Bio 181 Final Exam Questions With
Complete Solutions
What characteristic is shared among all life?
Select one:
a. use of oxygen
b. metabolism
c. growth
d. evolution
e. reproduction - Correct answerB
Which organism would require a high metabolism?
Select one:
a. An organism with no ability to defend itself from predators
b. An organism that absorbs nutrients from the external environment
c. An organism with fast, large growth
d. An organism with few offspring - Correct answerC
Which statement is falsifiable?
Select one:
a. Tick species that transmit human disease should be eliminated.
b. Ticks cause 10% of human infectious diseases.
c. Tick-born illnesses are twice as painful as other infectious disease.
d. Ticks are intelligent. - Correct answerB
There's a phrase, "freshman fifteen," which refers to students gaining fifteen pounds
during their freshman year of college. How would you check this expression's accuracy
using empirical evidence?
Select one:
a. ask students at the end of their freshman year if they've gained weight
b. read primary literature on weight gain in college freshman
c. weigh students in August and May of their freshman year
d. survey students for the belief in the expression's accuracy - Correct answerC
What is the biggest problem with the following hypothesis:
If dogs eat vegetables, then they will live longer.
,Select one:
a. The treatment is vague.
b. The effect is not measurable.
c. There are too many treatments.
d. The effect is not important. - Correct answerA
Why is Junk Science so misleading?
Select one:
a. Conclusions are made from supportive data only.
b. Data are made up.
c. Data are not empirical.
d. Conclusions are not falsifiable. - Correct answerA
Deductive reasoning uses...
Select one:
a. general rules and facts to predict a specific conclusion
b. a few facts and a few possible conclusions to determine which conclusion is most
likely
c. many facts to lead to a probable general conclusion - Correct answerA
You need to find a duplicate of your door key to give a neighbor so she can take care of
your cat while you're away. You find a dozen spare keys in a junk drawer. Rather than
trying all 12 keys in the lock, you use reasoning. You note the brand and metal of the
lock, and select the key that has the same brand and metal to try since it's the most
likely match. What type of reasoning are you using?
Select one:
a. inductive
b. deductive
c. abductive - Correct answerC
When writing the introduction to a scientific journal article, or a lab report, the author
references the work of others in the field to develop background and a hypothesis. What
Way of Knowing is the writer using?
Select one:
a. Logic & reasoning
b. Active investigation
c. Acceptance of authority
d. Traditional knowledge / belief - Correct answerC
A teacher wants to know if class attendance is influenced by students coughing into
either sleeves or hands. Each time a student coughs in class, the teacher notes whether
it's into a sleeve or hand. Knowing the incubation time for many communicable
,diseases, he compares percentage of hand-coughs each day to percent of the class
absent 3 days later.
What type of research design is this?
Select one:
a. Description
b. Modelling
c. Experiment
d. Correlation - Correct answerD
Does a small sample size usually result in a sampling error?
Select one:
a. Yes, because a small sample usually shows a greater range of traits.
b. No, because you can more precisely select a representative sample.
c. Yes, because there are not enough participants to randomly sort into treatment
groups.
d. Yes, because odds are low that a few participants will represent an entire population.
- Correct answerD
Variation and selection both contribute to evolution. Which of the following factors
increase variation?
Select one:
a. genetic mutations
b. limited environmental resources
c. random deaths due to a catastrophic event
d. humans choosing desirable traits
e. mates choosing desirable traits - Correct answerA
Which of the following is a random process?
Select one:
a. natural selection
b. genetic drift
c. sexual selection
d. artificial selection - Correct answerB
Evolutionary adaptations are...
Select one:
a. individual responses to a changing environment
b. skills developed by and individual to outcompete others
c. genetic traits modified or developed by an individual to increase survival
d. successful traits an individual is born with - Correct answerD
, Microevolution refers to...
Select one:
a. changes that separate groups of species
b. changes in a population's gene pool over a few generations
c. the diversity of life forms established over millions of years
d. the accumulation of small changes that result in extremely large changes - Correct
answerB
Which insect is the MOST fit?
Select one:
a. an insect with few predators/diseases
b. an insect that moves very quickly
c. an insect with a large brain
d. a very large insect - Correct answerA
Which statement about the spread of mutations is correct?
Select one:
a. mutations commonly pass between individual animals
b. advantageous mutations in a population increase over a few generations
c. gene flow is when mutations spread between species
d. somatic mutations pass from parent to offspring - Correct answerB
Why is a pseudogene usually made from a duplicated gene?
Select one:
a. because a mutation in a duplicated gene will not harm the organism
b. because the original genes cannot mutate
c. because duplicated genes have higher mutation rates
d. because pseudogenes do not produce proteins - Correct answerD
One species of cicadas grow as larvae underground for 17 years, then emerge,
undergo metamorphosis, reproduce as adults, and die. Some cicadas emerge from
underground at 16 or 18 years, but have little success finding a mate. What selective
shift occurs in these cicadas?
Select one:
a. stabilizing
b. diversifying
c. directional - Correct answerA
Complete Solutions
What characteristic is shared among all life?
Select one:
a. use of oxygen
b. metabolism
c. growth
d. evolution
e. reproduction - Correct answerB
Which organism would require a high metabolism?
Select one:
a. An organism with no ability to defend itself from predators
b. An organism that absorbs nutrients from the external environment
c. An organism with fast, large growth
d. An organism with few offspring - Correct answerC
Which statement is falsifiable?
Select one:
a. Tick species that transmit human disease should be eliminated.
b. Ticks cause 10% of human infectious diseases.
c. Tick-born illnesses are twice as painful as other infectious disease.
d. Ticks are intelligent. - Correct answerB
There's a phrase, "freshman fifteen," which refers to students gaining fifteen pounds
during their freshman year of college. How would you check this expression's accuracy
using empirical evidence?
Select one:
a. ask students at the end of their freshman year if they've gained weight
b. read primary literature on weight gain in college freshman
c. weigh students in August and May of their freshman year
d. survey students for the belief in the expression's accuracy - Correct answerC
What is the biggest problem with the following hypothesis:
If dogs eat vegetables, then they will live longer.
,Select one:
a. The treatment is vague.
b. The effect is not measurable.
c. There are too many treatments.
d. The effect is not important. - Correct answerA
Why is Junk Science so misleading?
Select one:
a. Conclusions are made from supportive data only.
b. Data are made up.
c. Data are not empirical.
d. Conclusions are not falsifiable. - Correct answerA
Deductive reasoning uses...
Select one:
a. general rules and facts to predict a specific conclusion
b. a few facts and a few possible conclusions to determine which conclusion is most
likely
c. many facts to lead to a probable general conclusion - Correct answerA
You need to find a duplicate of your door key to give a neighbor so she can take care of
your cat while you're away. You find a dozen spare keys in a junk drawer. Rather than
trying all 12 keys in the lock, you use reasoning. You note the brand and metal of the
lock, and select the key that has the same brand and metal to try since it's the most
likely match. What type of reasoning are you using?
Select one:
a. inductive
b. deductive
c. abductive - Correct answerC
When writing the introduction to a scientific journal article, or a lab report, the author
references the work of others in the field to develop background and a hypothesis. What
Way of Knowing is the writer using?
Select one:
a. Logic & reasoning
b. Active investigation
c. Acceptance of authority
d. Traditional knowledge / belief - Correct answerC
A teacher wants to know if class attendance is influenced by students coughing into
either sleeves or hands. Each time a student coughs in class, the teacher notes whether
it's into a sleeve or hand. Knowing the incubation time for many communicable
,diseases, he compares percentage of hand-coughs each day to percent of the class
absent 3 days later.
What type of research design is this?
Select one:
a. Description
b. Modelling
c. Experiment
d. Correlation - Correct answerD
Does a small sample size usually result in a sampling error?
Select one:
a. Yes, because a small sample usually shows a greater range of traits.
b. No, because you can more precisely select a representative sample.
c. Yes, because there are not enough participants to randomly sort into treatment
groups.
d. Yes, because odds are low that a few participants will represent an entire population.
- Correct answerD
Variation and selection both contribute to evolution. Which of the following factors
increase variation?
Select one:
a. genetic mutations
b. limited environmental resources
c. random deaths due to a catastrophic event
d. humans choosing desirable traits
e. mates choosing desirable traits - Correct answerA
Which of the following is a random process?
Select one:
a. natural selection
b. genetic drift
c. sexual selection
d. artificial selection - Correct answerB
Evolutionary adaptations are...
Select one:
a. individual responses to a changing environment
b. skills developed by and individual to outcompete others
c. genetic traits modified or developed by an individual to increase survival
d. successful traits an individual is born with - Correct answerD
, Microevolution refers to...
Select one:
a. changes that separate groups of species
b. changes in a population's gene pool over a few generations
c. the diversity of life forms established over millions of years
d. the accumulation of small changes that result in extremely large changes - Correct
answerB
Which insect is the MOST fit?
Select one:
a. an insect with few predators/diseases
b. an insect that moves very quickly
c. an insect with a large brain
d. a very large insect - Correct answerA
Which statement about the spread of mutations is correct?
Select one:
a. mutations commonly pass between individual animals
b. advantageous mutations in a population increase over a few generations
c. gene flow is when mutations spread between species
d. somatic mutations pass from parent to offspring - Correct answerB
Why is a pseudogene usually made from a duplicated gene?
Select one:
a. because a mutation in a duplicated gene will not harm the organism
b. because the original genes cannot mutate
c. because duplicated genes have higher mutation rates
d. because pseudogenes do not produce proteins - Correct answerD
One species of cicadas grow as larvae underground for 17 years, then emerge,
undergo metamorphosis, reproduce as adults, and die. Some cicadas emerge from
underground at 16 or 18 years, but have little success finding a mate. What selective
shift occurs in these cicadas?
Select one:
a. stabilizing
b. diversifying
c. directional - Correct answerA
