Life Sciences Seminar
Final Exam
Course Introduction
The Life Sciences Seminar course offers students an opportunity to engage with current research topics and emerging trends within the broad field of life sciences. Through a series of presentations by guest speakers, faculty, and peers, students will explore advances in areas such as molecular biology, genetics, ecology, biotechnology, and bioinformatics. The course emphasizes critical analysis of scientific literature, effective science communication, and active participation in scholarly discussions. Students will also develop their own presentation skills by researching and presenting on life science topics of interest. This seminar fosters a collaborative learning environment designed to enhance scientific curiosity and professional development.
Recommended Textbook
Evolutionary Analysis 5th Edition by Jon C. Herron
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20 Chapters
599 Verified Questions
599 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: A Case for Evolutionary Thinking: Understanding HIV
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30 Verified Questions
30 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/18726
Sample Questions
Q1) Explain the phylogenetic relationship between humans,chimpanzees,and monkeys in the transmission of the current predominant deadly strain in humans,HIV-1.
Answer: HIV-1 is believed to have originated in monkeys as an SIV (simian immunodeficiency virus); SIV was passed from monkeys to chimpanzees,and SIV was passed to and mutated into HIV-1 sometime around 1930.
Q2) Which of the following enzymes is responsible for transcribing viral RNA into DNA?
A) RNA polymerase
B) reverse transcriptase
C) DNA polymerase
D) reverse integrase
E) RNA duplicase
Answer: B
Q3) In what region of the world is the incidence of infection with HIV highest?
Answer: Sub-Saharan Africa
Q4) What viral coat protein typically binds first to the CD4 receptor on helper T cells?
Answer: gp120
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3
Chapter 2: The Pattern of Evolution
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30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Radioactive dating techniques have demonstrated that Earth was formed approximately ________ years ago.
A) 10 billion
B) 46 million
C) 4.6 million
D) 4.6 billion
Answer: D
Q2) What are two features that characterize processed pseudogenes,and how do these arise?
Answer: Processed pseudogenes contain no introns or promoters,and arise when processed mRNAs are accidentally reverse transcribed to DNA by reverse transcriptase,and then inserted back in the genome at alternate locations.
Q3) Explain how microevolution and artificial selection are demonstrated by the wide variety of dog breeds currently in existence.
Answer: Artificial selection via breeding has led to considerable variation within dog populations.However,all dogs are believed to be descended from wolves,and despite their variation,all dogs are members of the same species.
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4
Chapter 3: Evolution by Natural Selection
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30 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following issues constitute a threat(s)to estimating the heritability of the Galapagos Island finches?
A) bisidentified paternity
B) conspecific nest parasitism
C) shared environments
D) maternal effects
E) All of the above.
Answer: E
Q2) Darwin studied and wrote extensively about the mechanism known as artificial selection.Artificial selection is similar to natural selection,except that ________.
A) natural selection works toward a specific goal
B) artificial selection relies on preexisting variations in populations; natural selection does not
C) artificial selection produces varieties that would be less likely be favored in nature
D) artificial selection produces varieties of less interest to humans than natural selection
Answer: C
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5
Chapter 4: Estimating Evolutionary Trees
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Sample Questions
Q1) Analysis of neutral mutation rates to answer interesting questions such as "When did humans begin to wear clothes?" relies on the ________ [two words] hypothesis,which states that molecular traits change at a steady rate.
Q2) In constructing phylogenetic trees,it is useful to think of monophyletic groups as being defined by ________.
A) apomorphies
B) plesiomorphies
C) synapomorphies
D) clades
Q3) Evaluate the merits and limits of parsimony,maximum likelihood,and Bayesian inference as tools for evaluating alternative phylogenies.
Q4) A derived character that is shared among two or more lineages is also called a(n)________.
A) apomorphy
B) plesiomorphy
C) synapomorphy
D) clade
Q5) Explain what parsimony is,and why it is preferred in constructing phylogenetic trees.
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Chapter 5: Variation Among Individuals
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the term given to the average frequency of heterozygotes at all loci of an individual? This value can also be expressed as the fraction of genes that are heterozygous in the genotype of an average individual.
Q2) Genes that are derived from a common ancestral sequence,and are separated by a speciation event such as the RNASE1 gene in douc langur monkeys and the RNASE1 gene in humans,are described as ________.
A) duplicated genes
B) orthologous genes
C) homologous genes
D) paralogous genes
E) derived genes
Q3) Chromosome inversions often have a major impact on evolutionary processes.Describe the process and causes whereby chromosome inversions occur.Describe the effect chromosome inversions have on the process of meiosis,and provide a specific example of chromosome inversions discussed in the text.
Q4) What DNA modifications characterize epigenetic marks?
Q5) What is the term used to describe the smallest possible mutation in a DNA strand,which involves only one base?
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Mendelian Genetics in Populations I: Selection and Mutation
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Sample Questions
Q1) The statistical test used to determine whether the quantitative allele frequency results of an experiment fall within reasonable limits,or whether the null hypothesis is violated and the measured outcomes are significantly different than those expected is called the ________.[three words]
Q2) Explain the significance of the experiments of Mukai and Burdick (1959)with laboratory populations of Drosophila melanogaster using the V (viable)and L (lethal)alleles.Be sure to explain their observation that a lethal allele was maintained at a higher than expected frequency,and the evolutionary significance of overdominance in these populations.
Q3) An analysis showing the heterozygote superiority of the F508 allele of CFTR demonstrates increased resistance to infections with the bacteria that cause
A) pneumonia
B) typhoid fever
C) scarlet fever
D) bubonic plague
E) tuberculosis
Q4) A group of interbreeding individuals and their offspring is known as a(n)________.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Mendelian Genetics in Populations II:
Drift, & Nonrandom Mating
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Sample Questions
Q1) In terms of the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium,genetic drift results from a violation of ________.
A) the random mating assumption
B) the lack of natural selection assumption
C) the infinite population size assumption
D) the lack of mutation assumption
E) the lack of migration assumption
Q2) When we track alleles from lineages backwards in time,we see them ultimately fuse into one lineage.The result is a gene tree,which is produced by a process called
Q3) Unusually high rates of rare heritable traits,such as achromatopsia in the Pingelapese people,is often due to ________.
A) genetic drift
B) natural selection
C) hitchhiking
D) the founder effect
E) None of the above.
Q4) A locus at which different individuals in a population carry different alleles is known as a(n)________.
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Evolution at Multiple Loci: Linkage and Sex
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Sample Questions
Q1) In cases where a perpetual "arms race" occurs between biological antagonists,such as parasites and their hosts,sex is favored because it reduces linkage disequilibrium by recreating missing genotypes in an oscillating fashion.This hypothesis is called the ________ [two words] hypothesis.
Q2) Which of the following can produce linkage disequilibrium?
A) genetic drift
B) selection on genotypes of more than one locus
C) mixing two disparate populations, each of which is in linkage equilibrium
D) All of these choices can create linkage disequilibrium.
Q3) Mathematical analysis of Muller's ratchet reveals that the most important parameter in the rate at which the ratchet works is ________.
A) population size
B) mutation rate
C) genetic heterogeneity
D) sexual/asexual reproductive ratio
Q4) The explanation for the accumulation of deleterious alleles in asexual populations over time,with the resulting genetic load,is known as ________.[two words]
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Chapter 9: Evolution at Multiple Loci: Quantitative Genetics
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Sample Questions
Q1) Estimating heritability using twin studies has been useful for certain human phenotypes,such as general cognitive abilities.Explain the logic behind this,and how such studies are performed.
Q2) The abbreviation QTL stands for ________,[three words] which are those genes that influence nonqualitative traits.
Q3) Traits that are conditioned by one locus are most appropriately termed ________.
A) qualitative traits
B) quantitative traits
C) continuously variable traits
D) environmentally conditioned traits
Q4) The authors of your textbook described two ways in which the strength of selection can be measured.What are these two ways?
Q5) Determining the best-fit line for a data set by utilizing the least-squares linear regression,the slope of the resulting line represents a useful estimate known as the ________,[two words] for which we use the symbol h².
Q6) Explain,using examples/equations,the similarities and differences between broad-sense and narrow-sense heritability estimates.
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Studying Adaptation: Evolutionary Analysis of
Form and Function
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Sample Questions
Q1) Describe the experiments performed by Luc De Meester (1996)to demonstrate phenotypic plasticity in the response of several Daphnia genotypes across a wide range of environments.Be sure to include (1)the experimental method used to measure the change in phototactic behavior and the use of reaction norms,(2)the types of treatments performed based on water that had been previously occupied by fish,and (3)the reaction norms observed from Daphnia eggs harvested from sediments from differing environments.
Q2) Goriely and colleagues (2003)studied a genetic disease caused by a mutation in the gene coding for fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 (FGFR2).This disease,known as ________ syndrome,is a dominant mutation that causes premature fission of the joints in the skull,facial malformations,and fusion of the fingers and toes.
A) Marfan's
B) Apert
C) Edward
D) Asherman's
Q3) Explain the role of behavioral thermoregulation in the experiments performed with Caenorhabditis elegans by Anderson and colleagues (2011).
Q4) What is the purpose of the null hypothesis in experimental design?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Sexual Selection
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Sample Questions
Q1) In general,when sexual selection is strong for one sex and weak for the other,we can predict that members of the sex subject to strong sexual selection will be ________,and members of the sex subject to weak sexual selection will be ________.
A) choosy; competitive
B) aggressive; passive
C) competitive; showy
D) competitive; choosy
Q2) In studies on the pipefish Nerophis ophidion,females are larger than males and appear to be under greater sexual selection pressure than males.The females have two traits that male pipefish of the species lack.What are these two traits?
A) dark blue stripes and lateral spines
B) bright orange stripes and skin folds on their bellies
C) dark blue stripes and skin folds on their bellies
D) lateral spines and skin folds on their bellies
Q3) Describe the experiments performed by Steve Tanner and colleagues (2000)with gray tree frogs to demonstrate the sexual selection they observed.Be sure to comment on the sexual selection that occurs to favor longer male calls,and how the length of calls might indicate male body condition.
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Chapter 12: The Evolution of Social Behavior
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Q1) All cases of altruism (along with some cases of mutual benefit)in which we find behaviors that are selected for because they are beneficial to the recipient are collectively known as ________.
Q2) Social behavior in which the "actor" makes a sacrifice for the benefit of the "recipient" is called ________.
Q3) Social behavior in which a penalty is imposed on the "recipient," while the "actor" also suffers a loss,is called ________.
Q4) In the insect order Hymenoptera (ants,bees,and wasps),males are haploid and females are diploid.Explain the logic behind the haplodiploidy hypothesis as a potential source of eusociality in these animals.
Q5) Which hypothesis has been proposed to explain the evolution of eusociality?
A) the haplodiploidy hypothesis
B) the Monogamy hypothesis
C) the ecology/life history hypothesis
D) All of the above.
Q6) Does kin selection also apply to humans? Use specific examples to support your case.
Q7) Explain Hamilton's Rule in the context of altruistic behavior.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Aging and Other Life-History Characters
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is NOT one of the assumptions of Lack's hypothesis?
A) There is no trade-off between a parent's reproductive effort in one year and its survival or reproductive performance in future years.
B) The only effect on clutch size of offspring is in determining whether the offspring survive.
C) The discrepancy between Lack's hypothesis and the behavior of individual birds may sometimes be more apparent than real.
D) All of these are assumptions of Lack's hypothesis.
Q2) Life-history analysis may provide us with clues to human female menopause more specifically,the way in which your text describes it,"Why should women's reproductive systems shut down by age 50,while the rest of their organs and tissues are still in good repair?" Two hypotheses were discussed; describe,compare,and contrast them.Which one do you think is more likely,and why?
Q3) Alleles that influence more than one trait are referred to as ________.
Q4) Two theories have been proposed regarding the aging process: the rate-of-living theory and the evolutionary theory of aging.Compare and contrast these two theories.Are there any similarities? What are their differences? Which elements are supported by research,and which elements have been refuted?
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Evolution and Human Health
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Sample Questions
Q1) An insect or other organism that transmits disease from one host to another is called a ________.
Q2) The statement "Natural selection should favor pathogens that strike an optimal balance between the costs and benefits of harming their hosts" describes ________.
A) the coincidental evolution hypothesis
B) the shortsighted evolution hypothesis
C) the trade-off hypothesis
D) the energy-balance hypothesis
Q3) Analysis of the 1918 and 2009 flu epidemics reveals that the most likely scenario was that ________.
A) the virus causing these outbreaks were derived from a single strain within which significant mutations changed the protein hemagglutinin
B) these viruses switched from using RNA to using DNA
C) the virus ultimately arose in birds, jumped to pigs, and then was able to switch to humans
D) strong selection produces particularly virulent flu strains with predictable periodicity
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16
Chapter 15: Phylogenomics and the Molecular Basis of Adaptation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Imagine you are studying an expanded gene family in a group of closely related species,and you would like to know whether the gene family expanded long ago in the common ancestor of all the species,or whether the gene family has expanded independently,and more recently,within some or all of the species.How would you use DNA sequences from the gene family in each species to test this? (Hint: Evolutionary trees are required.)
Q2) How does a gene tree differ from a species tree?
A) A gene tree shows the relationships among all the genes in a species genome, whereas a species tree shows the relationships among species.
B) A gene tree is based on gene sequences, whereas a species tree is based on morphological features of each species.
C) A gene tree is a phylogeny of individual genes, and can include multiple genes from a single species and/or samples of the same gene from multiple species; in a species tree, each species is represented by only a single branch.
D) A gene tree is a subcategory of species tree, in which the data used to create the tree comes from gene sequences.
Q3) What are mobile genetic elements,and how do they affect host organisms?
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Page 17
Chapter 16: Mechanisms of Speciation
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Sample Questions
Q1) Relative to chromosome numbers,hybridization can produce speciation in two ways.What are they?
Q2) Groups of organisms that cannot be distinguished morphologically but have no gene flow between them,and are indeed evolutionary independent units,are known as ________ species.
Q3) A disadvantage of the morphospecies concept is ________.
A) it can be difficult to apply to organisms with small, difficult to distinguish features
B) species definitions may become arbitrary if the concept is not applied carefully
C) species definitions applied by different researchers may not be comparable
D) All of these are potential problems with this species concept.
Q4) There are two closely related populations of squirrels living in the Grand Canyon area one lives on the north rim,the other lives on the south rim.Speciation in these squirrels BEST fits which model?
A) dispersive allopatric speciation
B) dispersive sympatric speciation
C) vicariant allopatric speciation
D) vicariant sympatric speciation
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18
Chapter 17: The Origins of Life and Precambrian Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) A problem with the basic Oparin-Haldane model for the origin of life (though not necessarily an unsolvable one)is that ________.
A) it does not explain the origin of chirality
B) the early Earth is now not thought to have had a highly reducing atmosphere
C) monomers have to be chemically activated before they will polymerize
D) purine bases can attach to sugars in many equally probable ways
E) All of the above.
Q2) A famous experiment that generated organic molecules from a mixture of gases thought to resemble the early Earth's atmosphere was carried out in 1953 by ________.
A) Stanley Miller
B) Charles Darwin
C) Thomas Cech
D) J. S. Haldane
E) Aniela Wochner
Q3) The model of life's origins,which posits that all of the necessary ingredients for the origin of life were present on early Earth,has been named after two early twentieth-century scientists.This model is called the ________ [two words] model.
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Page 19
Chapter 18: Evolution and the Fossil Record
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Sample Questions
Q1) An example of a plesiomorphy in the earliest fossil birds would include ________.
A) three clawed fingers on each hand
B) a long, bony tail
C) teeth
D) down-like feathers
E) All of the above.
Q2) Which of the following is NOT key evidence for a large meteorite impact striking the Earth approximately 65 million years ago?
A) tiny particles of glass called microtektites
B) "shocked quartz" grains, with fine parallel planes caused by a burst of intense pressure
C) the disappearance of many taxa of large reptiles beginning about 70 million years ago
D) a worldwide layer of sediments highly enriched in the element iridium
E) gravity anomalies that allow us to map the now-buried meteorite crater
Q3) The range of shapes found among members of a taxon may be thought of as a multidimensional space called a(n)________.
Q4) An exceptionally rich fossil deposit is known as a(n)________.
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Chapter 19: Development and Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Unlike all other honeybees,worker bees in the South African subspecies Apis mellifera capensis can lay eggs that develop asexually into queens,which makes it possible for them to "nest parasitize" other subspecies of honeybees.This is due to ________.
A) the effects of many genes integrated together (epistasis)
B) a homeotic mutation of a gene in the Hox cluster
C) the appearance of new genes that are paralogous with Hox genes
D) a deletion of nine nucleotides in the gemini transcription factor gene
E) horizontal gene transfer from a distantly related insect species
Q2) At the end of the chapter,the text points out that almost all our knowledge of evo-devo is based on plants and animals; we know little about other complex multicellular organisms that undergo development.Consider a mushroom,a member of the Kingdom Fungi.Based on what you know of its structure and mode of growth,would you predict that it would have orthologous genes to the Hox genes of animals? Explain why or why not.
Q3) A ________ is one who believes that major evolutionary change happens,or can happen,by large "jumps" or bursts,such as mutations with large effects.
Q4) The simplest hypothesis for the original function of Hox genes is that they were expressed in the ________ [two words] in early animals.
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Chapter 20: Human Evolution
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Sample Questions
Q1) Judging by the nature of modern humans,chimpanzees,and bonobos,which of these traits did the last common ancestor of all three probably NOT show?
A) some form of culture
B) tool use to get and process food
C) a broad diet including plenty of fruit
D) strictly heterosexual mating patterns
E) some degree of hunting
Q2) Although attempts to date the divergence between humans and chimpanzees using molecular sequence data do not perfectly agree,a rough consensus from multiple analyses would place the divergence date at ________.
A) 175,000 years ago
B) 6,000 years ago
C) 5 to 7 million years ago
D) 3.14 million years ago
E) 65 million years ago
Q3) Short sequences of nucleotides (typically 4 to 8 bases)that are repeated a variable number of times at a locus are known as ________.[three words]
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