Evolution is an emergent property of what level of biological organization?

populations

Why is a scientific topic best discussed by people of varying points of view, from different subdisciplines, and representing diverse cultures?

Robust and critical discussion between diverse groups improves scientific thinking.

Which of the following best describes a model organism?

It is well studied, it is easy to grow, and results are widely applicable.

The application of scientific knowledge for some specific purpose is known as ________.

technology

Which of these is an example of inductive reasoning?

Hundreds of individuals of a species have been observed and all are photosynthetic; therefore, the species is photosynthetic.

A scientist, who wants to study the effects of nitrogen on wheat plants, sets up an experiment with 4 groups of wheat plants: group A gets 20 pounds per acre, group B gets 40 pounds per acre, group C gets 60 pounds per acre, and group D gets 0 pounds per acre. Which of the following is the control group?

group D

In presenting data that result from an experiment, a group of students show that most of their measurements fall on a straight diagonal line on their graph. However, two of their data points are "outliers" and fall far to one side of the expected relationship. What should they do?

Show all results obtained and then try to explore the reason(s) for these outliers.

The temperature at which an alligator's egg is incubated will determine the sex of the offspring. The dependent and the independent variables in this experiment are ________.

sex of the baby alligator and temperature respectively

Which of the following are qualities of any good scientific hypothesis?

I and II

I. It is testable
II. It is falsifiable

A controlled experiment ________.

includes at least two groups, one of which does not receive the experimental treatment

The best experimental design ________.

includes a large sample size and a control, and alters only one condition between the controls and the experimental condition

Use the following information when answering the following question.

In 1668, Francesco Redi performed a series of experiments on spontaneous generation. He began by putting similar pieces of meat into eight identical jars. Four jars were left open to the air, and four were sealed. He then did the same experiment with one variation: Instead of sealing four of the jars completely, he covered them with gauze (the gauze excluded the flies while allowing the meat to be exposed to air). In both experiments, he monitored the jars and recorded whether or not maggots (young flies) appeared in the meat.

The experiment supports the hypothesis that maggots arise only from eggs laid by adult flies.

Use the following information when answering the following question.

In 1668, Francesco Redi performed a series of experiments on spontaneous generation. He began by putting similar pieces of meat into eight identical jars. Four jars were left open to the air, and four were sealed. He then did the same experiment with one variation: Instead of sealing four of the jars completely, he covered them with gauze (the gauze excluded the flies while allowing the meat to be exposed to air). In both experiments, he monitored the jars and recorded whether or not maggots (young flies) appeared in the meat.

Maggots do not arise spontaneously, but from eggs laid by adult flies.

Agrobacterium infects plants and causes them to form tumors. You determine that tumor formation requires a large amount of the plant's energy for tissue formation. How might this change the number of offspring a plant produces, and what is the most likely explanation for this change?

The number of offspring should decrease because the plant will divert energy from reproduction to tumor formation.

Agrobacterium infects plants and causes them to form tumors. You are asked to determine how long a plant must be exposed to these bacteria to become infected. Which of the following experiments will provide the best data to address that question?

Measure the number of tumors formed on plants, which are exposed to Agrobacterium for different lengths of time.

A friend of yours calls to say that his car would not start this morning. He asks for your help. You say that you think the battery must be dead. If so, then jump-starting the car from a good battery will solve the problem. In doing so, you are ________.

stating a hypothesis and using that hypothesis to make a testable prediction

How does a scientific theory differ from a scientific hypothesis?

Theories are usually an explanation for a more general phenomenon; hypotheses typically address more specific issues.

The following experiment is used for the following question.

A researcher discovered a species of moth that lays its eggs on oak trees. Eggs are laid at two distinct times of the year: early in spring when the oak trees are flowering and in midsummer when flowering is past. Caterpillars from eggs that hatch in spring feed on oak flowers and look like oak flowers, but caterpillars that hatch in summer feed on oak leaves and look like oak twigs.

How does the same population of moths produce such different-looking caterpillars on the same trees? To answer this question, the biologist caught many female moths from the same population and collected their eggs. He put at least one egg from each female into eight identical cups. The eggs hatched, and at least two larvae from each female were maintained in one of the four temperature and light conditions listed below.

In each of the four environments, one of the caterpillars was fed oak flowers, the other oak leaves. Thus, there were a total of eight treatment groups (4 environments × 2 diets).

Looking like their food source lets the caterpillars blend into their surroundings, reducing predation.

The following experiment is used for the following question.

A researcher discovered a species of moth that lays its eggs on oak trees. Eggs are laid at two distinct times of the year: early in spring when the oak trees are flowering and in midsummer when flowering is past. Caterpillars from eggs that hatch in spring feed on oak flowers and look like oak flowers, but caterpillars that hatch in summer feed on oak leaves and look like oak twigs.

How does the same population of moths produce such different-looking caterpillars on the same trees? To answer this question, the biologist caught many female moths from the same population and collected their eggs. He put at least one egg from each female into eight identical cups. The eggs hatched, and at least two larvae from each female were maintained in one of the four temperature and light conditions listed below.

In each of the four environments, one of the caterpillars was fed oak flowers, the other oak leaves. Thus, there were a total of eight treatment groups (4 environments × 2 diets).

Recall that eggs from the same female were exposed to each of the eight treatments used. This aspect of the experimental design tested which of the following hypotheses?

The differences are genetic. A female will either produce all flowerlike caterpillars or all twig-like caterpillars.

The following experiment is used for the following question.

A researcher discovered a species of moth that lays its eggs on oak trees. Eggs are laid at two distinct times of the year: early in spring when the oak trees are flowering and in midsummer when flowering is past. Caterpillars from eggs that hatch in spring feed on oak flowers and look like oak flowers, but caterpillars that hatch in summer feed on oak leaves and look like oak twigs.

How does the same population of moths produce such different-looking caterpillars on the same trees? To answer this question, the biologist caught many female moths from the same population and collected their eggs. He put at least one egg from each female into eight identical cups. The eggs hatched, and at least two larvae from each female were maintained in one of the four temperature and light conditions listed below.

In each of the four environments, one of the caterpillars was fed oak flowers, the other oak leaves. Thus, there were a total of eight treatment groups (4 environments × 2 diets).

In every case, caterpillars that feed on oak flowers look like oak flowers. In every case, caterpillars that were raised on oak leaves looked like twigs. These results support which of the following hypotheses?

Differences in diet trigger the development of different types of caterpillars.

The following experiment is used for the following question.

A researcher discovered a species of moth that lays its eggs on oak trees. Eggs are laid at two distinct times of the year: early in spring when the oak trees are flowering and in midsummer when flowering is past. Caterpillars from eggs that hatch in spring feed on oak flowers and look like oak flowers, but caterpillars that hatch in summer feed on oak leaves and look like oak twigs.

How does the same population of moths produce such different-looking caterpillars on the same trees? To answer this question, the biologist caught many female moths from the same population and collected their eggs. He put at least one egg from each female into eight identical cups. The eggs hatched, and at least two larvae from each female were maintained in one of the four temperature and light conditions listed below.

In each of the four environments, one of the caterpillars was fed oak flowers, the other oak leaves. Thus, there were a total of eight treatment groups (4 environments × 2 diets).

Which one of the following is not a plausible hypothesis that can be tested in this experiment?

Differences in air pressure, due to differences in elevation, trigger the development of different types of caterpillars.

Which of the following questions is considered a thought-provoking scientific query?

How many tigers are left in India?

Following a scientific method, which of the following is the correct order of steps?

Observation → Hypothesis → Experiment → Analysis → Conclusion → Communicate results

Cotton-topped tamarins are small primates with tufts of long white hair on their heads. While studying these creatures, you notice that males with longer hair get more opportunities to mate and father more offspring. To test the hypothesis that having longer hair is adaptive in these males, you should ________.

determine if hair length is heritable

The evolution of one species into two or more species as a result of different populations becoming reproductively isolated from each other is best termed as ________.

adaptive radiation

Which of the following is not one of Charles Darwin's observations?

A population avoids competition by producing only as many offspring as they can successfully reproduce on their own.

Which of the following is true of natural selection?

It requires genetic variation, results in descent with modification, and involves differential reproductive success.

You are suffering from Streptococcus throat infection. You share the following with the bacteria that is responsible for your condition.

You both are made up of cells.

Use the following figure to answer the question.

The phylogenetic tree ________.

includes every single life form on this earth

Which branch of biology is concerned with the naming and classifying of organisms?

taxonomy

Plants convert ________.

sunlight to chemical energy.

Which of the following statements is true?

All forms of life employ the same genetic code

The process by which the information in a gene directs the synthesis of a protein is called ________.

gene expression

As letters are to English language, ________ is/are to genetic information.

nucleotides

Characters are transmitted from parents to offspring. ________ are the units of inheritance.

Genes

When your body temperature rises on a hot day, the neural and hormonal mechanisms activate sweating. Evaporation of sweat leads to cooling of the body surface. This is an example of ________.

negative feedback regulation

Which of the following statements is true regarding the complexity of biological systems?

Knowing the function of a component of a living system can provide insights into the structure and organization of the living system.

A localized group of organisms that belong to the same species is called a ________.

population

To understand the chemical basis of inheritance, we must understand the molecular structure of DNA. This is an example of the application of which concept to the study of biology?

reductionism

Which of the following types of cells utilize deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) as their genetic material but do not have their DNA encased within a nuclear envelope?

archaean

In comparison to eukaryotes, prokaryotes ________.

are smaller

Cells are ________.

characteristic of prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms