Biology STAAR Practice Review

The cladogram shows the evolution of land plants as indicated by fossil records.

Which discovery would challenge the validity of this cladogram?

• A large aquatic vascular plant about 200 million years old

• A species of algae that has existed for less than one million years

• A moss species that has existed for less than 380 million years

• A fossil of a fern more than 425 million years old

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Scientists estimate that there are more than 20,000 species of ants. The species range in size from 1 mm long to 38 mm long and live in most environments. The diets of ants range from flowers and seeds to fluids from their own larvae. Ants have been able to successfully inhabit so many different environments because their populations have been able to --

• hybridize with other species of insects

• adapt to a variety of habitats and food sources

• fill niches usually occupied by mammals

• occupy habitats that have no other life-forms

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Two populations of mice living in the same forest are separated by a large water-filled ditch. After a rainstorm, flooding brings several mice from one population to the other population. When the mice from the first population reproduce with members of the second population, which of the following will likely occur?

• All of the offspring will die as a result of reproductive mutations.

• The offspring will be forced to leave the second population.

• The offspring will be genetically identical to their parent from the first population.

• The offspring in the second population will have greater genetic variety.

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The picture shows bean-shaped glands called nodes. The clusters of cells in the nodes include macrophages that break down viruses and other potentially harmful materials. Nodes also contain cells that produce protein particles capable of capturing harmful materials that flow in tissue fluid through the nodes. Different parts of the body are drained by nodes in different regions of the body.

Which body systems are directly responsible for regulating these nodes and protecting the body from harmful materials in tissue fluid?

• Immune and lymphatic systems

• Digestive and nervous systems

• Endocrine and digestive systems

• Circulatory and nervous systems

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Organisms are classified today using the Linnaean system, and the following table shows the taxonomic classification of two marine organisms living along the Pacific Coast.

Taxonomic classification is important to marine biologists because it provides a way to -

• prove that marine evolution occurs

• discover and name every marine organism on Earth

• designate Latin as the universal language of marine biology

• identify marine organisms and find evolutionary relationships between them

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When a person is suddenly cut by a sharp object, a nervous impulse is sent along a sensory neuron to the spinal cord. The impulse is immediately transmitted through motor neurons to produce a response. Which of the following correctly identifies and describes this response?

• It is a conditioned response that occurs only to prevent injury.

• It is a learned response that does not occur in infants and small children.

• It is a reflex response that causes various muscles to contract in order to move away from the object.

• It is a voluntary response that is initiated only after the impulse has been carried to the relevant area in the brain.

A student conducted an investigation to study phototropism in grasses. The only difference between the control group and the experimental group was the light conditions. The control group was provided full light, while the experimental group was shaded on one side. The diagrams show the average heights and positions of blades of grass in the investigation. (View Image)

Which statement best explains why the grass tips of the experimental group bent toward the light?

• Water evaporated faster on the side of the plant having full light.

• Light sensors in the grass tips simulated a hormone in the shoot system.

• The xylem in the roots system absorbed more nutrients from the shaded side.

• The side facing the light has greater chance of absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

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Part of an important cellular process involving a DNA strand is modeled in the image. (View image)

What is the purpose of this cellular process?

• Preserving genetic information for future generations

• Deleting the information in the sequence produced from the DNA template

• Transcribing information in the DNA sequence for use by the cell

• Producing more nucleotides for the DNA sequence

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The energy pyramid shows the energy made available by producers. (View Image)

Base on the energy flow between trophic levels in an energy pyramid, how much energy would be expected to be found at the secondary consumer level in this pyramid?

• 100 joules

• 500 joules

• 1,000 joules

• 50 joules

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Nitrogenous bases are located on both strands of the DNA double helix. What is the significance of the nitrogenous bases?

• The number of adenines and cytosines determines the type of RNA that will be produced.

• The order of nitrogenous bases determines the order of amino acids in the proteins synthesized.

• The amount of thymine and guanine in the DNA molecules determines the length of the genes.

• The type of hydrogen bonding between the nitrogenous bases determines which amino acid will be added to the peptide chain.

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