BSC exam 1 Flashcards

Biological Fitness is determined by:

1. determining which individuals are strongest.
2. counting the number of offspring produced by different individuals in a population.
3. determining which phenotype if most common in a population.
4. determining how long different organisms can survive.

Charles Darwin was the first to argue "survival of the fittest"

1. True
2. False

DNA sequences in many human genes are very similar to the sequences of corresponding genes in chimpanzees. The most likely explanation for this result is that

1. humans and chimpanzees are not closely related.
2. convergent evolution led to DNA similarities.
3. humans evolved from chimpanzees.
4. humans and chimpanzees share a recent common ancestor.

Match the philosopher: When individuals change in response to challenges in their environment, their altered traits are passed to offspring

1. Plato
2. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
3. Charles Darwin.
4. Aristotle

Match the philosopher: Species are created independently and do not change over time, but do exist in a "great chain of being."

1. Plato
2. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
3. Charles Darwin.
4. Aristotle

Match the philosopher: The fundamental unit of the population is the population, not the individual

1. Plato
2. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
3. Charles Darwin.
4. Aristotle

Match the philosopher: Variations are unimportant in organisms, and species are unchanging

1. Plato
2. Jean Baptiste de Lamarck
3. Charles Darwin.
4. Aristotle

The Irish "elk" describe by Georges Cuvier suggested to Darwin that ____.

1. the great flood or some other catastrophe killed many once living organisms.
2. organisms could not have originated by special creation.
3. the Earth is old enough for evolution to have occurred.
4. organisms could go extinct.

Whales have reduced hind limbs that no longer serve any function. These are known as _____ traits.

1. Homologous
2. Vestigial
3. Inherited
4. Adaptive

Which of the following observations helped Darwin shape his concept of descent with modification?

1. South American plants in temperate latitudes are more similar to South American plants in tropical latitudes than they are to European plants in temperate latitudes.
2. Asteroids cause mass extinctions.
3. Fewer species live on islands than on the nearest continents.
4. Species diversity declines further from the equator.

Why are homologous traits similar?

1. They are derived from different ancestors
2. They result from convergent evolution.
3. Their appearance is similar.
4. They derived from a common ancestor.

Put these events of allopatric speciation in their most likely order:

• Genetic drift
• Geographic Isolation
• Speciation

1. genetic drift > geographic isolation> speciation

2. geographic isolation> genetic drift > speciation

3. speciation> geographic isolation> genetic drift

4. speciation> genetic drift> geographic isolation

Which of the following does not tend to promote speciation?

1. gene flow
2. founder effect
3. polyploidy
4. disruptive selection

According to the Hardy-Weinberg Principle, if a population has a frequency of allele A₁ of 0.7, the frequency of allele A₂ is

1. .3
2. .7
3. .14
4. .8

Gene _____ is the movement of alleles from one population to another.

1. flow
2. reduction
3. split
4. evolution

Genetic drift is more pronounced in ______ populations.

1. small
2. new
3. old
4. large

In a gene pool, there is a frequency of allele A₁ of 0.4. The expected genotypic frequency of the heterozygotes in the next generation would be _________ if the assumption of the Hardy-Weinberg principle were met.

1. .22
2. .48
3. .15
4. .3

No two people are genetically identical (except identical twins). The main source of genetic variation among human individuals is

1. new mutations that occurred in the preceding generation.
2. environmental effects.
3. geographic variation within the population.
4. the shuffling of alleles during sexual reproduction.

sparrows with average sized wings in florida survive hurricanes better than those with shorter or longer wings. This is an example of:

1. disruptive selection.
2. stabilizing selection.
3. the bottleneck effect.
4. neutral variation.

_________selection occurs when certain traits help males succeed in contests over mates or when certain traits are attractive to females.

1. Directional
2. Functional
3. Sexual
4. Advantageous

1. Tree 2
2. Tree 1
3. Both Trees
4. Neither trees

How do the fauna documented in doushantuo, ediacaran, and burgess shale fossils compare?

1. Ediacaran fauna include the first evidence of animals on Earth.
2. Doushantuo fauna are intermediate in size and morphological complexity.
3. They all include plants.
4. Burgess Shale fauna are the largest and most morphologically complex.

Which is the strong evidence supporting the impact hypothesis for the extinction of the dinosaurs?

1. high quantities of iridium in rocks that formed around 65 million years ago
2. a dramatic drop in sea level around 251 million years ago
3. extinction of 60-80 percent of all multicellular species on Earth
4. the adaptive radiation of mammals

Which likely trigger of the adaptive radiation known as the cambrian explosion is the best example of ecological opportunity?

1. emergence of land plants
2. increased oxygen levels in the atmosphere
3. emergence of eukaryotic cells
4. insect pollination

Which of the following statements best describes the rationale for applying the principle of parsimony in constructing phylogenetic trees?

1. Similarity due to common ancestry should be more common than similarity due to convergent evolution.
2. Parsimony differentiates between homologies and homoplasies.
3. The more synapomorphic two organisms are the further related they are.
4. Parsimony allows the researcher to "root" the tree.

Which of the following structures are homologous?

1. a maple leaf and a maple root
2. a maple leaf and a fern frond
3. a maple leaf and an oak leaf
4. a maple leaf and an algal blade

Which statement about fossilization is correct?

1. Organisms that live aboveground are more likely to fossilize than subterranean organisms.
2. Rare species leave a poor fossil record.
3. Only hard parts of organisms can form fossils.
4. There are more fossils of recent organisms than older ones because biodiversity has increased steadily through time.

You have obtained the following data on genetic similarity among five species. The higher the number, the closer the relationship between the two species (so a species is related to itself 100%). What approach can you take to construct a phylogeny using these data?

1. You can employ the cladistics approach to cluster similar species and infer their branching sequences.
2. You can employ the phenetic approach to cluster similar species and infer their branching sequences.
3. You can employ the platonic approach to cluster similar species and infer their branching sequences.
4. You can employ the adaptive approach to cluster similar species and infer their branching sequences.

Put the following events of earth's history in their proper order:

A. Origin of the earth

B. Origin of life

C. Plants emerge on land

D. Photosynthetic bacteria

E. Bilateral symmetry in animals

F. First flowering plants

G. Radial symmetry in animals

H. Liquid water forms on the surface of earth.

I. Multicellularity

J. Eukaryotic organisms

1. A, B, D, E, F, J, I, C, G, H
2. A, H, B, D, J, I, G, E, C, F
3. A, C, D, F, G, H, I, J, B, E
4. A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J

According to the latest hypothesis, why do evergreens and not deciduous trees predominate cold environments?

1. Evergreens begin photosynthesizing in early spring, even before the snow melts; whereas deciduous trees have to wait for the snow to melt to produce their leaves.
2. Evergreens photosynthesize all year round; whereas deciduous trees can only photosynthesize in the summer.
3. Evergreens do not shed their leaves and thus do not need as many soil nutrients.
4. Evergreens don't photosynthesize, so they don't need the sun.

Which biome has teh widest range of variablility in precipitation?

1. Tiaga
2. Tropical Rainforest
3. Temperate grassland
4. Desert

Biologists study how nutrients and energy move among organisms and through water, soil, and air. Which level of ecological study is this?

1. ecosystem ecology
2. community ecology
3. population ecology
4. organismal ecology

If the Earth's axis were at 90° to the Sun, what would be different?

1. There would be no seasons.
2. There would be extended summers.
3. There would be extended winters.
4. There would be no tropical forests.

What terrestrial biome has more biomass below ground than above ground?

1. temperate grassland
2. subtropical desert
3. temperate forests
4. tropical rainforests

Which aspects of a regions climate have the most direct impact on plant communities?

1. soil composition and temperature
2. sunlight and precipitation
3. sunlight and soil composition
4. temperature and precipitation

Which biome has the most natural fires?

1. deserts
2. grasslands
3. tundra
4. boreal forests

Which biome is characterized by the presence of permafrost?

1. taiga
2. grasslands
3. tundra
4. subtropical desert

Which freshwater environment is characterized by low pH, lack of nitrogen, and anoxic conditions, making it relative unproductive?

1. bogs
2. streams
3. marshes
4. swamps

Which of the following statements about hadley cells is true?

1. As warm air rises, air at the top of the atmosphere is pushed poleward and cools.
2. The moisture in cool air condenses into clouds and precipitates because cool air holds more moisture than warm air.
3. Warm air expands and rises from the surface of the atmosphere around the poles.
4. Warm air begins to cool as it starts to sink at about 30° North and South latitude, causing subtropical deserts.

Currently, how large is the world wide population of humans relative to Earth's carrying capacity for humans?

1. below the carrying capacity
2. there is insufficient information to answer this question.
3. above the carrying capacity
4. at the carrying capacity

Which of the following statements about a population experiencing logistic growth is true?

1. If the K and N values are far apart, the population will grow very slowly.
2. If K is greater than N, the population will grow.
3. If N is less than K , the population will not grow.
4. If the K and N values are similar, the amount of available resources is high.

Why are human populations projected to continue rapid growth even though fertility rates are declining?

1. The current growth rate is at an all-time high and increasing.
2. Survivorship in developing countries is increasing rapidly.
3. Infant mortality is rapidly declining in developed countries.
4. The average number of children each woman has during her lifetime is increasing worldwide.

Why can't a female lizard have both high fucundity and high survival?

1. The more energy the female devotes to offspring, the less that can be devoted to her survival.
2. Competition for resources prevents this.
3. Female lizards are able to produce only one set of offspring.
4. The females are already maximizing the number of eggs she lays and if she attempts to nest later in the season there will not be enough food for her young.

Why does the age structure of human populations differ in the developed vs developing nations?

1. In developing countries, the fertility rate and survivorship have been increasing dramatically. While in developed countries, fertility rates and survivorship have been relatively stable.
2. In developing countries, fertility rates and survivorship have been increasing dramatically. While in developed countries, the fertility rate and survivorship have been decreasing dramatically.
3. In developing countries, fertility rates and survivorship have been decreasing dramatically. While in developed countries, the fertility rate and survivorship have been increasing dramatically.
4. n developing countries, fertility rates and survivorship have been relatively stable. While in developed countries, the fertility rate and survivorship have been decreasing dramatically.

According to island biogeography theory, what is the relationship between colonizing success and the number of species already established on an island?

1. There is no relationship between the number of established species on an island and colonizing success.
2. As the number of established species on an island decreases, colonizing success also decreases.
3. As the number of established species on an island increases, colonizing success also increases.
4. As the number of established species on an island increases, colonizing success also decreases.

According to island biogeography, what is the relationship between an island's distance from the mainland and the number of species present on the island?

1. The farther an island is from the mainland, the fewer the number of species found on the island.
2. The closer an island is to the mainland, the fewer the number of species found on the island.
3. The farther an island is from the mainland, the larger the number of species found on the island.
4. There is no relationship between the distance from the mainland and the number of species found on an island.

How might a mutualistic relationship between species evolve into a parasitic one?

1. when both species incur more cost than benefit
2. when one of the species starts receiving a greater benefit
3. when both species gain a benefit
4. when one of the species stops receiving a benefit and also begins to incur a cost

Humans and sharks both eat fish. Which of these terms applies to the relationship between the human and the shark?

1. parasitism
2. mutualism
3. competition
4. predation

Pioneering plant species are successful in newly disturbed environments because...

A. They are adapted for long-distance dispersal.

B. The are adapted for growth in poor soil conditions.

C. They are adapted for longevity.

D. They grow very rapidly.

E. They are strong competitors.

1. A and B only
2. A, B, C, and D
3. B and E
4. A, B, and D