Biology June 2025 Regents and practice

Multiple Choice

Which claim about the kelp carbon pool is best supported by evidence from the information and the model above?

• The carbon storage is higher with the otters present because the sea otters eat the sea urchins.

• The carbon storage is higher with the sea urchins present because they control the kelp population.

• The carbon storage is lower with the otters present because the sea otters eat the kelp.

• The carbon storage is lower with the sea urchins present because they carry out autotrophic nutrition.

Multiple Choice

Which model identifies the process that converts light energy into chemical energy inside the kelp?

• Model 1

• Model 2

• Model 3

• Model 4

Open Ended

If the trend in atmospheric CO2 levels continues, sea urchin populations may be impacted. Describe evidence from the graph that supports this claim.

Open Ended

As ocean acidification increases, the amount of available carbonate ions decreases. Use the model and information provided to describe how the cycling of carbon between the biosphere and at least one other sphere is affected as environmental conditions change.

Multiple Choice

Which statement describes how the organization of the urinary system and one other system interact to maintain homeostasis in the human body?

• The adrenal gland, part of the endocrine system, delivers nutrients to the cells of the urinary system to remove carbon dioxide from the blood.

• The internal urethral sphincter muscle, part of the muscular system, contracts to signal the cells of the urinary system to regulate blood sugar.

• The brain, part of the nervous system, sends messages to the renal plexus (nerves) to signal the cells of the urinary system to deliver oxygen to the blood.

• The arteries, part of the circulatory system, deliver unfiltered blood to the cells of the urinary system to remove wastes.

Multiple Choice

Based on evidence in the model, which statement explains that natural selection led to the evolution of the nephron’s structure and function in terrestrial mammals?

• The development of the Bowman’s capsule in animal kidneys was more advantageous to mammals than fish.

• Nephrons with longer tubules were selected for in organisms that lived on land to conserve the water they drank.

• The longer nephron tubule was selected for in animals that lived in oceans, rivers and lakes to filter the excess water absorbed.

• The number of nephrons is more important in the evolution of mammals than it is to the evolution of fish.

Fill in the Blank

The kidneys produce a protein known as ___ that stimulates the increased production of red blood cells.

Multiple Choice

Which statement provides the best explanation for how red blood cells contribute to a feedback mechanism that maintains homeostasis?

• The aquaporins in the red blood cells facilitate the exchange of water in environments of different concentrations and help the kidneys more efficiently regulate salt and water balance.

• The aquaporins in the red blood cells prevent the exchange of water in environments of different concentrations and help the kidneys more efficiently regulate salt and water balance.

• The red blood cells change their shape to move through the kidney but have minimal effect on salt and water balance in the kidneys.

• The red blood cells change their shape to move through the kidney but do not regulate any feedback mechanisms.

Multiple Choice

What evidence would support the claim that consuming water after exercise helps an athlete’s body maintain homeostasis?

• increases, decreases, decreases

• increases, increases, increases

• decreases, increases, increases

• decreases, decreases, decreases

Multiple Choice

Which question could be asked in order to determine if the abnormalities seen in the frog legs were caused by an inherited mutation?

• Do the offspring with an abnormality live in the same environment as the parents?

• Were the parents exposed to the same environmental factors as some of their offspring?

• Is a mutation that causes abnormal legs present in the DNA of the sex cells of the parents?

• Do the cells within the legs of the parents contain DNA with a mutation that causes abnormal limbs?

Multiple Choice

A student claims that the Ribeiroia parasites that cause the most severe limb abnormalities in frogs have a greater chance of survival and reproduction than those that do not. Which explanation best supports this claim?

• The frogs with the most severe limb deformities will be more likely to be caught by birds, allowing the adult Ribeiroia to be more likely to survive and reproduce.

• The adult Ribeiroia will have a greater chance of remaining in the frog to complete all phases of its life cycle, allowing it a better chance to survive and reproduce.

• The Ribeiroia will have a greater chance of reproducing sexually because it stays in the snail, releasing larvae with this trait back into the water.

• The Ribeiroia larva will have a greater chance of reproducing asexually and completing its life cycle in the bird.

Multiple Choice

Using the information above, which statement might best explain why the extra limbs grew in parasite-infected frogs?

• The Hox genes in the limb caused an increase in the retinoic acid levels which produced proteins that signaled the leg genes to turn off.

• The parasites increased the level of retinoic acid in the tadpoles limb, causing Hox genes to transcribe more of the proteins that activated limb formation genes.

• The proteins produced by the developing limb signaled the Hox genes to turn on, which increased the retinoic acid levels causing more legs to grow.

• The higher retinoic acid levels caused by the parasites turned off the Hox genes in the tadpole limb, signaling the leg formation genes to activate.

Open Ended

Describe genetic and physical evidence that would support the claim that all of these arthropods share a common ancestor.

Open Ended

Construct an explanation for why typical functioning eyes form in a mouse and a fly when specific Hox genes that activate eye development are interchanged.

Open Ended

Using evidence provided, construct an explanation that describes how natural selection has led to the development of an adaptation within yak populations that enable them to survive in their environment.

Multiple Choice

Which statement best explains why the carrying capacity for producers in extreme-altitude ecosystems is less than in sea-level ecosystems?

• There is more oxygen available to use for cellular respiration at high altitudes.

• There is less carbon dioxide available to use for photosynthesis at extreme altitudes.

• There is increased water vapor available at extreme altitudes which limits the process of photosynthesis.

• There is decreased pressure at high altitudes, resulting in faster cellular respiration.

Multiple Choice

What is the most likely origin of the change that resulted in this allele?

• A change in the sequence of the EPAS1 gene occurred during the mitosis of yak blood cells.

• The levels of hemoglobin in a yak’s blood caused changes to a sequence of the EPAS1 gene.

• A change in the sequence of the EPAS1 gene occurred during meiosis of yak gametes.

• A yak experienced genetic changes in the EPAS1 gene in response to low oxygen conditions.

Multiple Choice

Based on the information about the Tibetan Plateau ecosystem, which of the following best describes the relationship between trophic level and biomass?

• Biomass increases as you move up the trophic levels.

• Biomass remains constant across all trophic levels.

• Biomass decreases as you move up the trophic levels.

• Biomass is highest at the carnivore level.

Multiple Choice

Which claim best describes the complex interactions that would have the greatest immediate effect on populations of smooth cordgrass in the low salt marsh?

• The smooth cordgrass population would be most affected by an influx of saltmarsh sparrows that relocate after severe storms.

• The smooth cordgrass population would be most affected by rising sea levels due to global warming that affects the tide level.

• The smooth cordgrass would be most affected by a temporary increase in salinity due to severe storms.

• The smooth cordgrass would be most affected by erosion due to severe storms and resulting floods.

Multiple Choice

Using the information provided, which statement best describes how natural shoreline erosion affects the habitat’s carrying capacity at different scales?

• Habitat carrying capacity rapidly decreases in shorelines with vegetation that are affected by erosion.

• Habitat carrying capacity rapidly increases in shorelines with vegetation that are affected by erosion.

• Habitat carrying capacity rapidly decreases in shorelines without vegetation that are affected by erosion.

• Habitat carrying capacity rapidly increases in shorelines without vegetation that are affected by erosion.

Open Ended

Using the evidence provided, evaluate the claim that rising sea levels will impact the numbers and types of organisms that interact within a low marsh.

Multiple Choice

Which claim best describes the complex interactions in a natural living shoreline that are affected by changing conditions, such as a severe storm?

• Erosion that occurs during a storm can cause changes to the slope of the land, which exposes high marsh plants to decreased levels of salt, reducing biodiversity.

• Oyster reefs can reduce erosion caused by storm waves, which allows salt marshes to expand upland, increasing habitat availability for other organisms.

• Bulkheads prevent erosion and increase biodiversity by preventing marsh migration and maintaining the berm during storms.

• Severe storms have no impact on the salinity of a salt marsh which causes cordgrass to die, resulting in shorelines that have less vegetation to prevent erosion.

Multiple Choice

Which type of restoration project would promote the conditions necessary for the development of a stable ecosystem that would support complex interactions between the organisms living there?

• The formation of a salt marsh area would allow only one species of water plant to grow in the damaged area.

• Build bulkheads so fish and water plants would be held back from shorelines.

• Planting vegetation along damaged shorelines would provide shelter for the protection of the shoreline organisms.

• The building of a hard structure, such as a revetment, would increase the energy from the waves striking the shoreline.

Open Ended

Reflecting on the kelp forest system, how do you think the removal of a single species, such as the sea otter, can impact the overall carbon cycle in an ecosystem?