WorksheetsBIOL 1010 — Exam 1 Practice Quiz (Study Guide → Multiple Choice)
Total questions: 56
Worksheet time: 28mins
What best defines the 'environment' in environmental science?
The complex of natural, social and cultural conditions
Only the natural physical surroundings
Just the biological organisms in an area
Only human-built structures
Environmental Science is primarily:
An interdisciplinary, mission-oriented study of environment and our interactions
A branch of social studies only
Strictly field ecology
A purely theoretical discipline
Is Environmental Science the same as ecology?
No — ecology is a component but environmental science is broader
Yes — they are synonyms
Only when studying ecosystems
Only in historical contexts
Which historical figure is considered the first American environmentalist (mentioned in lecture)?
George Perkins Marsh
John Muir
Rachel Carson
Aldo Leopold
John Muir is best known for:
Moral/esthetic preservation of nature
Founding modern chemical industry
Developing population theory
Writing about urban planning
Global environmentalism refers to:
Environmental concerns pushed to a global level by technology and industrialization
Protecting only national parks
A 19th-century movement
Local recycling programs only
Why is population growth considered a problem in environmental science?
Because more people increase demand for resources and environmental impact
Because population size is unrelated to environment
Because it automatically causes extinction of species
Because it prevents scientific studies
Why is poverty a problem for sustainability?
Daily survival can necessitate unsustainable environmental practices
Poverty has no linkage to environment
Poverty reduces population growth so it's beneficial
Poverty always leads to better conservation
The mission of environmental science is best described as:
Meeting present needs while sustaining the environment for future generations
Maximizing resource extraction
Preventing all human activities
Focusing only on laboratory research
Which of the following is correct?
A. B consistently follows after A under appropriate conditions
B. A sometimes occurs before B
C. A and B are unrelated
D. B causes A
Which of the following is the general scientific approach to evaluate a hypothesis?
Form a model, deduce predictions, observe data, compare, and potentially falsify
Accept a model based on intuition
Prove hypotheses true once and forever
Avoid testing to prevent bias
What is deduction?
Deriving specific predictions from a general model
Gathering data without hypotheses
Creating models from data
Comparing experimental groups
If good logic is used, can a prediction be false when a model is true?
No — if the model is true and deduction valid, prediction must be true
Yes — always
Only if data are fabricated
Only in social sciences
Can a hypothesis be proven true?
No — hypotheses can be supported but not absolutely proven; they can be falsified
Yes — once data match prediction it's proven
Only with mathematical models
Only for geological models
What happens if bad logic is used to derive a prediction?
We cannot be certain of the model's truth status; false models may appear supported
The model is automatically true
Data will always contradict the model
The model is immune to falsification
Under what condition can a hypothesis be shown false?
When a logically derived prediction does not match observations
When someone believes it's false
When deduction is invalid
When data are not collected
In the epistemological cycle, 'induction' refers to:
The creative process of generating or revising models from disparate information
Testing a prediction empirically
Deriving a prediction from a model
Collecting data in the field
Key lesson from the logic examples: when data match a logically derived prediction, we can conclude:
The model is supported but not proven true with absolute certainty
The model is proven unquestionably
The model is false
The data are wrong
Biologists commonly define evolution as:
Change in gene (allele) frequencies in a population across generations
An individual's growth over its lifetime
Change in atmospheric composition
A random event unrelated to genes
What is the basic unit of heredity?
Genes (alleles)
Organ systems
Proteins
Populations
Which four processes can lead to evolutionary change?
Mutation, gene flow, genetic drift, natural selection
Photosynthesis, respiration, transpiration, digestion
Erosion, weathering, deposition, sedimentation
Mitosis, meiosis, fertilization, differentiation
Which of the following are evolutionary processes?
Migration, genetic drift, genetic mutation, natural selection
Photosynthesis, respiration, fermentation, decomposition
Speciation, extinction, hybridization, fission
Gene flow, cloning, teaching, training
What makes natural selection novel among evolutionary processes?
It produces fit/adaptive traits by favoring phenotypes that increase survival or reproduction
It is purely random
It only decreases variation
It only occurs in plants
Immigration and emigration affect evolution by:
Changing gene frequencies through movement of individuals between populations
Directly causing mutations
Always increasing population size
Preventing natural selection
Why is genetic drift more important in small populations?
Random events cause larger proportional changes in allele frequencies when population size is small
Small populations have more mutations
Large populations experience drift more
Drift only occurs in small populations because of inbreeding
Are most mutations beneficial?
No — most mutations are neutral or harmful, rarely beneficial
Yes — most improve fitness
They always cause speciation
They never affect phenotypes
Darwin was the first to propose organisms evolve.
True
False
Who proposed natural selection jointly with Darwin?
Alfred Wallace
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck
Gregory Mendel
James Hutton
Three conditions necessary for natural selection to produce evolutionary change include:
Phenotypic variation, differential survival/reproduction, heritability of traits
Population size, mutation rate, migration
Random mating, no selection, constant environment
Immediate speciation, high mutation, no drift
Directional, disruptive, and stabilizing selection differ by:
Which phenotypes are favored or disfavored (extremes vs intermediates)
Only by mutation rates
Only by population size
They are synonyms
How does natural selection alter genetic variability in a population?
It tends to reduce variability by favoring advantageous genotypes, while mutation regenerates variation
It always increases variability
It has no effect on variability
It randomizes allele frequencies without direction
What is the ultimate source of genetic variability?
Mutation
Natural selection
Genetic drift
Migration
What is anagenesis?
Phenotypic divergence within a lineage over time (within lineage change)
Splitting of lineages into two species
Convergent evolution
Instant speciation
What is cladogenesis?
Formation of new species by splitting of a lineage (diversification)
Within-lineage gradual change only
Adaptive phenotypic plasticity
Loss of genetic variation
Convergent evolution is when:
Unrelated species evolve similar phenotypes due to similar selection pressures
Related species evolve differently
Species hybridize
Evolution stops
Batesian mimicry involves:
A harmless species mimicking an unpalatable or poisonous species
Two poisonous species resembling each other
A predator changing color seasonally
Random mutation of wing patterns
Has extinction been uncommon in evolutionary history?
No — most species that once lived are now extinct
Yes — extinction is extremely rare
Extinction only started after humans existed
Extinction never occurs in marine species
How many mass extinction events have occurred?
At least five major mass extinction events in Earth history
None
Exactly one
Over a thousand
Current extinction rate compared to background is:
Much higher — estimates suggest 100–1000× background rate
Slightly lower
About the same
Zero
Name four human activities that majorly impact extinction rates:
Habitat alteration/destruction, unsustainable harvest, introduction of non-native species, pollution/climate impacts
Only natural volcanic eruptions
Increased research funding
Planting gardens in cities
Ecology is defined as:
The scientific study of how organisms interact with their physical and biological environments and factors influencing abundance and distribution
Only the study of ecosystems' chemistry
A branch of meteorology
Study of individual anatomy
Viewing ecological systems as 'machines' highlights that:
Different organisms have different functional roles in energy/material transformations
All organisms have the same function
Ecology is mechanical engineering
Ecosystems do not recycle materials
An organism's functional role in an ecosystem is called its:
Ecological niche
Habitat only
Biome
Trophic level exclusively
A 'specialist' species is:
One with a narrow niche and restricted resources, vulnerable to change
A species that lives everywhere
Always a top predator
A species with unlimited diet
Which four factors determine population number (g = b - d + i - e)?
Births (natality), deaths (mortality), immigration, emigration
Food, water, shelter, light
Predation, mutualism, competition, parasitism
Age, size, color, sex
The 'natural rate of population growth' is measured by:
The difference between births and deaths (b - d)
The total number of immigrants
Carrying capacity
Emigration only
Unregulated populations with constant positive rates grow:
Exponentially (J-shaped curve)
Linearly
Not at all
Only in lab conditions
Carrying capacity refers to:
The ceiling on number of individuals a habitat can support
The maximum body size of an organism
A temporary population spike
Only applies to plants
What does population age structure tell us?
Whether a population will tend to grow, decline, or remain stable based on proportions of age classes
Only the average lifespan
Only mutation rate
Nothing useful
Life history traits include:
Age at maturity, allocation to survival vs reproduction, number/size of offspring, parental care
Only lifespan
Only body color
Only habitat preference
The trade-off between parental care and survival means:
Investing more in progeny often reduces survival or future reproduction of parents
Parents always benefit from maximum care with no cost
Parental care and survival are independent
Only applies to mammals
Species on the 'slow' end of the slow-fast continuum typically have:
Long life, slow development, late maturity, high investment in progeny
Short life and many small offspring
High mutation rates
No parental care
Type I survivorship curves correspond to:
Species on the slow end (low juvenile mortality, higher mortality late in life)
Species with very high juvenile mortality
Random survival across ages
Plants only
Three main spatial dispersion patterns are:
Clumped, uniform, random
Linear, circular, spiral
Dense, sparse, scattered
Parallel, perpendicular, diagonal
Which of the following are types of dispersion patterns?
Random, uniform, clumped
Linear, spiral, circular
Top, middle, bottom
Single, pair, group
Clumped dispersion usually implies:
Resources are clumped and/or social/grouping behavior
No competition and uniform resources
Even spacing of individuals
Random placement of resources
