WorksheetsEvolution/ Ecology/ Genetics
Total questions: 17
Worksheet time: 16mins
Examine the model of the carbon cycle. Carbon is transferred from one biotic component, the cow, to a second biotic component, the decomposers. Using the model, select the one method that carbon is NOT transferred from animals to decomposers.
as carbon dioxide.
as waste.
in scraps of discarded food
in dead carcasses
The graph shows the results of a famous biological experiment. In the experiment, Kettlewell believed that the peppered moth demonstrated how environmental pressures influence evolution. He studied two areas. Birmingham was a rural wood, with natural conditions. Dorset was an urban, industrial area. The moths use tree trunks to camouflage themselves against birds, which are their major predators. Natural gene variations produce a light form of the peppered moth, and a dark form, meaning that they are not equally visible.
Which of these statement is NOT supported by Kettlewell's data?
Light moths had a survival advantage in forested Birmingham.
Light moths had a survival disadvantage in industrial Dorset.
Dark moths had a survival disadvantage in industrial Dorset.
Dark moths had a survival disadvantage in forested Birmingham.
A scientist examines the embryos of a penguin, a duck, and a bat. She finds that the embryos of penguins and ducks develop in a similar way, whereas the embryos of a bat develop in a way that is different from penguins and ducks. Which statement BEST explains this observation?
Bats experience more genetic mutations that do penguins and ducks and are likely to develop differently as a result of these random genetic changes.
Penguin and duck embryos develop in a similar way since they both have similar ecological roles.
Penguin and duck embryos develop in a more similar way due to the greater number of chromosomes present in these species.
Penguins and ducks develop in a more similar way since their common ancestor is more recent than the common ancestor of penguins and bats or ducks and bats.
What law BEST explains why we would expect 75% of the offspring to have large teeth?
Law of Segregation
Law of Filial Generations
Law of Dominance
Law of Independent Assortment
Based on the data given, what is the BEST conclusion to be drawn?
Over time, the amount of herbicide resistant plants increased due to an increase in farming.
More weeds are killed today by herbicides than any other time in history.
Herbicide is a natural mutagen, causing weeds to turn into super weeds.
Over time, due to evolution by means of natural selection, resistant weeds survived, reproduced, and passed on their herbicide resistant genes.
Imagine a change in the iguana's habitat from dry land to aquatic. Based on the Generation I allelic frequencies, we can assume only a small percentage of iguanas had webbed feet and were able to survive. Over many generations, if their habitat remains aquatic, iguanas without webbed feet will disappear from this population.Predict what should happen to the allelic frequencies within the iguana population over time.
A new species of iguana will evolve.
The dominant and recessive alleles will eventually balance out.
The dominant allele will eventually disappear from the gene pool.
The recessive allele will begin to mask the effects of the dominant allele.
Consider this ecological pyramid found in the Great Lakes ecosystem. Ecological pyramids are diagrams that are used to show how much energy, the number of organisms, or how much biomass may be found at each trophic level of all the food webs of a community. Why are the autotrophs, in this case the algae, always placed at the base of the pyramid?
Autotrophs are always the most numerous in any ecosystem.
Autotrophs are the starting point of the carbon cycle in any ecosystem.
Autotrophs are responsible for converting solar energy into usable chemical energy.
Autotrophs work with saprophytes and detritivores to recycle energy into the food web.
Living things use many strategies for producing offspring, but most strategies fall neatly into the categories of either sexual or asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction involves a single parent. It results in offspring that are genetically identical to each other and to the parent. All prokaryotes and some eukaryotes reproduce this way. Sexual reproduction involves two parents. During sexual reproduction, parents produce reproductive cells, called gametes, that unite to form an offspring. Gametes are haploid cells. This means they contain only half the number of chromosomes found in other cells of the organism. The chromosomes sort randomly during the process of meiosis, each gamete receiving half the chromosomes from each parent. Gametes are united during the process of fertilization.
Either type of reproduction will result in the continuation of a species, but one method results in genetic variation as well. Which of these is NOT a reason why sexual reproduction better serves survival of the fittest and evolution of a species.
Sexual reproduction increases the likelihood that a mutation might take place in an organism's DNA.
Sexual reproduction may reduce the chances of inheriting a genetically inherited disease of condition.
Random assortment of chromosomes increases genetic variation. An organisms may get traits that aid in survival.
Genetic variation may aid in removing undesirable traits or weakness from a population and therefore aids in natural selection.
Consider the graphic of the divergence of one founder species into many additional bird species. This speciation resulted in
convergent evolution that resulted in a variety of lineages.
biodiversity due to anatomy and available food resources.
the survival of mutated individuals within the original population.
extinction of individuals in the population who died due to starvation.
What explains why populations fluctuate around the carrying capacity?
Immigration exceeds emigration, creating an increase in population size.
Birth rates equal death rates as limiting factors affect population sizes.
Density independent factors play a greater role than density dependent factors.
Mutualistic relationships exceed parasitic relationships, increasing population sizes.
ABO blood grouping of humans is an example of co-dominance. Homozygotes (IAIA and IBIB) express either the A or the B phenotype. Heterozygotes (IAIB) express both phenotypes equally and the IAIB individual has blood type AB. Blood type O is the result of the genotype IOIO: this blood type is considered the recessive trait and IO is the recessive allele for blood type. Consider the genetic cross for blood type of these two parents. The father is type A and the mother is type B. Both have the recessive allele for blood type O. What is the probability that these parents will have offspring with type A blood?
23%
25%
100%
15%
Pesticide resistance is increasing. Farmers in the US lost 7% of their crops to pests in the 1940s; over the 1980s and 1990s, the loss was 13%, despite more pesticides being used. It is estimated that 500-1000 pests have developed a resistance to pesticides. Consider the diagram showing the evolution of pesticide resistance. Select ALL of the statements that do NOT accurately describe the mechanisms of pesticide resistance shown in the graphic.
Insects that are sensitive to the pesticide all die out after the first application, leaving only the resistant insects in the population.
The first generation has an insect with a gene responsible for resistance to a pesticide. This allows it to survive the pesticide application and reproduce.
The insect with the pesticide resistance gene reproduces. Because these insects are more likely to survive pesticide application, insects with this trait become more prominent in the population.
When insects are exposed to the pesticide, some will develop a mutation making it resistant. Only these insects survive in the next generation.
As a population of insects is exposed to a pesticide, those susceptible to the pesticide will die out of the population, leaving those with a resistance to survive and reproduce, becoming more common in the population.
A model of the theory of endosymbiosis is shown here. It is an explanation for the presence of chloroplasts and mitochondria as organelles that might have had an origin as free-living prokaryotic cells at one time. Evaluate each statement below and select the ones that accurately describe how evolution and endosymbiosis gave rise to life on Earth as we know it today. Choose ALL that apply.
Endosymbiosis provided a benefit for the engulfed prokaryote and the host cell that engulfed them.
The energy provided by the photosynthetic or aerobic bacteria allowed for greater success of the host cell.
Only cells that were able to perform endosymbiosis and become eukaryotic were provided a mechanism to survive.
Endosymbiosis was a directed process as eukaryotic cells needed additional organelles for energy and metabolism.
Cells that engulfed photosynthetic or aerobic bacteria had a survival advantage and we able to reproduce more successfully, leading to their evolution and proliferation.
Consider the Canyonlands food web. Evaluate each of the statements provided and select ALL that apply.
The Fennec Fox is an omnivore.
The Northern Whiptail is an herbivore.
Rock squirrels are the only consumers of Yucca.
Producers include Utah Juniper, Yucca, and Pinyon Pine
The Rock Squirrel, Spiny Lizard, and Fennec Fox are all primary consumers.
In a typical body of fresh water there exists a diversity of aquatic animal species. Consider the following scenario. A freshwater lake, pH of the water ranging between 5.5 and 6.5, falls prey to acid rain. Over several decades the pH of the lake water declines to 4.5. What are the consequences of such a change on the aquatic animal populations? Choose ALL that apply.
While species may fluctuate, the number of animals remains constant.
Decrease in one species is compensated for by an increase in another species.
According to the graph of pH sensitivity, biodiversity of animal species will decrease.
Invasive species will migrate into the lake habitat to replace those species that die off.
Because pH tolerance varies, only species with a tolerance level 4.5 and below will survive.
A flowering plant located in one part of the garden is producing showy purple flowers. A plant in the same species in a different part of the garden has bright pink flowers. When the pollen from one of these plants is transferred to the ovule of the other plant, seeds and then offspring are generated. When these seeds are planted in a different place in the garden, the resulting plants are allowed to flower, and data are gathered. Which statements predict the appropriate outcomes based on the inheritance patterns? Select ALL that apply.
All offspring would be magenta in a codominance inheritance pattern.
All offspring would be magenta in an incomplete dominance inheritance pattern.
All offspring would be magenta if the pH of the soil is intermediate to the other two locations.
Half of the offspring would be magenta and half would be pink in a codominance inheritance pattern.
All offspring would be purple if this is dominant to pink according to a simple Mendelian inheritance pattern.
