Staar Bio Practice Questions 1

1        Which Which statement best describes how a virus replicates?

• A virus divides into two identical virus particles before infecting the host cell.

• A virus enters a host cell and uses the materials from the host cell to produce new virus particles.

• Multiple virus particles fuse and form a large particle that breaks apart, releasing new virus particles.

• Multiple virus particles break down in component parts, which then reassemble into new copies of the virus.

Answer explanation

Option G is correct Viruses cannot replicate on their own. They enter host cells. Once inside, they use the materials and metabolic pathways from the host cells and incorporate the viral RNA or DNA into the host cells to replicate new virus particles. Option F is incorrect Viruses are not able to divide as a cell would in mitosis. Viruses can only replicate after entering a host cell. Option H is incorrect Viruses do not fuse, and they are not able to replicate without entering the cell of a host organism. Option J is incorrect Once virus particles break down, they are not able to reassemble and make new copies.

Mosquitoes can transmit diseases and cause loss of blood for animals in nature. Horses have developed behaviors to repel biting flies such as ear twitching, head tossing, leg stomping, and tail swishing. Which statement best describes the interaction between body systems that allows horses to repel mosquitoes?

• The nervous system senses the biting and sends a signal to

  the muscular system to move.

• The circulatory system senses the biting and sends a signal to

  the nervous system to move.

• The muscular system senses the biting and sends a signal to

  the integumentary system to move.

• The integumentary system senses the biting and sends a signal to the circulatory system to move.

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Blue flying fish live in the upper layers of the ocean. Blue flying fish have enlarged pectoral fins that enable them to glide for 400 meters above the ocean surface and appear to fly. Which statement best describes how natural selection led to enlarged pectoral fins in blue flying fish?

• Fish were able to glide out of the ocean and into other bodies of water to mate with other species.

• Fish were able to live both on land and in the water as a result of

  their larger pectoral fins.

• Fish with enlarged pectoral fins were able to glide out of the ocean to escape predators, increasing their fitness.

• Fish changed their DNA to express enlarged pectoral fins, changing

  the allele frequency of the population.

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Green anoles are lizards that can change their skin color rapidly in response to various stimuli. This adaptation is the result of —

• selective breeding of lizards by humans

• beneficial traits passed from parents to offspring

• geographic isolation that prevented genetic mutation

• environmental pollutants that changed their genotype

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Leaf-cutter ants harvest leaves and carry them to fungi that convert plant material into a usable form for the ants to digest. The fungi depend on the leaves for nutrients. The ants also produce an antibiotic on their bodies that helps protect the fungi from harmful bacteria. Which of these explains the relationship between the leaf-cutter ants and the fungi?

• Predation, because the ants feed on the fungi

• Mutualism, because both the ants and the fungi benefit from

  each other

• Competition, because both organisms consume the same resource for energy

• Commensalism, because the ants receive energy from the fungi and the fungi are unaffected

Answer explanation

Option B is correct The relationship between the leaf-cutter ants and the fungi is mutualism. Both the ants and fungi benefit from each other.

Option A is incorrect Predation is a relationship where the predator benefits and the prey are eaten.

Option C is incorrect The leaf-cutter ants and the fungi are not competing for a resource.

Option D is incorrect Commensalism is a symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other organism is unaffected.

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