Exam 1: Ch 1-3 BIOL 1406 Dual Credit

Experiments are carried out to test a hypothesis by changing one variable at a time and including an unchanged variable termed a(n)

• altered variable.

• unstable variable.

• control.

• experimental variable.

Dr. Ratard was trying to determine the cause of a mysterious epidemic affecting fish in the gulf of New Mexico. His proposal that the deaths were caused by an organism called a protist is considered a(n)

• theory.

• experiment.

• conclusion.

• hypothesis.

A scientific theory is

• a way to organize how we think about a problem.

• a suggested explanation that accounts for observations.

• a concept that is highly supported by experimental evidence that explains the facts in an area of study.

• a way to understand a complex system by reducing it to its working parts.

A yellow jacket, an insect in the order Hymenoptera, stung you. Then a wasp, an insect in Hymenoptera, stung you as well. A hornet, an insect in Hymenoptera, stung you last. It is an observable pattern that all insects in this order must have stingers. The type of reasoning this represents is

• inductive reasoning.

• deductive reasoning.

• reductionism.

• comparative reasoning.

A student poses the question: How does the presence of dissolved salt affect the freezing point of water? To answer this question, the student set up two conditions. In the first condition, the student added salt to water in a container and referred to this condition as the variable. In the second condition, the student did not add any salt to water in a second container and referred to this condition as the control. The student took both containers and attempted to freeze the water at various temperatures to assess the freezing point. Would this be a valid experiment?

• No, because there is not more than one variable

• Yes, because there is one variable and a control

• No, because there is only one variable and a control

• Yes, because there is more than one variable.

Tags

NGSS.MS-PS1-2

In California, a species of salamanders were geographically separated over time. The group that lived in southern California relied heavily on large gold blotches on their skin that helped to camouflage them from predators. The group that lived along the coast adopted a color pattern that mimicked a poisonous, colorful newt common to that area. Instead of being camouflaged, these salamanders advertised their colors. What type of selection process has occurred over time?

• experimental selection

• artificial selection

• theoretical selection

• natural selection

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The same basic array of bones is modified to give rise to the wing of a bat and the fin of a porpoise. Such anatomical structures are called

• homologous.

• inherited.

• evolutionary modifications.

• analogous.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

While you are riding the ski lift up to the top of the mountain on a very cold day, you start to shiver involuntarily. You know that the shivering is your body's attempt to help regulate your body temperature and is an example of what type of mechanism?

• evolutionary adaptation

• sensitivity

• homeostasis

• energy utilization

Tags

NGSS.HS-LS1-3

You have been assigned to analyze some extraterrestrial material recently collected from Mars. After examining a sample using a microscope, you jump up excitedly and shout to your colleagues that you have confirmed the existence of life on Mars. One of your colleagues takes a look at your sample and remarks that all he sees is a single-celled "blob" with little internal structure and no nucleus. Assuming that life on Mars can be classified into similar domains and kingdoms as Earth, to which domain does your "blob" belong?

• Fungi

• Archaea

• Animalia

• Protista

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Viruses defy characterization as living organisms even though they possess nucleic acids and proteins. The reason why viruses are not considered to be alive is because they

• lack genetic material.

• cannot reproduce without a host cell.

• cannot form spontaneously.

• form spontaneously.