BIOL 110 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
Which of the following statements about natural selection is most accurate?
a) Mammals in cold climates need warm fur so they evolve thick coats.
b) Natural selection results in organisms that are perfectly adapted to their environment.
c) Natural selection can only act on populations with genetic variation.
d) Natural selection is a random process. - Correct Answers -c) Natural selection can
only act on populations with genetic variation.
In the case study for Tutorial #1, you learned about the "Evolution Canyons" that exist in
the mountains of Israel. Singaravelan et al (2010) investigated how the melanin content
of the hair of spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) has evolved in response to alternative
selection pressures inflicted by contrasting colored habitats of Evolution Canyon I (ECI).
The results of this study show that spiny mice that live on the African slope of ECI have
a) higher pheomelanin than eumelanin content in their hair.
b) lower pheomelanin than eumelanin content in their hair.
c) coloration that is the same as spiny mice living on the European slope.
d) darker hair than their counterparts on the European slope. - Correct Answers -a)
higher pheomelanin than eumelanin content in their hair
Natural selection _______________________.
a) is the process by which a population becomes more well adapted to its' environment
over time
b) is the same as evolution
c) only took place a long time ago
d) is the only evolutionary process - Correct Answers -a) is the process by which a
population becomes more well adapted to its' environment over time
The available scientific data indicates that life first arose ______________.
a) 500 million years ago
b) about 3.7 billion years ago
c) less than 10,000 years ago
d) about 3.7 million years ago - Correct Answers -b) about 3.7 billion years ago
Amino acids are joined by _________.
a) peptide bonds
b) hydrogen bonds
c) ionic bonds
d) van der Waals interactions - Correct Answers -a) peptide bonds
,An example of catabolism is the _________________.
a) removal of water from a peptide bond
b) breakdown of starch into simple sugars
c) production of testosterone
d) synthesis of DNA from nucleotide bases - Correct Answers -b) breakdown of starch
into simple sugars
If two molecules of glucose (C6H12O6) are joined via condensation synthesis, the
resulting molecule would have a molecular formula of _______________.
a) C12H25O13
b) C12H24O12
c) C12H22O11
d) C6H12O6 - Correct Answers -c) C12H22O11
Sweat plays an important role in thermoregulation due to the high heat of vaporization
of water. That is, it takes energy to not only raise the temperature of water, but
additional energy is required to make the phase change from water to gas. In individuals
with HED (hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia), sweat gland numbers are reduced.
Predictably, what symptoms occur in HED-affected individuals?
a) They would have excessive body odor.
b) They would always be thirsty.
c) They would be prone to heat stroke.
d) There would be no symptoms associated with this condition. - Correct Answers -c)
They would be prone to heat stroke.
Lipids are predominantly hydrophobic because of their ______________.
a) sugar-phosphate backbone
b) nitrogenous bases
c) phosphate groups
d) hydrocarbon chains - Correct Answers -d) hydrocarbon chains
RNA's nitrogenous bases include ____________.
a) guanine and thymine
b) uracil and thymine
c) uracil and guanine
d) none of these choices - Correct Answers -c) uracil and guanine
Ice floats. What would be the consequence to aquatic life if ice sank?
a) There would be no consequence.
b) Aquatic life would suffer in the winter.
c) Aquatic life would suffer in the summer.
d) Aquatic life would benefit in the winter. - Correct Answers -b) Aquatic life would suffer
in the winter.
There are _________ amino acids that are used by organisms for protein synthesis.
a) 10
, b) 20
c) 30
d) 5 - Correct Answers -b) 20
All of the following are functions of proteins EXCEPT _____________.
a) storage of genetic information
b) skin coloration
c) digestion
d) oxygen transport - Correct Answers -a) storage of genetic information
The diversity of carbon compounds is largely due to carbon's ________________.
a) hydrophilicity
b) valence of four
c) large positive charge
d) full outer electron shell - Correct Answers -b) valence of four
Dendrochronology is especially useful when estimating _________.
a) climate conditions on early Earth
b) the time of the last ice age
c) the age of microbes living in the Antarctic ice.
d) relatively recent climate patterns - Correct Answers -d) relatively recent climate
patterns
The available astronomical data indicate that the universe is about ______.
a) 1 billion years old
b) 13 billion years old
c) 4.6 billion years old
d) 30 billion years old - Correct Answers -b) 13 billion years old
Geologists have used multiple types of evidence to infer the existence of Pangaea and
the role of plate tectonics in Earth's history. Which of the following DOES NOT provide
evidence for the movement of continents?
a) Fossils of the same organism, such as the Jurassic reptile Cynognathus, are found in
both South America and Africa.
b) The presence of fossils from tropical plant species in Antarctica.
c) The appearance of the continents today - the coastlines of western Africa and
eastern South America could fit together.
d) The presence of sharks in the coastal waters of Australia and Africa. - Correct
Answers -d) The presence of sharks in the coastal waters of Australia and Africa.
You are an archaeologist who has just found an ancient fire ring containing charcoal
fragments. You send these fragments to the lab for carbon-14 analysis. The report
comes back that these fragments have 1/4 the amount of carbon-14, compared to
modern wood. You use 5730 years as the half-life of carbon-14. You conclude the
charcoal is about _____.
a) 11,460 years old
ANSWERS
Which of the following statements about natural selection is most accurate?
a) Mammals in cold climates need warm fur so they evolve thick coats.
b) Natural selection results in organisms that are perfectly adapted to their environment.
c) Natural selection can only act on populations with genetic variation.
d) Natural selection is a random process. - Correct Answers -c) Natural selection can
only act on populations with genetic variation.
In the case study for Tutorial #1, you learned about the "Evolution Canyons" that exist in
the mountains of Israel. Singaravelan et al (2010) investigated how the melanin content
of the hair of spiny mice (Acomys cahirinus) has evolved in response to alternative
selection pressures inflicted by contrasting colored habitats of Evolution Canyon I (ECI).
The results of this study show that spiny mice that live on the African slope of ECI have
a) higher pheomelanin than eumelanin content in their hair.
b) lower pheomelanin than eumelanin content in their hair.
c) coloration that is the same as spiny mice living on the European slope.
d) darker hair than their counterparts on the European slope. - Correct Answers -a)
higher pheomelanin than eumelanin content in their hair
Natural selection _______________________.
a) is the process by which a population becomes more well adapted to its' environment
over time
b) is the same as evolution
c) only took place a long time ago
d) is the only evolutionary process - Correct Answers -a) is the process by which a
population becomes more well adapted to its' environment over time
The available scientific data indicates that life first arose ______________.
a) 500 million years ago
b) about 3.7 billion years ago
c) less than 10,000 years ago
d) about 3.7 million years ago - Correct Answers -b) about 3.7 billion years ago
Amino acids are joined by _________.
a) peptide bonds
b) hydrogen bonds
c) ionic bonds
d) van der Waals interactions - Correct Answers -a) peptide bonds
,An example of catabolism is the _________________.
a) removal of water from a peptide bond
b) breakdown of starch into simple sugars
c) production of testosterone
d) synthesis of DNA from nucleotide bases - Correct Answers -b) breakdown of starch
into simple sugars
If two molecules of glucose (C6H12O6) are joined via condensation synthesis, the
resulting molecule would have a molecular formula of _______________.
a) C12H25O13
b) C12H24O12
c) C12H22O11
d) C6H12O6 - Correct Answers -c) C12H22O11
Sweat plays an important role in thermoregulation due to the high heat of vaporization
of water. That is, it takes energy to not only raise the temperature of water, but
additional energy is required to make the phase change from water to gas. In individuals
with HED (hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia), sweat gland numbers are reduced.
Predictably, what symptoms occur in HED-affected individuals?
a) They would have excessive body odor.
b) They would always be thirsty.
c) They would be prone to heat stroke.
d) There would be no symptoms associated with this condition. - Correct Answers -c)
They would be prone to heat stroke.
Lipids are predominantly hydrophobic because of their ______________.
a) sugar-phosphate backbone
b) nitrogenous bases
c) phosphate groups
d) hydrocarbon chains - Correct Answers -d) hydrocarbon chains
RNA's nitrogenous bases include ____________.
a) guanine and thymine
b) uracil and thymine
c) uracil and guanine
d) none of these choices - Correct Answers -c) uracil and guanine
Ice floats. What would be the consequence to aquatic life if ice sank?
a) There would be no consequence.
b) Aquatic life would suffer in the winter.
c) Aquatic life would suffer in the summer.
d) Aquatic life would benefit in the winter. - Correct Answers -b) Aquatic life would suffer
in the winter.
There are _________ amino acids that are used by organisms for protein synthesis.
a) 10
, b) 20
c) 30
d) 5 - Correct Answers -b) 20
All of the following are functions of proteins EXCEPT _____________.
a) storage of genetic information
b) skin coloration
c) digestion
d) oxygen transport - Correct Answers -a) storage of genetic information
The diversity of carbon compounds is largely due to carbon's ________________.
a) hydrophilicity
b) valence of four
c) large positive charge
d) full outer electron shell - Correct Answers -b) valence of four
Dendrochronology is especially useful when estimating _________.
a) climate conditions on early Earth
b) the time of the last ice age
c) the age of microbes living in the Antarctic ice.
d) relatively recent climate patterns - Correct Answers -d) relatively recent climate
patterns
The available astronomical data indicate that the universe is about ______.
a) 1 billion years old
b) 13 billion years old
c) 4.6 billion years old
d) 30 billion years old - Correct Answers -b) 13 billion years old
Geologists have used multiple types of evidence to infer the existence of Pangaea and
the role of plate tectonics in Earth's history. Which of the following DOES NOT provide
evidence for the movement of continents?
a) Fossils of the same organism, such as the Jurassic reptile Cynognathus, are found in
both South America and Africa.
b) The presence of fossils from tropical plant species in Antarctica.
c) The appearance of the continents today - the coastlines of western Africa and
eastern South America could fit together.
d) The presence of sharks in the coastal waters of Australia and Africa. - Correct
Answers -d) The presence of sharks in the coastal waters of Australia and Africa.
You are an archaeologist who has just found an ancient fire ring containing charcoal
fragments. You send these fragments to the lab for carbon-14 analysis. The report
comes back that these fragments have 1/4 the amount of carbon-14, compared to
modern wood. You use 5730 years as the half-life of carbon-14. You conclude the
charcoal is about _____.
a) 11,460 years old
