PCB 3043 Study Guide Exam 1 question and answer grade A+

Chapter 1 1. A genotype is a. an individual’s attributes. b. the effect of natural selection on an individual. c. the differences between the genes of two species. d. an individual’s set of genes. Answer: d 2. Which is the largest ecological system in scale? a. population b. biosphere c. ecosystem d. community Answer: b 3. An ecologist who studies populations would most likely be interested in a. births and deaths of individuals that belong to a particular species in a particular place. b. adaptations that increase the survival of individual organisms. c. the number and relative abundances of different species in a particular place. d. physical and chemical transformations of energy and materials in the soil, atmosphere, and water. Answer: a 4. Which physical principle is used to monitor the transfer of energy in ecological systems? a. dynamic steady states b. the law of conservation of matter c. the first law of thermodynamics d. the connectedness of ecosystems Answer: c 5. Which source of energy is most likely to be used by fungi? a. other living organisms b. the sun c. other dead organisms d. water Answer: c 6. The physical setting in which a species lives is its a. community. b. habitat. c. ecosystem. d. niche. Answer: b 7. A proximate hypothesis a. explains how an organism has adapted its physiology. b. addresses an organism’s response to the environment. c. is a hypothesis that has been tested and revised. d. addresses immediate changes of an organism’s internal systems. Answer: d 8. When experimental manipulations are conducted to test a hypothesis, the purpose of the control is to a. test the experiment in several sets of conditions. b. see how the experiment occurs without any manipulations. c. ensure that the sample size is large enough. d. include an unknown that has not yet been tested. Answer: b 9. Which method of hypothesis testing uses environmental variance to test an otherwise difficult problem? a. a natural experiment b. a mathematical model c. a microcosm d. a manipulative experiment Answer: a 10. The most significant factor in the increased influence of humans on ecological systems in the last century is the result of a. the increased size of cities. b. changes in agriculture. c. increased use of metals and other minerals. d. the increased human population. Answer: d Chapter 2: Adaptations to Aquatic Environments Water has many properties favorable to life. 1. Adding dissolved compounds such as salt to water _____ the boiling point and _____ the freezing point. a. increases; increases b. increases; decreases c. decrease; increases d. decreases; decreases Answer: b 2. The high specific heat of water a. means large amounts of heat are needed to change the temperature of water. b. requires significant heat energy to make the transition from solid to liquid. c. requires significant heat energy to make the transition from liquid to gas. d. makes it difficult to increase the temperature of liquid water above 100ºC. Answer: a 3. Which is NOT an adaptation that exploits the density of water? a. a gas-filled swim bladder b. droplets of oil on algae c. long, filamentous appendages d. high percentages of fat Answer: c 4. The low density of ice a. makes it ineffective at insulating water from the cold. b. allows aquatic plants to survive the winter. c. is due to the high viscosity of water. d. prevents it from moving in water. Answer: b 5. Water's polar nature a. explains its high density. b. makes it a good solvent. c. causes it to freeze at 0ºC. d. limits the amount of dissolved nutrients it can hold. Answer: b 6. At what temperature does water reach its maximum density? a. 32ºC b. 0ºC c. 4ºC d. −12ºC e. 100ºC Answer: c 7. The limit to the amou