Test Bank for Principles of Life 3rd Edition Hillis
Page 1
,Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is classified as a living organism by biologists?
a. DNA molecule
b. Bacterium
c. Metabolic energy
d. Feather
e. Meteorite
ANSWER: b
2. The basic structural and physiological unit of most living organisms is the
a. aggregate.
b. organelle.
c. genome.
d. membrane.
e. cell.
ANSWER: e
3. One reason we consider the dormant seed of a desert plant to be alive is that it
a. is extracting energy from the environment.
b. formed within a nonliving structure.
c. is evolving.
d. contains genetic material.
e. is always converting molecules into new biological molecules.
ANSWER: d
4. One reason biologists consider viruses to be a part of life is that viruses
a. are composed of cells.
b. evolve.
c. live independently.
d. carry out physiological functions, independently of cells.
e. extract energy from the environment.
ANSWER: b
5. Which statement about viruses is true?
a. They do not mutate or evolve.
b. They do not contain genetic information.
c. They carry out physiological functions on their own.
d. They depend on cellular organisms to reproduce.
e. They are composed of cells.
ANSWER: d
6. Suppose you are leading a team looking for extraterrestrial life on distant planets. You find something that
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,you suspect might be a living organism. Which characteristic would be required for it to be classified as a living
organism?
a. Ability to self-replicate
b. Genetic material in the form of DNA
c. Cellular structure that includes a nucleus
d. Ability to transform energy from the sun through photosynthesis
e. Aerobic metabolism
ANSWER: a
7. Organisms similar to today's _______ most likely existed prior to the abundance of O2 on Earth.
a. cyanobacteria
b. photosynthetic plants
c. aerobic eukaryotes
d. amphibians
e. fungi
ANSWER: a
8. The Curiosity rover is currently searching for signs of life on Mars. What kind of evidence would most likely
indicate the presence of living organisms on Mars?
a. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
b. Different nucleic acids and amino acids than those found on Earth
c. Fatty acid molecules
d. Complex molecules containing genetic information
e. Simple organic molecules
ANSWER: d
9. Evidence indicates that all life on Earth today
a. has a single common ancestor.
b. requires oxygen for life.
c. is able to extract energy from the sun.
d. evolved from ancestors containing genetic material in the form of proteins.
e. is multicellular.
ANSWER: a
10. If we picture the history of Earth as a 30-day month, modern humans arose
a. at the beginning of week 4.
b. on day 27.
c. in the last 5 minutes of day 30.
d. on day 15.
e. in the early morning of day 30.
ANSWER: c
11. There has been life on Earth for approximately _______ years.
a. 10,000
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, b. 4 million
c. 100 million
d. 1 billion
e. 4 billion
ANSWER: e
12. The oldest rocks on Earth are approximately _______ years old.
a. 4,000 5,000
b. 400,000 500,000
c. 2–3 million
d. 4–4.5 billion
e. 8 billion
ANSWER: d
13. Earth is approximately _______ years old.
a. 2–3 thousand
b. 4–5 million
c. 40–50 million
d. 4–5 billion
e. 5 trillion
ANSWER: d
14. The critical step for the evolution of life was the
a. formation of fatty acids.
b. appearance of nucleic acids that could replicate themselves.
c. appearance of proteins that could replicate themselves.
d. formation of simple molecules.
e. synthesis of proteins.
ANSWER: b
15. Which of the following is the most probable order of appearance of molecules and structures that led to the
evolution of life on Earth?
a. Nucleic acids, proteins, membranes, cells
b. Proteins, membranes, nucleic acids, cells
c. Membranes, nucleic acids, proteins, cells
d. Cells, membranes, nucleic acids, proteins
e. Proteins, cells, nucleic acids, membranes
ANSWER: a
16. Cells are characterized by
a. an aggregation of proteins.
b. the synthesis of proteins with stable shapes.
c. the enclosure of biological molecules by a membrane.
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Page 1
,Multiple Choice
1. Which of the following is classified as a living organism by biologists?
a. DNA molecule
b. Bacterium
c. Metabolic energy
d. Feather
e. Meteorite
ANSWER: b
2. The basic structural and physiological unit of most living organisms is the
a. aggregate.
b. organelle.
c. genome.
d. membrane.
e. cell.
ANSWER: e
3. One reason we consider the dormant seed of a desert plant to be alive is that it
a. is extracting energy from the environment.
b. formed within a nonliving structure.
c. is evolving.
d. contains genetic material.
e. is always converting molecules into new biological molecules.
ANSWER: d
4. One reason biologists consider viruses to be a part of life is that viruses
a. are composed of cells.
b. evolve.
c. live independently.
d. carry out physiological functions, independently of cells.
e. extract energy from the environment.
ANSWER: b
5. Which statement about viruses is true?
a. They do not mutate or evolve.
b. They do not contain genetic information.
c. They carry out physiological functions on their own.
d. They depend on cellular organisms to reproduce.
e. They are composed of cells.
ANSWER: d
6. Suppose you are leading a team looking for extraterrestrial life on distant planets. You find something that
Page 2
,you suspect might be a living organism. Which characteristic would be required for it to be classified as a living
organism?
a. Ability to self-replicate
b. Genetic material in the form of DNA
c. Cellular structure that includes a nucleus
d. Ability to transform energy from the sun through photosynthesis
e. Aerobic metabolism
ANSWER: a
7. Organisms similar to today's _______ most likely existed prior to the abundance of O2 on Earth.
a. cyanobacteria
b. photosynthetic plants
c. aerobic eukaryotes
d. amphibians
e. fungi
ANSWER: a
8. The Curiosity rover is currently searching for signs of life on Mars. What kind of evidence would most likely
indicate the presence of living organisms on Mars?
a. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
b. Different nucleic acids and amino acids than those found on Earth
c. Fatty acid molecules
d. Complex molecules containing genetic information
e. Simple organic molecules
ANSWER: d
9. Evidence indicates that all life on Earth today
a. has a single common ancestor.
b. requires oxygen for life.
c. is able to extract energy from the sun.
d. evolved from ancestors containing genetic material in the form of proteins.
e. is multicellular.
ANSWER: a
10. If we picture the history of Earth as a 30-day month, modern humans arose
a. at the beginning of week 4.
b. on day 27.
c. in the last 5 minutes of day 30.
d. on day 15.
e. in the early morning of day 30.
ANSWER: c
11. There has been life on Earth for approximately _______ years.
a. 10,000
Page 3
, b. 4 million
c. 100 million
d. 1 billion
e. 4 billion
ANSWER: e
12. The oldest rocks on Earth are approximately _______ years old.
a. 4,000 5,000
b. 400,000 500,000
c. 2–3 million
d. 4–4.5 billion
e. 8 billion
ANSWER: d
13. Earth is approximately _______ years old.
a. 2–3 thousand
b. 4–5 million
c. 40–50 million
d. 4–5 billion
e. 5 trillion
ANSWER: d
14. The critical step for the evolution of life was the
a. formation of fatty acids.
b. appearance of nucleic acids that could replicate themselves.
c. appearance of proteins that could replicate themselves.
d. formation of simple molecules.
e. synthesis of proteins.
ANSWER: b
15. Which of the following is the most probable order of appearance of molecules and structures that led to the
evolution of life on Earth?
a. Nucleic acids, proteins, membranes, cells
b. Proteins, membranes, nucleic acids, cells
c. Membranes, nucleic acids, proteins, cells
d. Cells, membranes, nucleic acids, proteins
e. Proteins, cells, nucleic acids, membranes
ANSWER: a
16. Cells are characterized by
a. an aggregation of proteins.
b. the synthesis of proteins with stable shapes.
c. the enclosure of biological molecules by a membrane.
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