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Contemporary Biology explores the fundamental principles of biology with an emphasis on recent discoveries and current issues shaping the field today. The course covers core topics such as cell structure and function, genetics, evolution, ecology, and physiology, while integrating contemporary themes like biotechnology, genetic engineering, environmental challenges, and advances in medical research. Students will develop scientific literacy by analyzing real-world case studies, evaluating the impact of biological research on society, and discussing ethical considerations surrounding new biological technologies. This course is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of modern biology for both science majors and non-majors interested in the living world and its relevance to everyday life.
Recommended Textbook
Biology Today and Tomorrow with Physiology 4th Edition by Cecie Starr
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Q1) Evolution has been tested in various ways.Genetic,fossil,anatomical,physiological and behavioral studies all confirm that evolution is the mechanism of the origin of species.Thus,in science evolution is considered a scientific
A) fact
B) hypothesis
C) law
D) theory
E) guess
Answer: D
Q2) These are more inclusive than cells but less than organs.
A)population
B)living cells
C)molecules
D)biosphere
E)ecosystem
F)organs
G)tissues
H)community
Answer: F
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Q1) The negative subatomic particle is
A) the neutron.
B) the proton.
C) the electron.
D) both the electron and the proton.
E) both the proton and the electron.
Answer: C
Q2) ____ is the tendency of water molecules to stay attached to one another.
A) Adhesion
B) Cohesion
C) Fusion
D) Interaction
E) Junction
Answer: B
Q3) the bond that holds organic molecules together
A)hydrogen
B)ionic
C)covalent

Answer: C
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Q1) If a plasma membrane were compared to a sandwich,____ would be considered the filling.
A) cholesterol
B) protein
C) hydrophilic heads
D) hydrophobic tails
E) carbohydrates
Answer: D
Q2) An organelle that breaks down amino acids,fatty acids,and toxic substances is the
A) peroxisome
B) Golgi body
C) mitochondrion
D) lysosome
E) smooth endoplasmic reticulum
Answer: A
Q3) cytoplasm

Answer: E
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Q1) A concentration gradient ceases to exist when
A) all molecules have moved from low concentration to high concentration.
B) the membrane pores close.
C) the temperature drops.
D) there is equilibrium between the two sides of a membrane.
E) bulk flow intervenes.
Q2) The process by which a lysosome expels its contents into the extracellular environment.
Q3) Osmosis involves
A) the movement of a solvent, like water.
B) differences in solute concentrations.
C) movement from hypotonic to hypertonic solutions.
D) all of these exceptd.
Q4) Movement of substances that requires the expenditure of ATP molecules is
A) facilitated diffusion.
B) simple diffusion.
C) active transport.
D) osmosis.
E) bulk flow.
Q5) the currency in a cell's economy
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Q1) oxygen is used in this process
Q2) Visible light comprises wavelengths that vary between ____ nanometers.
A) 380 and 750
B) 350 and 750
C) 390 and 780
D) 340 and 740
E) 320 and 740
Q3) The energy used to generate most of the ATP formed in aerobic respiration is released when electrons are passed from NADH to A) oxygen.
B) acetyl-CoA.
C) FADH.
D) CO2.
E) NADPH.
Q4) What do free radicals do?
A) improve the efficiency of aerobic respiration
B) act as coenzymes in glycolysis
C) damage biological molecules
D) removes metals that combine with oxygen gas
E) more than one of these

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Q1) What is the basic problem with cloning adult animals?
A) obtaining enough DNA
B) finding proper surrogates to carry the cloned embryos
C) reprogramming the DNA
D) obtaining DNA without mutations
E) all of these are problems with cloning adult animals
Q2) Which of the following has occurred in cloned animals?
A) lung problems
B) liver problems
C) limping
D) heart problems
E) all of these have occurred in cloned animals
Q3) Four of the five answers listed below are people who were involved in the discovery of the structure of DNA.Select the EXCEPTION.
A) Wilkins
B) Wallace
C) Watson
D) Franklin
E) Crick
Q4) discovered that the sequence of DNA differs in different organisms
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Q1) The information from messenger RNA is used to create polypeptide sequences during the process of
A) transduction.
B) transcription.
C) transformation.
D) translation.
E) transreification.
Q2) Methylation
A) suppresses gene expression.
B) slows transcription.
C) increases the rate of translation.
D) inhibits the activity of RNA polymerase.
E) activates introns.
Q3) Which of the following is a homeotic gene that controls heart development?
A) Dunce
B) groucho
C) Tinman
D) toll
E) Pacman
Q4) RNA-directed synthesis of polypeptide chains
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Q1) Which of the following events is (are)characteristic of the interphase?
A) The cytoplasm divides.
B) The cell doubles its content.
C) The cell doubles its content, and the cytoplasm divides.
D) DNA is synthesized.
E) more than one of these.
Q2) During this stage,the sister chromatids begin to separate.
A)prophase I
B)prophase II
C)metaphase II
D)anaphase I
E)telophase I
Q3) The microtubular spindle develops during this phase.
A)interphase
B)prophase
C)metaphase
D)anaphase
E)telophase
Q4) when DNA is replicated
Q5) nuclear division
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Q1) In a family pedigree that followed several generations,Gaucher's disease was found in family members every other generation and equally in males and females.Gaucher's disease is most likely a ______ disease.
A) dominant
B) recessive
C) X-linked
D) epistatic
E) pleiotrophic
Q2) In a pedigree chart,a female showing the specific trait being studied is indicated by a
A) clear square.
B) darkened square.
C) clear circle.
D) darkened diamond.
E) darkened circle.
Q3) condition in which one allele is not fully dominant over another,so the heterozygous phenotype appears to be a blend of the two homozygous phenotypes
Q4) disorder that is dominant
Q5) refers to a gene whose product influences multiple genes
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Q1) When a population is made up of individuals who are genetically identical,each individual is said to be a ____ of other individuals.
A) homolog
B) clone
C) twin
D) recombinant
E) probe
Q2) Which of the following happens first in the PCR process?
A) repeated cycles of high and low temperatures
B) mixing of DNA polymerase with template DNA, nucleotides, and primers
C) DNA hybridization
D) DNA synthesis
E) DNA unwinds
Q3) Which of the following molecules are able to cut DNA molecules at specific sequences?
A) assembly enzymes
B) hydrolytic enzymes
C) restriction enzymes
D) ligase enzymes
E) repair enzymes
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Q1) Which of the following elements favors fossilization?
A) death in an isolated area
B) rapid burial
C) a bony skeleton
D) all of these elements favor fossilization
E) one or more of these is an element that does NOT favor fossilization
Q2) Which layer of sedimentary rock is closest to the surface?
A) Bright Angel Shale
B) Muav limestone
C) Redwall limestone
D) Manakacha Formation
E) Kaibab Limestone
Q3) Malthus
Q4) Which of the following terms best fit with the theory of uniformity?
A) gradual
B) catastrophic
C) abrupt
D) extinction
E) more than one of these
Q5) Wallace
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Q1) What organic compound was widely used as a rat poison until 1980?
A) warfarin
B) amygdalin
C) linamarin
D) cyanide
E) myristicin
Q2) Phylogeny is a sub-discipline of
A) geology.
B) taxonomy.
C) biogeograpy.
D) genetics.
E) ecology.
Q3) Rats are responsible for eating or fouling approximately ____ percent of our total food production.
A) 5
B) 10
C) 15
D) 20
E) 25
Q4) an example is flowering plants and their pollinators
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Q1) Photosynthetic organisms using the oxygen-releasing pathway appeared on earth about ____ billion years ago.
A) 1.3
B) 1.8
C) 2.3
D) 2.7
E) 3.8
Q2) Which of the following forms of Plasmodium infects human red blood cells?
A) merozoites
B) gametocytes
C) cysts
D) sporozoites
E) spores
Q3) The first fossils of animals date back to approximately ___ million years ago.
A) 370
B) 420
C) 470
D) 520
E) 570
Q4) share a common ancestor with green plants
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Q1) Of the following,how does the life cycle of a club fungus differ from the life cycle of a flowering plant?
A) in the club fungus life cycle, there are no gametes
B) in the club fungus life cycle, there is no haploid stage
C) in the club fungus life cycle, there is no diploid stage
D) in the club fungus life cycle, there are no zygotes
E) none of these is a difference between the life cycle of a club fungus and a flowering plant
Q2) Which of the following plants are capable of secondary growth?
A) ferns
B) horsetails
C) club mosses
D) conifers
E) liverworts
Q3) Saprobes are
A) cytoplasmic organelles.
B) metabolic by-products.
C) organisms that feed on dead bodies.
D) parasites of plants.
E) an evolutionary dead end.
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Q1) Which of the following animals do NOT have tissues?
A) sponges
B) annelids
C) roundworms
D) cnidarians
E) more than one of these animals does not have tissues
Q2) This animal has tentacles,beaklike mouth parts,and a radula.This animal is ___.
A) a squid
B) a nautilus
C) a clam
D) an earthworm
E) more than one of these
Q3) Lampreys belong to this group.
Q4) Which of the following is a polyp?
A) sea anemone
B) jellyfish
C) earthworm
D) clam
E) more than one of these
Q5) This group contains the most primitive species of the animal kingdom.
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Q1) Guppies preyed upon by Killifish are __ species.
A) type I
B) K-selected
C) type II
D) r-selected
E) more than one of these types of
Q2) distribution of individuals among various age groups
Q3) Jellyfish are as likely to die at one age as any other.Thus,a type ___ survivorship curve characterizes their life history.
A) I
B) II
C) III
D) more than one of these
E) none of these
Q4) Which country has the biggest ecological footprint?
A) France
B) United States
C) China
D) India
E) Canada

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Sample Questions
Q1) Energy flow in an ecosystem is
A) cyclical.
B) one-way.
C) two-way.
D) reversible under different conditions.
E) a conservation mechanism.
Q2) The first plant to colonize the plains of Mt St Helens after this volcano erupted in 1980 was a prairie lupine.The prairie lupine is an example of A) a secondary successor.
B) a pioneer species.
C) a keystone species.
D) an exotic species.
E) more than one of these.
Q3) Structure of communities may be affected by A) temperatures.
B) sunlight intensity.
C) humidity.
D) condition of the soil.
E) all of these.
Q4) second-level consumer

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Q1) Nutrient poor soils and dominant evergreen angiosperm trees dominate this biome.
A) boreal forests
B) chaparral
C) deserts
D) tropical rain forests
E) temperate deciduous forests
Q2) Because they are filter feeders,oysters are most sensitive to pollution levels in their habitat and among the first organisms to suffer if pollution levels become too high.Oysters are an example of ___ species.
A) an endangered
B) an endemic
C) an indicator
D) a threatened
E) a conserved
Q3) The distribution of major biomes is controlled mainly by
A) ocean currents.
B) climate.
C) human manipulation.
D) longitude.
E) predator-prey relations.
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Q1) Which of the following is a type of epithelial tissue that is one layer thick?
A) stratified
B) dense connective
C) loose connective
D) simple
E) more than one of these
Q2) Which tissue type is a sheet-like tissue with one surface always facing a body cavity or an external environment?
A) dense connective
B) muscular
C) epithelial
D) nervous
E) loose connective
Q3) Which organ system filters wastes from the blood?
A) respiratory
B) urinary
C) digestive
D) endocrine
E) circulatory
Q4) cells are unbranched with tapered ends
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Q1) How many vertebrae do humans have?
A) 21
B) 26
C) 23
D) 46
E) 58
Q2) In a muscle contraction,the Z lines of a sarcomere are ___.
A) closer together but not overlapping
B) further apart
C) the same distance as when not contracting
D) thicker
E) overlapping
Q3) ligaments hold bones of these together
Q4) ants have this type of skeleton
Q5) What type of skeleton do earthworms have?
A) exoskeleton
B) endoskeleton
C) hydrostatic skeleton
D) segmental skeleton
E) none of these
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Q1) If your blood pressure is 140/90,it means
A) the pressure of the relaxed ventricles is 140 and the pressure of the contracted ventricles is 90
B) the pressure in the contracted atria is 140 and the pressure in the contracted ventricles is 90
C) the pressure in the right side of the heart is 140 and the pressure in the left side of the heart is 90
D) the pressure in the right ventricle is 140 and the pressure in the left ventricle is 90
E) the pressure of the contracted ventricles is 140 and the pressure in the relaxed ventricles is 90
Q2) Before they enter the blood stream,what modification occurs to erythrocytes?
A) they are loaded with ant-bacterial compounds
B) they lose their nucleus and other organelles
C) they absorb oxygen and release carbon dioxide
D) they are wrapped in a double plasma membrane
E) they absorb nutrients and expel wastes
Q3) structure not found in the human respiratory system
Q4) the windpipe
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Q1) immune response that targets one's own cells
A)innate immunity
B)antibody-mediated immunity
C)adaptive immunity
D)cell-mediated immunity
E)autoimmunity
Q2) adaptive immunity involving B cells
A)innate immunity
B)antibody-mediated immunity
C)adaptive immunity
D)cell-mediated immunity
E)autoimmunity
Q3) Which of the following white blood cells mature in the thymus?
A) B cells
B) T cells
C) dendritic cells
D) neutrophils
E) more than one of these white blood cells matures in the thymus
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Q1) Specifically,what does it mean that an amino acid or a fatty acid is essential?
A) it is needed in large amounts by the body
B) the body cannot survive without it
C) the body cannot synthesize it
D) it is an essential component of digestive enzymes
E) more than one of these describes what it means to be essential
Q2) the process that occurs last in urine formation
Q3) Leptin has its effect on the
A) small intestine.
B) stomach.
C) brain.
D) skeletal muscles.
E) liver.
Q4) Which of the following is true of the flo gene?
A) heterozygotes are twice as likely to be obese
B) the gene is expressed in the brain
C) people who are obese are lacking the flo gene
D) most children in the United States who are obese have two copies of the flo gene
E) flo genes are X-linked, thus boys are more likely than girls to be obese
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Q1) The brain knows how strong a stimulus is because the brain interprets
A) action potentials of certain nerves in certain ways.
B) variations in the rate of action potentials.
C) the size variation in the action potential being propagated.
D) all of these.
E) all of these except size variation in the action potential being propagated.
Q2) Which of the primary taste sensations is triggered by alkaloids?
A) sweet
B) salty
C) sour
D) bitter
E) umami
Q3) unevenly curved cornea
Q4) initiates and controls skeletal muscle activity; governs memory,emotions,and abstract thought
Q5) a decrease in this neurotransmitter causes attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Q6) morhphin,codeine,and heroin mimic this neurotransmitter
Q7) ciliary muscles react too strongly
Q8) ciliary muscles are weak
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Q1) Which of the following is the effect of atrazine on cells?
A) they induce the conversion of testosterone to estrogen
B) they block the production of cortisol
C) they enhance the production of melatonin
D) they cause the conversion of insulin into glucagon
E) they prevent TSH from stimulating thyroid hormone production
Q2) Which of the following is a steroid hormone?
A) cortisol
B) melatonin
C) calcitonin
D) glucagon
E) more than one of these is a steroid hormone
Q3) Thyroid hormone deficiency can lead to a condition known as
A) hypothyroidism.
B) hyperthyroidism.
C) rickets.
D) AIDS.
E) bowed legs.
Q4) The mammary glands are the target for this hormone.
Q5) Insulin is produced in this gland.
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Q1) In female humans,what is the function of LH?
A) it stimulates the releases of GnRH from the adrenal cortex
B) it stimulates the maturation of ovarian follicles
C) it stimulates cells in the follicle to secrete estrogens
D) it encourages the completion of meiosis I and cytoplasmic division
E) LH functions to do more than one of these
Q2) secreted by the anterior pituitary,this hormone stimulates an ovarian follicle to begin maturing
Q3) Which of the following cells are diploid?
A) sperm
B) primary spermatocytes
C) secondary spermatocytes
D) male germ cells
E) both primary spermatocytes and male germ cells
Q4) Select the correct sequence of animal developmental events.
A) fertilization >>> cleavage >>> organ formation >>> growth of tissues
B) fertilization >>> cleavage >>> gastrula >>> organ formation
C) fertilization >>> gastrula >>> cleavage >>> organ formation
D) fertilization >>> organ formation >>> gastrula >>> cleavage
E) fertilization >>> organ formation >>> cleavage >>> gastrula
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Q1) To which of the following processes is transpiration most analagous?
A) water moving through a water hose
B) magnets attracting metal
C) sucking soda through a straw
D) a waterfall
E) a sponge absorbing a spill
Q2) Which of the following terms are mismatched?
A) heartwood...non-conduction
B) sapwood...outer wood
C) early wood...small xylem cells
D) tropical trees...no rings
E) none of these terms are mismatched
Q3) The movement of water through a plant is driven by
A) the drying power of the air.
B) osmosis.
C) active pumping using ATP.
D) root pressure.
E) a combination of more than one of these.
Q4) pith
Q5) plant tissue involved in regeneration following a wound
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Q1) Abscission of fruits and leaves is controlled by
A) abscisic acid.
B) ethylene.
C) gibberellin.
D) auxin.
E) cytokinin.
Q2) In a flower,what is the ploidy of the endosperm after fertilization?
A) haploid
B) diploid
C) triploid
D) hexaploid
E) octaploid
Q3) The oldest known plant is at least ___ years old
A) 430
B) 4,300
C) 43,000
D) 430,000
E) 4,300,000
Q4) At what letter is the sporophyte?
Q5) embryo sac
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