WGU C190 INTRO TO BIOLOGY PRACTICE TEST QUESTIONSQUESTIONS & ANSWERS (2026/2027)
Abiotic ✔️Non-living, may be within or made by a living organism.
Biotic ✔️Living. Matter is considered ______ if it was ever alive at some point in time
Atom ✔️Smallest level. The basic unit of matter. Consists of a dense nucleus surrounded by electrons.
Molecule ✔️Second level. A chemical structure consisting of at least two atoms held together by a chemical bond.
Macromolecule ✔️Third level. Biologically important molecules that are technically polymers. Example: DNA.
Cell ✔️Fourth level. The fundamental unit of life. Essentially a tiny droplet of water and other molecules enclosed by a fluid "skin" or membrane.
The smallest and simplest entity that possesses all the characteristics of life.
Organelle ✔️Fifth level. Compartments inside the cell that contain specific groups of macromolecules and carry out specific cellular functions.
One of these organelles is the nucleus; it encloses the DNA within the cell.
Microorganism ✔️Sixth level. Single-celled life form. Consists of just one cell and include unicellular organisms such as bacteria and protists.
Tissue ✔️Seventh level. Formed when similar cells work together to fulfill the same detailed function.
Organ ✔️Eighth level. Collections of tissues that work together to carry out a common general function. Present not only in higher level animals
but also in plants.
Organ System ✔️Ninth level. Consists of functionally related organs. Mammals have many.
Organism ✔️Tenth Level. Individual living entities that survive and reproduce as a unit. For example, each tree in a forest.
Population ✔️Eleventh level. Consists of all the individuals of a species living within a specific area.
Community ✔️Twelfth level. Populations can interact with each other in positive and negative ways, and together they form this.
Ecosystem ✔️Thirteenth level. Consists of all the living things in a particular area together with the abiotic, or nonliving, parts of that
environment.
Biosphere ✔️Fourteenth level. The highest level of organization in living systems. The collection of all ecosystems on Earth. Includes all habitable
zones on the planet, including land, soil, and rocks to a great depth in the Earth's crust; water and ice; and the atmosphere to a great height.
Emergent Properties ✔️Characteristics of a system that are not present in any of its component parts.
Biology ✔️The scientific study of life and is the branch of science that studies living organisms and the way organisms interact with their
environments.
Homeostasis ✔️The ability or tendency of organisms and cells to maintain stable internal conditions.
Nutrient ✔️Any matter an organism needs but cannot make for itself.
Energy ✔️The capacity to do work or to make a change in the location, temperature, or structure of matter. Does not have mass and it does not
take up space, but it can be measured in terms of what it does.
Growth ✔️An increase in size.
Development ✔️Structure and function change in an orderly way as an organism passes through its life cycle. An individual's pattern of _______
is partly determined by genetic instructions.
Reproduction ✔️Occurs when an individual organism passes on its genetic information to a newly independent organism, or offspring.
Evolution ✔️A scientific theory that explains how and why life changes over time. Provides the explanation for why all living organisms share
profound similarities, and yet, the life forms on our planet are so incredibly diverse.
Natural Selection ✔️Individuals are always a bit different from their parents and from each other, partly because of changes to their genes.
These differences may be helpful or harmful to the individuals that inherit them. In nature, individuals often have very low odds of surviving to
, reproduce. Individuals with slightly harmful or even average characteristics might be less likely to make it, and those with traits that fit in very
well with the local habitat will have the greatest chance to survive and reproduce. This sorting process goes on generation after generation.
Atomic Mass ✔️The sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons. The mass of an atom.
Atomic Number ✔️The number of protons in an atom, displayed for each atom in the periodic table.
Chemical Bonds ✔️Attractions between atoms that hold atoms and molecules together.
Covalent Bonds ✔️Strongest chemical bond. Occurs between atoms of in the same molecule. Electron pairs are shared, creating a strong bond
between atoms.
electron ✔️Subatomic particle, located in shells on the outside of the nucleus, has a negative charge and almost no mass.
electronegativity ✔️A measure of the tendency of an atom to attract a bonding pair of electrons. How strongly does an atoms attract bonding
electrons to itself?
element ✔️Atoms with unique properties, designated by the atomic number.
hydrogen bond ✔️Weak chemical bond. Occurs between atoms in different molecules or parts of molecules. Weak electrostatic attraction
between areas of molecules with opposite partial charges.
ion ✔️Positively or negatively charged atom.
ionic bond ✔️Moderately strong chemical bond. Occurs between atoms in the same molecule. Electrons transfer from one atom to another.
isotope ✔️Any or two or more forms of a chemical element, having the same number of protons in the nucleus, or the same atomic number, but
having different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, or different atomic weights.
matter ✔️Anything that occupies space and has mass.
molecular formula ✔️A formula giving the number of atoms of each of the elements present in one molecule of a specific compound.
neutron ✔️Subatomic particle, electrically neutral, located in the nucleus. Mass of one amu
nucleus ✔️Center of the atom. Contains equal number of protons and neutrons.
Periodic Table ✔️Chart organizing elements by atomic number and weight.
proton ✔️Subatomic particle, located in the nucleus, with a positive charge. Mass of one amu.
valence electron ✔️Electrons on the outermost shell of the atom. Involved in chemical bonds.
Adhesion ✔️The attraction between water molecules and other molecules.
Cohesion ✔️Water molecules are attracted to each other, keeping the molecules together.
Hydrophilic ✔️Substances that will dissolve in water. Polar. They split into positive and negative ions and dissolve in water. Examples: sugars and
alcohols.
Hydrophobic ✔️Substances that do not dissolve in water. Non-polar. Examples: hydrocarbons and fatty acids.
Surface Tension ✔️The capacity of a liquid's surface to resist being ruptured when placed under tension or stress.
Solute ✔️The component(s) present in lower quantities.
Solution ✔️Homogeneous mixtures, with 2 components: solvent and solutes.
Solvent ✔️The component of the solution in the greatest quantity.
Carbohydrate ✔️Biological macromolecule. Sugars. Essential for energy storage, cellular communication and structural support. Store energy;
provide structural support; facilitate communication
Chemical potential energy ✔️The energy stored in the chemical bonds of a substance.
Abiotic ✔️Non-living, may be within or made by a living organism.
Biotic ✔️Living. Matter is considered ______ if it was ever alive at some point in time
Atom ✔️Smallest level. The basic unit of matter. Consists of a dense nucleus surrounded by electrons.
Molecule ✔️Second level. A chemical structure consisting of at least two atoms held together by a chemical bond.
Macromolecule ✔️Third level. Biologically important molecules that are technically polymers. Example: DNA.
Cell ✔️Fourth level. The fundamental unit of life. Essentially a tiny droplet of water and other molecules enclosed by a fluid "skin" or membrane.
The smallest and simplest entity that possesses all the characteristics of life.
Organelle ✔️Fifth level. Compartments inside the cell that contain specific groups of macromolecules and carry out specific cellular functions.
One of these organelles is the nucleus; it encloses the DNA within the cell.
Microorganism ✔️Sixth level. Single-celled life form. Consists of just one cell and include unicellular organisms such as bacteria and protists.
Tissue ✔️Seventh level. Formed when similar cells work together to fulfill the same detailed function.
Organ ✔️Eighth level. Collections of tissues that work together to carry out a common general function. Present not only in higher level animals
but also in plants.
Organ System ✔️Ninth level. Consists of functionally related organs. Mammals have many.
Organism ✔️Tenth Level. Individual living entities that survive and reproduce as a unit. For example, each tree in a forest.
Population ✔️Eleventh level. Consists of all the individuals of a species living within a specific area.
Community ✔️Twelfth level. Populations can interact with each other in positive and negative ways, and together they form this.
Ecosystem ✔️Thirteenth level. Consists of all the living things in a particular area together with the abiotic, or nonliving, parts of that
environment.
Biosphere ✔️Fourteenth level. The highest level of organization in living systems. The collection of all ecosystems on Earth. Includes all habitable
zones on the planet, including land, soil, and rocks to a great depth in the Earth's crust; water and ice; and the atmosphere to a great height.
Emergent Properties ✔️Characteristics of a system that are not present in any of its component parts.
Biology ✔️The scientific study of life and is the branch of science that studies living organisms and the way organisms interact with their
environments.
Homeostasis ✔️The ability or tendency of organisms and cells to maintain stable internal conditions.
Nutrient ✔️Any matter an organism needs but cannot make for itself.
Energy ✔️The capacity to do work or to make a change in the location, temperature, or structure of matter. Does not have mass and it does not
take up space, but it can be measured in terms of what it does.
Growth ✔️An increase in size.
Development ✔️Structure and function change in an orderly way as an organism passes through its life cycle. An individual's pattern of _______
is partly determined by genetic instructions.
Reproduction ✔️Occurs when an individual organism passes on its genetic information to a newly independent organism, or offspring.
Evolution ✔️A scientific theory that explains how and why life changes over time. Provides the explanation for why all living organisms share
profound similarities, and yet, the life forms on our planet are so incredibly diverse.
Natural Selection ✔️Individuals are always a bit different from their parents and from each other, partly because of changes to their genes.
These differences may be helpful or harmful to the individuals that inherit them. In nature, individuals often have very low odds of surviving to
, reproduce. Individuals with slightly harmful or even average characteristics might be less likely to make it, and those with traits that fit in very
well with the local habitat will have the greatest chance to survive and reproduce. This sorting process goes on generation after generation.
Atomic Mass ✔️The sum of the number of protons and the number of neutrons. The mass of an atom.
Atomic Number ✔️The number of protons in an atom, displayed for each atom in the periodic table.
Chemical Bonds ✔️Attractions between atoms that hold atoms and molecules together.
Covalent Bonds ✔️Strongest chemical bond. Occurs between atoms of in the same molecule. Electron pairs are shared, creating a strong bond
between atoms.
electron ✔️Subatomic particle, located in shells on the outside of the nucleus, has a negative charge and almost no mass.
electronegativity ✔️A measure of the tendency of an atom to attract a bonding pair of electrons. How strongly does an atoms attract bonding
electrons to itself?
element ✔️Atoms with unique properties, designated by the atomic number.
hydrogen bond ✔️Weak chemical bond. Occurs between atoms in different molecules or parts of molecules. Weak electrostatic attraction
between areas of molecules with opposite partial charges.
ion ✔️Positively or negatively charged atom.
ionic bond ✔️Moderately strong chemical bond. Occurs between atoms in the same molecule. Electrons transfer from one atom to another.
isotope ✔️Any or two or more forms of a chemical element, having the same number of protons in the nucleus, or the same atomic number, but
having different numbers of neutrons in the nucleus, or different atomic weights.
matter ✔️Anything that occupies space and has mass.
molecular formula ✔️A formula giving the number of atoms of each of the elements present in one molecule of a specific compound.
neutron ✔️Subatomic particle, electrically neutral, located in the nucleus. Mass of one amu
nucleus ✔️Center of the atom. Contains equal number of protons and neutrons.
Periodic Table ✔️Chart organizing elements by atomic number and weight.
proton ✔️Subatomic particle, located in the nucleus, with a positive charge. Mass of one amu.
valence electron ✔️Electrons on the outermost shell of the atom. Involved in chemical bonds.
Adhesion ✔️The attraction between water molecules and other molecules.
Cohesion ✔️Water molecules are attracted to each other, keeping the molecules together.
Hydrophilic ✔️Substances that will dissolve in water. Polar. They split into positive and negative ions and dissolve in water. Examples: sugars and
alcohols.
Hydrophobic ✔️Substances that do not dissolve in water. Non-polar. Examples: hydrocarbons and fatty acids.
Surface Tension ✔️The capacity of a liquid's surface to resist being ruptured when placed under tension or stress.
Solute ✔️The component(s) present in lower quantities.
Solution ✔️Homogeneous mixtures, with 2 components: solvent and solutes.
Solvent ✔️The component of the solution in the greatest quantity.
Carbohydrate ✔️Biological macromolecule. Sugars. Essential for energy storage, cellular communication and structural support. Store energy;
provide structural support; facilitate communication
Chemical potential energy ✔️The energy stored in the chemical bonds of a substance.
