UKY BIO 148 EXAM 1 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS 2026
You are studying a sample of water from another planet to determine if it contains living
organisms. Which of the following results would cause you to say that it DOES NOT
contain life? - ANSWERSIt does not contain cells.
Which of the following states an observation that argues against what Cell Theory tells
us about cells? - ANSWERSA bacterial cell originates in a previously sterile (i.e. devoid
of any living organism) environment.
Which of the following facts about viruses makes it clear that they CANNOT be
classified as living organisms? - ANSWERSViruses do not contain ribosomes
Which of the following organisms CANNOT reproduce? - ANSWERSAll of the
organisms listed can reproduce
A sample collected from Mars is being examined for evidence of life. The scientists
examining it find somethings that look like cells. Each unit is surrounded by a cell
membrane and contains ribosomes. But they do not contain DNA or a nucleus. This
suggests that according to the definition of life on Earth, ... - ANSWERSthese things are
NOT living organisms because they do not have DNA.
The graph shows giraffe heights on the horizontal axis. Which of the following can we
directly infer from the information in this graph? - ANSWERSThere is variation in the
trait being measured in this population of giraffes
Which of the following is an example of evolution? - ANSWERSA population of fish in a
lake has smaller body size on average compared to five years ago because fishermen
have been hunting and killing the larger fish. Body size is dependent on DNA in this
population of fish.
Natural selection acts on _________, alters __________, and is ___________. -
ANSWERSindividuals; populations; a mechanism of evolution
You visit a distant planet and find some small furry things called tribbles. You take them
aboard your space ship and they reproduce so much that they start to destroy the space
ship. Your ship biologist develops a virus to kill the tribbles, and it succeeds in killing
99% of them. The offspring of the survivors are all resistant to the virus. Based on this, it
is correct to state that resistance to the virus is ________ that ______ in environments
that contain the virus compared with individuals who are not resistant. - ANSWERSa
heritable trait; increases fitness
, In Asian elephants, some males have tusks and some do not. This difference is due to
their genetic makeup. Tusked males generally win competitions for females and as a
result, they father more offspring than non-tusked males do. But, because of hunting of
elephants for tusks, the frequency of non-tusked males has been increasing in recent
years in several populations of Asian elephants. In male Asian elephants ... -
ANSWERShaving tusks is an adaptation in some environments.
Which of the following is TRUE about all living things? - ANSWERSIf it can replicate its
genetic material using its own mechanisms, it is likely to be alive.
If it has ______ in it, it is most probably alive! - ANSWERScells and DNA
All living things have DNA in their cells, but not all living things have ribosomes. -
ANSWERSfalse
Which of the following does NOT show evidence of being a living organism? -
ANSWERSA kozon appears to grow to twice its size over a period of 1 week
Refer to the description of moths in the image below. Based on this information, which
of the following would be predicted if all predators of the moths died and the trees
became covered in lichens (which makes the bark lighter in color)? - ANSWERSNo
change in moth population
One individual in a population fathers more offspring than all the other males in that
population. Which statement best describes this situation? - ANSWERSthat male has a
greater fitness than the other males
Which of the following has the highest fitness? - ANSWERSA tiger that produces 10
fertile offspring in her life time before getting killed by a hunter
According to the theory of natural selection, what is likely to happen to a population
when a change occurs in its environment (for example, the amount of rainfall decreases
or the temperature increases)? - ANSWERSThe individuals that have traits better suited
to the changed environment would be more likely to survive and reproduce than those
with less suitable traits.
The color of moths in a population changed over time, but individual moths did NOT
change within their lifetime. The mechanism for this was that individual moths were
favored in the given environment. This tells us that evolutionary change occurs
in_______________, while natural selection acts on __________. -
ANSWERSpopulations, individuals
The graph above shows body sizes in a population of birds. Which of the following can
be directly inferred from the data in the graph? - ANSWERSBody size varies, is
heritable, and is subject to natural selection in this population.
AND ANSWERS 2026
You are studying a sample of water from another planet to determine if it contains living
organisms. Which of the following results would cause you to say that it DOES NOT
contain life? - ANSWERSIt does not contain cells.
Which of the following states an observation that argues against what Cell Theory tells
us about cells? - ANSWERSA bacterial cell originates in a previously sterile (i.e. devoid
of any living organism) environment.
Which of the following facts about viruses makes it clear that they CANNOT be
classified as living organisms? - ANSWERSViruses do not contain ribosomes
Which of the following organisms CANNOT reproduce? - ANSWERSAll of the
organisms listed can reproduce
A sample collected from Mars is being examined for evidence of life. The scientists
examining it find somethings that look like cells. Each unit is surrounded by a cell
membrane and contains ribosomes. But they do not contain DNA or a nucleus. This
suggests that according to the definition of life on Earth, ... - ANSWERSthese things are
NOT living organisms because they do not have DNA.
The graph shows giraffe heights on the horizontal axis. Which of the following can we
directly infer from the information in this graph? - ANSWERSThere is variation in the
trait being measured in this population of giraffes
Which of the following is an example of evolution? - ANSWERSA population of fish in a
lake has smaller body size on average compared to five years ago because fishermen
have been hunting and killing the larger fish. Body size is dependent on DNA in this
population of fish.
Natural selection acts on _________, alters __________, and is ___________. -
ANSWERSindividuals; populations; a mechanism of evolution
You visit a distant planet and find some small furry things called tribbles. You take them
aboard your space ship and they reproduce so much that they start to destroy the space
ship. Your ship biologist develops a virus to kill the tribbles, and it succeeds in killing
99% of them. The offspring of the survivors are all resistant to the virus. Based on this, it
is correct to state that resistance to the virus is ________ that ______ in environments
that contain the virus compared with individuals who are not resistant. - ANSWERSa
heritable trait; increases fitness
, In Asian elephants, some males have tusks and some do not. This difference is due to
their genetic makeup. Tusked males generally win competitions for females and as a
result, they father more offspring than non-tusked males do. But, because of hunting of
elephants for tusks, the frequency of non-tusked males has been increasing in recent
years in several populations of Asian elephants. In male Asian elephants ... -
ANSWERShaving tusks is an adaptation in some environments.
Which of the following is TRUE about all living things? - ANSWERSIf it can replicate its
genetic material using its own mechanisms, it is likely to be alive.
If it has ______ in it, it is most probably alive! - ANSWERScells and DNA
All living things have DNA in their cells, but not all living things have ribosomes. -
ANSWERSfalse
Which of the following does NOT show evidence of being a living organism? -
ANSWERSA kozon appears to grow to twice its size over a period of 1 week
Refer to the description of moths in the image below. Based on this information, which
of the following would be predicted if all predators of the moths died and the trees
became covered in lichens (which makes the bark lighter in color)? - ANSWERSNo
change in moth population
One individual in a population fathers more offspring than all the other males in that
population. Which statement best describes this situation? - ANSWERSthat male has a
greater fitness than the other males
Which of the following has the highest fitness? - ANSWERSA tiger that produces 10
fertile offspring in her life time before getting killed by a hunter
According to the theory of natural selection, what is likely to happen to a population
when a change occurs in its environment (for example, the amount of rainfall decreases
or the temperature increases)? - ANSWERSThe individuals that have traits better suited
to the changed environment would be more likely to survive and reproduce than those
with less suitable traits.
The color of moths in a population changed over time, but individual moths did NOT
change within their lifetime. The mechanism for this was that individual moths were
favored in the given environment. This tells us that evolutionary change occurs
in_______________, while natural selection acts on __________. -
ANSWERSpopulations, individuals
The graph above shows body sizes in a population of birds. Which of the following can
be directly inferred from the data in the graph? - ANSWERSBody size varies, is
heritable, and is subject to natural selection in this population.
