State Lab Practice Questions

Several of the Galapagos Islands are inhabited by grasshoppers, beetles, flies, bees, and butterflies. Finches that feed on these consumers would have beaks adapted for

• probing, only

• probing or grasping

• crushing or probing

• partolike feeding or grasping

Farmers on a few of the Galapagos Islands have orchards of oranges, grapes, pears, and apples. Which species of finch would consume these foods?

• sharp-beaked ground finch

• small ground finch

• vegetarian tree finch

• woodpecker finch

Electrophoresis is a method of

• indicating the presence of starch

• separating DNA fragments

• changing the genetic code of an organism

• separating colored compounds on a strip of paper

In many parts of the world, plants are used as a source of medicine. Many of these plants are in danger of becoming extinct. It is therefore important for researchers to

• search for other plant species that could be used as a new source of that medicine

• apply fertilizer to reduce the numbers of the plants that grow in the wild

• use the plants now while we still have them

• collect and dry all the medicinal plants to preserve them for future use

Base your answer on the diagram below and on your knowledge of biology. The diagram represents the results of paper chromatography performed on extracts from five organisms. Which two organisms are most closely related?

• red algae and cyanobacteria

• red algae and spinach

• cyanobacteria and green algae

• brown algae and red algae

Elodea is a plant found in streams and ponds in New York State. The water used on slide A contained 1% salt and 99% water. The salt solution used on slide B contained 6% salt and 94% water. Elodea cells normally contain 1% salt. After five minutes, observing the cells in leaves A and B, what would most likely be seen?

• salt had moved out of the cells of the leaf on slide B

• salt had moved into the cells of the leaf on slide A

• water had moved out of the cells of the leaf on slide B

• water had moved out of the cells of the leaf on slide A

A red onion cell has undergone a change, as represented in the diagram below. This change is most likely due to the cell being placed in

• distilled water

• darkness

• light

• salt water

Scientists observed that when two closely related species of predatory birds live in different areas, they seek prey early in the morning. However, when their territories overlap, one species hunts at night and the other hunts in the morning. When these two species live in the same area, they apparently modify their:

• ecosystem

• niche

• habitat

• biodiversity

The four different types of beaks shown are most likely the result of:

• gene manipulation

• natural selection

• unchanging environmental conditions

• patterns of behavior learned from parents

Scientists recently discovered that three different types of squid, a marine animal, previously thought to be three different species, were actually all members of one species. Their earlier ideas were based on using squid carcasses (dead bodies). The new, more accepted classification is most probably based on an analysis of

• a greater number of squid carcasses

• the feeding habits of the three different species

• a number of newly found squid fossils

• the DNA present in the cells of squid