Biological Science, 8th Edition
Expanded Original Test Bank — Chapters 1–
10
250 Questions
These questions are original study questions aligned to the subject
matter of Biological Science, 8th ed. They are not reproduced from
Pearson's proprietary test bank.
Chapter 1 — Biology: The Study
of Life
Questions
1. Which characteristic is shared by all organisms?
A. Ability to photosynthesize
B. Ability to maintain organized internal conditions
C. Ability to move from place to place
D. Ability to reproduce sexually
Answer: B
2. The term homeostasis refers to:
A. Evolution of new species
B. Maintenance of relatively stable internal conditions
C. Movement of organisms between habitats
D. Production of offspring
Answer: B
3. Which level of biological organization is directly above the level of an
individual organism?
A. Cell
B. Population
C. Organelle
D. Molecule
Answer: B
,4. A hypothesis is scientifically useful when it:
A. Cannot be tested
B. Is consistent with personal beliefs
C. Makes testable predictions
D. Has already been proven absolutely
Answer: C
5. A scientist observes that plants near a window grow toward the light.
What would be the most appropriate next step?
A. Immediately conclude that light always increases plant growth
B. Develop a testable hypothesis
C. Discard the observation
D. Publish the conclusion without experimentation
Answer: B
6. Which statement best distinguishes a hypothesis from a scientific
theory?
A. A theory is always less supported than a hypothesis.
B. A hypothesis is testable, whereas a theory integrates substantial
evidence and explanations.
C. A theory cannot be tested.
D. Hypotheses are facts whereas theories are guesses.
Answer: B
7. In an experiment testing whether fertilizer affects plant growth, the
amount of fertilizer is the:
A. Dependent variable
B. Independent variable
C. Control group
D. Experimental error
Answer: B
8. Plant height after four weeks in the experiment above would be the:
A. Independent variable
B. Dependent variable
C. Control
D. Hypothesis
Answer: B
,9. Why is a control group useful?
A. It guarantees the hypothesis is correct.
B. It provides a comparison for evaluating the experimental treatment.
C. It eliminates biological variation.
D. It prevents researchers from collecting data.
Answer: B
10. A researcher repeats an experiment several times and obtains similar
results. This primarily increases:
A. Reproducibility
B. Mutation
C. Genetic drift
D. Evolutionary fitness
Answer: A
11. Which statement represents an observation rather than a hypothesis?
A. Plants grow faster because of fertilizer.
B. Fertilizer should increase plant height.
C. Plants treated with fertilizer were 5 cm taller after four weeks.
D. Nitrogen is responsible for the difference.
Answer: C
12. A correlation between two variables means:
A. One variable necessarily causes the other.
B. The variables are associated, but causation is not automatically
established.
C. The variables are identical.
D. The experiment must be invalid.
Answer: B
13. Evolution is important to biology because it explains:
A. Only the origin of humans
B. Both biological diversity and similarities among organisms
C. Only cellular respiration
D. Only molecular structure
Answer: B
14. Natural selection acts directly on:
, A. Phenotypic variation
B. DNA molecules outside organisms
C. Ecosystems
D. Species names
Answer: A
15. Which statement about scientific explanations is most accurate?
A. Scientific explanations are never revised.
B. Scientific explanations can be modified when new evidence becomes
available.
C. Scientific explanations depend primarily on authority.
D. Scientific explanations cannot be tested.
Answer: B
16. If an experiment produces results opposite to a prediction, the
scientist should:
A. Alter the data
B. Ignore the result
C. Reevaluate the hypothesis or experimental assumptions
D. Automatically declare the experiment useless
Answer: C
17. Which is an example of a biological emergent property?
A. A carbon atom forming a covalent bond
B. The ability of a population to evolve through changes in allele
frequencies
C. A nucleotide containing phosphorus
D. A single amino acid
Answer: B
18. Why are organisms considered systems?
A. They contain interacting components whose activities influence one
another.
B. They are completely independent of their environment.
C. Their components never interact.
D. They contain only one type of molecule.
Answer: A
19. Which approach would provide the strongest evidence that a drug
reduces bacterial growth?
Expanded Original Test Bank — Chapters 1–
10
250 Questions
These questions are original study questions aligned to the subject
matter of Biological Science, 8th ed. They are not reproduced from
Pearson's proprietary test bank.
Chapter 1 — Biology: The Study
of Life
Questions
1. Which characteristic is shared by all organisms?
A. Ability to photosynthesize
B. Ability to maintain organized internal conditions
C. Ability to move from place to place
D. Ability to reproduce sexually
Answer: B
2. The term homeostasis refers to:
A. Evolution of new species
B. Maintenance of relatively stable internal conditions
C. Movement of organisms between habitats
D. Production of offspring
Answer: B
3. Which level of biological organization is directly above the level of an
individual organism?
A. Cell
B. Population
C. Organelle
D. Molecule
Answer: B
,4. A hypothesis is scientifically useful when it:
A. Cannot be tested
B. Is consistent with personal beliefs
C. Makes testable predictions
D. Has already been proven absolutely
Answer: C
5. A scientist observes that plants near a window grow toward the light.
What would be the most appropriate next step?
A. Immediately conclude that light always increases plant growth
B. Develop a testable hypothesis
C. Discard the observation
D. Publish the conclusion without experimentation
Answer: B
6. Which statement best distinguishes a hypothesis from a scientific
theory?
A. A theory is always less supported than a hypothesis.
B. A hypothesis is testable, whereas a theory integrates substantial
evidence and explanations.
C. A theory cannot be tested.
D. Hypotheses are facts whereas theories are guesses.
Answer: B
7. In an experiment testing whether fertilizer affects plant growth, the
amount of fertilizer is the:
A. Dependent variable
B. Independent variable
C. Control group
D. Experimental error
Answer: B
8. Plant height after four weeks in the experiment above would be the:
A. Independent variable
B. Dependent variable
C. Control
D. Hypothesis
Answer: B
,9. Why is a control group useful?
A. It guarantees the hypothesis is correct.
B. It provides a comparison for evaluating the experimental treatment.
C. It eliminates biological variation.
D. It prevents researchers from collecting data.
Answer: B
10. A researcher repeats an experiment several times and obtains similar
results. This primarily increases:
A. Reproducibility
B. Mutation
C. Genetic drift
D. Evolutionary fitness
Answer: A
11. Which statement represents an observation rather than a hypothesis?
A. Plants grow faster because of fertilizer.
B. Fertilizer should increase plant height.
C. Plants treated with fertilizer were 5 cm taller after four weeks.
D. Nitrogen is responsible for the difference.
Answer: C
12. A correlation between two variables means:
A. One variable necessarily causes the other.
B. The variables are associated, but causation is not automatically
established.
C. The variables are identical.
D. The experiment must be invalid.
Answer: B
13. Evolution is important to biology because it explains:
A. Only the origin of humans
B. Both biological diversity and similarities among organisms
C. Only cellular respiration
D. Only molecular structure
Answer: B
14. Natural selection acts directly on:
, A. Phenotypic variation
B. DNA molecules outside organisms
C. Ecosystems
D. Species names
Answer: A
15. Which statement about scientific explanations is most accurate?
A. Scientific explanations are never revised.
B. Scientific explanations can be modified when new evidence becomes
available.
C. Scientific explanations depend primarily on authority.
D. Scientific explanations cannot be tested.
Answer: B
16. If an experiment produces results opposite to a prediction, the
scientist should:
A. Alter the data
B. Ignore the result
C. Reevaluate the hypothesis or experimental assumptions
D. Automatically declare the experiment useless
Answer: C
17. Which is an example of a biological emergent property?
A. A carbon atom forming a covalent bond
B. The ability of a population to evolve through changes in allele
frequencies
C. A nucleotide containing phosphorus
D. A single amino acid
Answer: B
18. Why are organisms considered systems?
A. They contain interacting components whose activities influence one
another.
B. They are completely independent of their environment.
C. Their components never interact.
D. They contain only one type of molecule.
Answer: A
19. Which approach would provide the strongest evidence that a drug
reduces bacterial growth?
