Living Environment Regents: Evolution and Genetics

Which statement best describes how a new human trait develops and can be passed on to future generations?

•  A mutation in a stomach cell results in the inability of a woman to produce a certain digestive enzyme.
• A mother consumes alcohol during pregnancy, causing the fetus to have a low birth weight.
• During meiosis, a new combination of DNA subunits is formed.
•  During mitosis, DNA does not divide correctly and the cells die

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS3-1

NGSS.HS-LS3-2

Survival of at least a few members of a population after a major environmental change is most dependent on

•  the population having an individual that is adapted to the original environment
•  the population having an individual that is adapted to great changes in the temperature in its environment
•  variations in many different traits in many individuals in the population
•  no variations in the color of the fur, skin, or feathers of the individuals in the population

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The theory of evolution states that

•  species that are extinct have no biological relationship to living species
•  different animal species always interbreed to form new and different species
•  species change over time, sometimes developing into new species
•  the environment of Earth is constant over time

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

 The instructions for the genetic traits of an organism are directly determined by the

•  numbers of A, T, C, and G units in a sugar molecule
•  sequence of bases in DNA molecules
•  length of a DNA molecule
•  way the bases are paired in the two strands of a DNA molecule

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-1

NGSS.HS-LS3-1

Female hammerhead sharks sometimes produce offspring by a type of asexual reproduction. These offspring

•  are a result of the uniting of a male and a female gamete
• have cells that contain DNA found only in the female shark
•  are considered to be a different species from the male parent
•  have cells that contain genetic information from both parents

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-2

 A tomato gene, known as the SIKLUH gene, has recently been discovered. The gene leads to the production of larger tomatoes. The gene affects fruit size by increasing cell layers and promoting extra cell divisions. In order to produce large fruit in other commercial plant species, scientists might

•  clone the genes of other types of plants until they develop larger fruits
•  breed the tomatoes with other fruits such as apples
• ) insert the gene into other types of plants
• stimulate the process of meiosis in the other plants

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS3-2

Which activity enables humans to produce new genetic combinations in other organisms?

• selecting and breeding the organisms for specific traits
• increasing the number of enzymes available to the organisms
•  growing organisms that reproduce asexually
•  decreasing the amount of DNA in the diet of the organisms

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS3-2

Which molecules are needed to cut and copy segments of DNA?

• reproductive hormones
• carbohydrates
• antibodies
• biological catalysts

 Evolution can occur at different rates; however, for evolution to occur, there must be

• variations within a species
• extinction of the species
•  asexual reproduction
•  no change in the genes of an organism

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS3-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Natural selection is best described as

•  a change in an organism in response to a need of that organism
• a process of nearly constant improvement that leads to an organism that is nearly perfect
•  differences in survival rates as a result of different inherited characteristics
• ) inheritance of characteristics acquired during the life of an organism

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4