SOL 2014

To classify an organism a scientist finds in the field, which of these will the scientist first compare to other known organisms?

• dietary habits

• ecological niche

• physical structure

• reproductive method

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Darwin's explanation for evolution was dependent on which scientific concept?

• The ability of organisms to learn

• The significance of social behaviors to survival

• The existence of variations in a population

• The relationship between size and survival

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Which best helps scientists determine the age of fossils?

• Physical traits

• Genetic makeup

• Reproductive strategy

• Radioactive isotopes

Although controversial at first, the germ theory of disease proposed that microorganisms were the cause of many diseases. Which of these was a result of the general acceptance that microorganisms cause disease?

• The development and use of antibiotics

• The belief in spontaneous generation

• The link between viruses and RNA

• The proof of a supernatural cause for illnesses

A student performed a science experiment to observe if hamsters could learn how to complete a maze faster than mice. He gathered 10 hamsters and 10 mice and placed each one individually into a previously created maze. The student then calculated the amount of time it took each hamster or mouse to complete the maze. He repeated this process ensuring each hamster or mouse completed the maze once daily for 14 days. Using this information on the student's experiment, which of the following statements are correct?

• The dependent variable in this experiment is the amount of time each hamster or mouse completed the maze

• The experiment's independent variable is the type of animal that completed the maze

• The title of this experiment could be "The learning abilities of Hamsters vs Mice."

• The hypothesis of this experiment could be "If a hamster or mouse is placed in a maze, then it will complete the maze faster when given a reward."

Which of these would most likely result in a change to the current classification of an organism?

• Discovering organisms with similar physical traits in the fossil record

• Finding a related organism that was previously considered extinct

• Linking the organism to different ancestors through DNA sequencing

• Observing organisms that occupy the same ecological niche

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Five species of frogs that live in separate habitats within 5 non-overlapping ranges along the Mississippi River share a common ancestor. Which process is most likely responsible for the formation of these five distinct species?

• Physiological isolation

• Geographical isolation

• Behavioral isolation

• Reproductive isolation

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS4-2

NGSS.HS-LS4-5

Which characteristic do most adult fungi and plants share?

• They are both producers

• The both have cells with cell walls

• They both reproduce through binary fission

• They both have multiple nuclei in each cell

In a population of 120 oak trees, 20% of the population has oak wilt disease. What is the number of trees in this population that have oak wilt?

• 10

• 20

• 30

• 40

In an ecosystem, a sudden decrease in the number of bacteria in the soil would most likely result in-

• Increased water pollution in the soil

• Increased precipitation and flooding of the soil

• A reduction in the amount of nitrogen available to the ecosystem

• A decrease in the number of fossils formed in the soil

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-1

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

NGSS.MS-LS2-4