPP in some marine ecosystems.
C) An increase in available sunlight will likely result in an increase of NPP in some marine and terrestrial ecosystems.
D) An increase of water in a marine ecosystem will likely result in tastier products of NPP.
Q4) Explain how energy enters and progresses through a food chain.
Q5) Use examples to explain how an ecological community differs from an ecosystem.
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