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biochemistry 10th edition exam 2024-2025
which of the following statements about biodiversity is true?
a. traditional cost and benefit analyses of economic activities heavily weigh consideration of the services
of ecosystems and biodiversity, and therefore humans have made the protection of biodiversity the
primary focus of the 21st century
b. traditional cost and benefit analyses of economic activity largely ignore the benefits of ecosystems
and biodiversity, and therefore global ecosystems and biodiversity are in serious peril
c. although traditional economic cost and benefit analyses include the benefits of ecosystems and
biodiversity, humans ignore such analyses and continue to cause declines in biodiversity
d. cost and benefit analyses indicate that economic activities provide more benefit than protecting
biodiversity, which is why global ecosystems and biodiversity are in serious peril
b
how is it possible that we don't currently know how many species are present on earth?
a. there are many amphibians (such as frogs) that have yet to be found, and these creatures are a major
part of global biodiversity
b. there has been little effort to collect and classify most plant and animal species
c. it is very difficult to measure insect and microbiological diversity accurately
d. none of the above. we do know how many species are on the planet
c
which of the following statements about biodiversity is true?
a. the production of new kinds of pharmaceuticals is largely unaffected by biodiversity loss, since most
known species have been tested for biologically active compounds that could be used as drugs
b. the loss of pollinators will have little effect on crop production, since most of our crops are wind-
pollinated and do not need insect pollinators
c. the use of only a handful of species for the vast majority of our crops has made our food supply more
vulnerable to pests and disease
d. ecotourism is not affected by biodiversity loss, since people are more interested in other forms of
entertainment than they are in visiting areas that are high in biodiversity
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c
there are various hypotheses about why so many species are in the tropics, but one of them is that life
in the tropical regions has been less affected by the major glacial cycles during which ice sheets cover
the northern section of the planet. why would this lead to higher biodiversity in these regions?
a. the physical characteristics of the tropics, including climate and energy, are less favorable to life than
we see in other regions, so there is more opportunity for natural selection to occur
b. animals are forced to migrate to the tropics during the glacial cycles, where they then adapt to the
warm conditions
c. the lack of ice sheets means that there has been more uninterrupted time for speciation to occur,
therefore leading to higher biodiversity
d. there has been less land use change in the tropics than in the other regions listed above
c
if you had $1 million and could buy 1 square kilometer of land somewhere in the world in order to
preserve species diversity, which of the following locations would be the best investment (that is, would
preserve the most species)?
a. the arctic
b. a tropical rain forest
c. a forest in the eastern half of the united states
d. a grassland in the united states
b
there are many different definitions of a species. these include the capacity to interbreed, physical
similarities, genetic similarities and others. biologists spend a fairly large amount of time worrying about
this definition, but does it make any difference for biodiversity conservation policy?
a. yes, because laws such as those in the u.s. endangered species act focus on species-level conservation
of threatened or endangered species
b. no, this is just an academic debate
c. yes, because nearly all private conservation efforts such as those of the world wildlife fund only work
on species conservation and largely ignore habitat conservation
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d. no, it really doesn't matter because even though biologists argue about what a species is, most
people, including government officials, can figure out it out pretty easily
a
a small mouse population found in the front range of colorado looks and acts very much like most other
mice in the area; yet this particular group of mice is thought by many to deserve protection under the
u.s. endangered species act(esa). how could this be.
a. this particular mouse has special characteristics, such as the ability to jump high, that make it
important to protect
b. the mouse species lives only in ecosystems that have become very rare
c. this particular group of mice appears to be genetically distinct (sub) species and therefore would
qualify for protection under the esa
d. most field mice are threatened with extinction in colorado
c
many ecologists support the idea that more diverse ecosystems should be less affected by major
environmental change than less diverse ecosystems. for example, a large drought would have a bigger
negative impact on the life in a low-diversity ecosystem than it would on the life in a high-diversity
ecosystem. why would this be?
a. this idea is incorrect. actually, low-diversity ecosystems are known to respond better to
environmental change than high-diversity ecosystems
b. when there is more diversity, evolution can occur very quickly, so new species rapidly appear and
prevent the ecosystem from changing when there is a drought or similar event
c. more diverse ecosystems have a broader mix of species, including some that are more likely to be able
to tolerate changes such as drought, floods, or other extreme environmental events
d. more diverse ecosystems usually have drought tolerant plants that can survive period of low rainfall
c
while most of the major u.s. conservation policy focuses on species diversity, such as genetic diversity.
why would genetic diversity be an important factor to consider when investigating the biodiversity of a
group of organisms?
a. genetic diversity is actually a measure of all of the genes within an ecosystem, and based on this, we
can classify different types of ecosystems
b. our definition of a species is solely based on genetics, so understanding genetic diversity actually
biochemistry 10th edition exam 2024-2025
which of the following statements about biodiversity is true?
a. traditional cost and benefit analyses of economic activities heavily weigh consideration of the services
of ecosystems and biodiversity, and therefore humans have made the protection of biodiversity the
primary focus of the 21st century
b. traditional cost and benefit analyses of economic activity largely ignore the benefits of ecosystems
and biodiversity, and therefore global ecosystems and biodiversity are in serious peril
c. although traditional economic cost and benefit analyses include the benefits of ecosystems and
biodiversity, humans ignore such analyses and continue to cause declines in biodiversity
d. cost and benefit analyses indicate that economic activities provide more benefit than protecting
biodiversity, which is why global ecosystems and biodiversity are in serious peril
b
how is it possible that we don't currently know how many species are present on earth?
a. there are many amphibians (such as frogs) that have yet to be found, and these creatures are a major
part of global biodiversity
b. there has been little effort to collect and classify most plant and animal species
c. it is very difficult to measure insect and microbiological diversity accurately
d. none of the above. we do know how many species are on the planet
c
which of the following statements about biodiversity is true?
a. the production of new kinds of pharmaceuticals is largely unaffected by biodiversity loss, since most
known species have been tested for biologically active compounds that could be used as drugs
b. the loss of pollinators will have little effect on crop production, since most of our crops are wind-
pollinated and do not need insect pollinators
c. the use of only a handful of species for the vast majority of our crops has made our food supply more
vulnerable to pests and disease
d. ecotourism is not affected by biodiversity loss, since people are more interested in other forms of
entertainment than they are in visiting areas that are high in biodiversity
, Page 2 of 18
c
there are various hypotheses about why so many species are in the tropics, but one of them is that life
in the tropical regions has been less affected by the major glacial cycles during which ice sheets cover
the northern section of the planet. why would this lead to higher biodiversity in these regions?
a. the physical characteristics of the tropics, including climate and energy, are less favorable to life than
we see in other regions, so there is more opportunity for natural selection to occur
b. animals are forced to migrate to the tropics during the glacial cycles, where they then adapt to the
warm conditions
c. the lack of ice sheets means that there has been more uninterrupted time for speciation to occur,
therefore leading to higher biodiversity
d. there has been less land use change in the tropics than in the other regions listed above
c
if you had $1 million and could buy 1 square kilometer of land somewhere in the world in order to
preserve species diversity, which of the following locations would be the best investment (that is, would
preserve the most species)?
a. the arctic
b. a tropical rain forest
c. a forest in the eastern half of the united states
d. a grassland in the united states
b
there are many different definitions of a species. these include the capacity to interbreed, physical
similarities, genetic similarities and others. biologists spend a fairly large amount of time worrying about
this definition, but does it make any difference for biodiversity conservation policy?
a. yes, because laws such as those in the u.s. endangered species act focus on species-level conservation
of threatened or endangered species
b. no, this is just an academic debate
c. yes, because nearly all private conservation efforts such as those of the world wildlife fund only work
on species conservation and largely ignore habitat conservation
, Page 3 of 18
d. no, it really doesn't matter because even though biologists argue about what a species is, most
people, including government officials, can figure out it out pretty easily
a
a small mouse population found in the front range of colorado looks and acts very much like most other
mice in the area; yet this particular group of mice is thought by many to deserve protection under the
u.s. endangered species act(esa). how could this be.
a. this particular mouse has special characteristics, such as the ability to jump high, that make it
important to protect
b. the mouse species lives only in ecosystems that have become very rare
c. this particular group of mice appears to be genetically distinct (sub) species and therefore would
qualify for protection under the esa
d. most field mice are threatened with extinction in colorado
c
many ecologists support the idea that more diverse ecosystems should be less affected by major
environmental change than less diverse ecosystems. for example, a large drought would have a bigger
negative impact on the life in a low-diversity ecosystem than it would on the life in a high-diversity
ecosystem. why would this be?
a. this idea is incorrect. actually, low-diversity ecosystems are known to respond better to
environmental change than high-diversity ecosystems
b. when there is more diversity, evolution can occur very quickly, so new species rapidly appear and
prevent the ecosystem from changing when there is a drought or similar event
c. more diverse ecosystems have a broader mix of species, including some that are more likely to be able
to tolerate changes such as drought, floods, or other extreme environmental events
d. more diverse ecosystems usually have drought tolerant plants that can survive period of low rainfall
c
while most of the major u.s. conservation policy focuses on species diversity, such as genetic diversity.
why would genetic diversity be an important factor to consider when investigating the biodiversity of a
group of organisms?
a. genetic diversity is actually a measure of all of the genes within an ecosystem, and based on this, we
can classify different types of ecosystems
b. our definition of a species is solely based on genetics, so understanding genetic diversity actually
