CHAPTERS 1-12 AP BIOLOGY EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The most abundant compound on Earth is _____. - Answer-water
A substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by ordinary chemical
procedures is known as a(n) _____. - Answer-atom
Which of the following statements is true about compounds?
-They contain two or more elements in a fixed ratio to each other.
-They are composed of atoms joined together by covalent bonds.
-They have polarity.
-They may be composed of two or more atoms of the same element. - Answer-They
contain two or more elements in a fixed ratio to each other.
Which of the following would be considered a trace element in the human body?
-Na
-Ti
-Ca
-Fe - Answer-Fe
Table salt is often supplemented with which trace element that halts the condition
shown below?
(PICTURE OF WOMAN WITH LUMP ON THROAT) - Answer-Iodine
Which of the following is the smallest in volume?
-the electron cloud of an oxygen atom
-a proton
-a water molecule
-the nucleus of an oxygen atom - Answer-a proton
Which of the following has the smallest mass?
-neutron
-atom
-electron
-proton - Answer-electron
One dalton is equivalent to _____. - Answer-1 proton or 1 neutron
The mass of a helium atom is how many daltons? - Answer-4
Which of the following subatomic particles has appreciable mass and lacks a charge?
-electron
-neutron
,-proton
-element - Answer-neutron
The number of protons in an uncharged atom _____. - Answer-equals the total number
of electrons in the orbital shells
Consider a hypothetical atom with an atomic number of 4 and a net electronic charge of
+1. How many neutrons does this atom have? - Answer-The answer cannot be
determined from the information.
A nitrogen isotope has an atomic number of 7 and an atomic mass of 15. The
respective numbers of neutrons, protons, and electrons it has are _____. - Answer-8, 7,
7
An element has 8 protons, 9 neutrons, and 8 electrons. Its atomic number and its mass
number, respectively, are _____. - Answer-8 and 17
Two atoms of the same element must have the same number of _____. - Answer-
protons
There is an uncharged atom of oxygen (atomic number = 8). It has _____. - Answer-8
protons and 8 electrons
How do isotopes of an element differ? - Answer-by atomic mass number
The most common form of calcium has 20 protons, 20 neutrons, and 20 electrons.
Which of the following elements would be an isotope of calcium? - Answer-an atom with
20 protons, 21 neutrons, and 20 electrons
Which of the following subatomic particles shown below always has a positive charge?
-electron
-neutron
-atom
-proton - Answer-proton
Changing the number of _____ would change an atom into an atom of a different
element. - Answer-protons in an atom
Phosphorus-32 (radioactive) has _____ than phosphorus-35 (normal). - Answer-three
fewer neutrons
Which of the following is a characteristic that makes radioactive tracers useful in
medical diagnoses and clinical research?
-They can form chemical bonds.
-They can break chemical bonds.
-Living cells distinguish radioactive tracers from nonradioactive isotopes.
,-They are incorporated into reactions in living material. - Answer-They are incorporated
into reactions in living material.
Researchers studying the effects of toxic wastes knew that animals were poisoned by
the heavy metal cadmium, but they wanted to know where cadmium accumulated in the
body. They could find out by _____. - Answer-tracing the movement of cadmium
isotopes in test animals
A new use for radioactive tracers and PET scans is to follow _____. - Answer-the
progression of Alzheimer's disease
Generally, what determines the number and kinds of chemical bonds an element can
make and the chemical reactivity of an element? - Answer-the number of electrons in its
outer shell
What is the molecular commonality that is the basis of life's variety? - Answer-DNA
Actinosphenia elegans is a unicellular, photosynthetic, eukaryotic organism. To which
domain does it belong? - Answer-Eukarya
Typically, in which environment might we find archaea? - Answer-Arctic
(The photo contains unicellular, multicellular, and photosynthetic protists.) - Answer-
Protista
In which kingdom can multicellular photosynthetic organisms be found? - Answer-
Plantae
Protists can be distinguished from the plants and fungi because _____. - Answer-
protists are eukaryotic and include both unicellular organisms and multicellular algae
Which group within the domain Eukarya represents organisms that are generally single-
celled? - Answer-Protista
Eukaryotic organisms that decompose dead organisms and absorb the nutrients are
generally found in which kingdom? - Answer-Fungi
Humans are members of the _____. (domain) - Answer-domain Eukarya
Humans are members of the _____. (kingdom) - Answer-kingdom Animalia
(Diagram with the beetles. 1st picture shows multiple beetles both black and white. 2nd
diagram shows a bird eating the white beetles. 3rd diagram shows the black beetles
that survived). In the figure, what leads directly to the reproductive success of these
beetles? - Answer-The beetles with traits best suited to the environment survive.
, Natural selection tends to act at which of the following levels? - Answer-population
A pesticide kills 95% of a pest population. What will be the result of the continued
application of this pesticide? - Answer-Through time, the pesticide will become less
effective at killing the pest.
Natural selection requires _____. - Answer-both heritable variation and differential
reproductive success
What was Darwin's major contribution to understanding the mechanism of evolution? -
Answer-He proposed the theory of natural selection.
A theory is _____. - Answer-a well-supported concept that has broad explanatory power
Which of the following statements is most clearly inductively derived?
A. If any animals observed require organic molecules as nutrients, then it can be
concluded that all animals require organic molecules as nutrients.
B. If all flying animals are birds, then bats are birds.
C. Because worms lack bones, they are classified as invertebrates.
D. An elephant is warm-blooded because it is a mammal. - Answer-A. If any animals
observed require organic molecules as nutrients, then it can be concluded that all
animals require organic molecules as nutrients.
At which point is an investigator most likely to use deductive reasoning? - Answer-in
establishing a test of a hypothesis
Science itself is capable of _____. - Answer-determining the physical causes for
physical phenomena
Inductive reasoning is based on _____. - Answer-observation
Which of these is a scientific hypothesis?
A. My excessive urination may mean that I have high blood pressure.
B. For the last three months, I have had problems with excessive urination.
C. Researchers have observed that high blood pressure is often associated with
excessive urination.
D. My father's problem with excessive urination was alleviated when he took medicine
for high blood pressure. - Answer-A. My excessive urination may mean that I have high
blood pressure.
Radon is a radioactive gas that seeps into homes from the soil. It is thought to be a
leading cause of lung cancer. A research team investigates this theory. They gather
large amounts of data on basement radon concentrations and lung cancer rates and
conclude that the more radon there is, the more likely lung cancer is. After the study is
published, other researchers criticize it by asserting that the studied neighborhoods with
higher radon concentrations also have a higher percentage of old people and a higher
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
The most abundant compound on Earth is _____. - Answer-water
A substance that cannot be broken down into other substances by ordinary chemical
procedures is known as a(n) _____. - Answer-atom
Which of the following statements is true about compounds?
-They contain two or more elements in a fixed ratio to each other.
-They are composed of atoms joined together by covalent bonds.
-They have polarity.
-They may be composed of two or more atoms of the same element. - Answer-They
contain two or more elements in a fixed ratio to each other.
Which of the following would be considered a trace element in the human body?
-Na
-Ti
-Ca
-Fe - Answer-Fe
Table salt is often supplemented with which trace element that halts the condition
shown below?
(PICTURE OF WOMAN WITH LUMP ON THROAT) - Answer-Iodine
Which of the following is the smallest in volume?
-the electron cloud of an oxygen atom
-a proton
-a water molecule
-the nucleus of an oxygen atom - Answer-a proton
Which of the following has the smallest mass?
-neutron
-atom
-electron
-proton - Answer-electron
One dalton is equivalent to _____. - Answer-1 proton or 1 neutron
The mass of a helium atom is how many daltons? - Answer-4
Which of the following subatomic particles has appreciable mass and lacks a charge?
-electron
-neutron
,-proton
-element - Answer-neutron
The number of protons in an uncharged atom _____. - Answer-equals the total number
of electrons in the orbital shells
Consider a hypothetical atom with an atomic number of 4 and a net electronic charge of
+1. How many neutrons does this atom have? - Answer-The answer cannot be
determined from the information.
A nitrogen isotope has an atomic number of 7 and an atomic mass of 15. The
respective numbers of neutrons, protons, and electrons it has are _____. - Answer-8, 7,
7
An element has 8 protons, 9 neutrons, and 8 electrons. Its atomic number and its mass
number, respectively, are _____. - Answer-8 and 17
Two atoms of the same element must have the same number of _____. - Answer-
protons
There is an uncharged atom of oxygen (atomic number = 8). It has _____. - Answer-8
protons and 8 electrons
How do isotopes of an element differ? - Answer-by atomic mass number
The most common form of calcium has 20 protons, 20 neutrons, and 20 electrons.
Which of the following elements would be an isotope of calcium? - Answer-an atom with
20 protons, 21 neutrons, and 20 electrons
Which of the following subatomic particles shown below always has a positive charge?
-electron
-neutron
-atom
-proton - Answer-proton
Changing the number of _____ would change an atom into an atom of a different
element. - Answer-protons in an atom
Phosphorus-32 (radioactive) has _____ than phosphorus-35 (normal). - Answer-three
fewer neutrons
Which of the following is a characteristic that makes radioactive tracers useful in
medical diagnoses and clinical research?
-They can form chemical bonds.
-They can break chemical bonds.
-Living cells distinguish radioactive tracers from nonradioactive isotopes.
,-They are incorporated into reactions in living material. - Answer-They are incorporated
into reactions in living material.
Researchers studying the effects of toxic wastes knew that animals were poisoned by
the heavy metal cadmium, but they wanted to know where cadmium accumulated in the
body. They could find out by _____. - Answer-tracing the movement of cadmium
isotopes in test animals
A new use for radioactive tracers and PET scans is to follow _____. - Answer-the
progression of Alzheimer's disease
Generally, what determines the number and kinds of chemical bonds an element can
make and the chemical reactivity of an element? - Answer-the number of electrons in its
outer shell
What is the molecular commonality that is the basis of life's variety? - Answer-DNA
Actinosphenia elegans is a unicellular, photosynthetic, eukaryotic organism. To which
domain does it belong? - Answer-Eukarya
Typically, in which environment might we find archaea? - Answer-Arctic
(The photo contains unicellular, multicellular, and photosynthetic protists.) - Answer-
Protista
In which kingdom can multicellular photosynthetic organisms be found? - Answer-
Plantae
Protists can be distinguished from the plants and fungi because _____. - Answer-
protists are eukaryotic and include both unicellular organisms and multicellular algae
Which group within the domain Eukarya represents organisms that are generally single-
celled? - Answer-Protista
Eukaryotic organisms that decompose dead organisms and absorb the nutrients are
generally found in which kingdom? - Answer-Fungi
Humans are members of the _____. (domain) - Answer-domain Eukarya
Humans are members of the _____. (kingdom) - Answer-kingdom Animalia
(Diagram with the beetles. 1st picture shows multiple beetles both black and white. 2nd
diagram shows a bird eating the white beetles. 3rd diagram shows the black beetles
that survived). In the figure, what leads directly to the reproductive success of these
beetles? - Answer-The beetles with traits best suited to the environment survive.
, Natural selection tends to act at which of the following levels? - Answer-population
A pesticide kills 95% of a pest population. What will be the result of the continued
application of this pesticide? - Answer-Through time, the pesticide will become less
effective at killing the pest.
Natural selection requires _____. - Answer-both heritable variation and differential
reproductive success
What was Darwin's major contribution to understanding the mechanism of evolution? -
Answer-He proposed the theory of natural selection.
A theory is _____. - Answer-a well-supported concept that has broad explanatory power
Which of the following statements is most clearly inductively derived?
A. If any animals observed require organic molecules as nutrients, then it can be
concluded that all animals require organic molecules as nutrients.
B. If all flying animals are birds, then bats are birds.
C. Because worms lack bones, they are classified as invertebrates.
D. An elephant is warm-blooded because it is a mammal. - Answer-A. If any animals
observed require organic molecules as nutrients, then it can be concluded that all
animals require organic molecules as nutrients.
At which point is an investigator most likely to use deductive reasoning? - Answer-in
establishing a test of a hypothesis
Science itself is capable of _____. - Answer-determining the physical causes for
physical phenomena
Inductive reasoning is based on _____. - Answer-observation
Which of these is a scientific hypothesis?
A. My excessive urination may mean that I have high blood pressure.
B. For the last three months, I have had problems with excessive urination.
C. Researchers have observed that high blood pressure is often associated with
excessive urination.
D. My father's problem with excessive urination was alleviated when he took medicine
for high blood pressure. - Answer-A. My excessive urination may mean that I have high
blood pressure.
Radon is a radioactive gas that seeps into homes from the soil. It is thought to be a
leading cause of lung cancer. A research team investigates this theory. They gather
large amounts of data on basement radon concentrations and lung cancer rates and
conclude that the more radon there is, the more likely lung cancer is. After the study is
published, other researchers criticize it by asserting that the studied neighborhoods with
higher radon concentrations also have a higher percentage of old people and a higher
