BI 173 - First Exam - 2006

BI 173 - First Exam - 2006

Answer Key

MULTIPLE CHOICE.

Place the letter of the choice that best answers the question on the line to the left. Two Points Each.
NOTE: "e" answers are never the correct answer.

___B___ 1. Neo-Darwinism is mostly a merging of Darwin’s ideas with concepts of

a. Chemistry b. Genetics c. Paleontology d. Ecology
e. Political correctness

...although evolution acts on phenotypes, it gets passed along as genotypes,
so the patterns are now expressed as genetic.

___C___ 2. Mendel’s Law of Independent Assortment doesn’t work for genes that are

a. Integrated into the same metabolic system b. Mutated
c. Linked d. Dominant e. Too needy

...They can't sort independent of each other if they are physically connected.

___A___ 3. A dominant allele is more likely to

a. Produce a phenotype b. Produce a genotype c. Be passed on
d. Mutate e. Wear leather

...the dominance comes from the observable effects of the coded protein -
observable effects of genes, which is phenotype.

___D___ 4. Changes in pH can strongly affect what aspect of proteins?

a. Ionic bonds b. Covalent bonds c. Amino bonds d. Hydrogen bonds
e. Sex drive

...pH exerts effects with H+ and OH- ions. Hydrogen bonds depend on weak charge
interactions, which change as those ions' proportions (pH) change.

___B___5. Most modern research determines family "timelines" using

                    a. Comparison of fossil anatomy
                    b. Comparison of DNA sequences
                    c. Comparison of developmental / embryological processes
                    d. Comparison of metabolic molecules
                    e. County records and genealogical charts

...the most popular metabolic clocks (and usually fromDNA that doesn't mix each
generation from sexual recombination, like mitochondrial DNA).

___A___6. RNA is stored mostly in the

a. Nucleolus b. Chromosomes c. Nuclear envelope
d. Cytoplasm e. Cabinet for initial-labeled things

...it's one of the functions of the nucleolus.

___D___7. Which is usually a product of niche isolation?

a. Sexual selection b. Mutation c. Extinction d. Adaptive radiation
e. Satisfying scratching

                    ...adaptive radiation is when several species in an area have a common ancestor -
                        each one probably arose when a subpopulation began to specialize, moving into
                        and evolving to suit a different niche.

___C___8. Most animal traits are multiple-gene traits because they are the products of

a. Evolution b. Mutations c. Pathways d. Isolation
e. Too much to hope for choice "multiple genes."

...traits are usually produced through a sequence of enzyme-based chemical
processes, although only one gene is said to produce it.

___C___9. One of the most important aspects of both Darwin’s and Wallace’s data gathering:

                    a. It was done in the tropics                     b. It was done over a long period of time
                    c. It involved many islands                      d. They each used a large group of people
                                        e. They used very nice penmanship

...this gave them many examples of the relationship of distance and environmental
differences to differences in related organisms.

___B___10. For a hypothesis to be truly scientific, it should

                    a. Be completely logical                         b. Lead to clear predictions
                    c. Be based on previous results              d. Be expressible mathematically
                            e. Sound okay being recited by an old guy in a lab coat

...it has to be testable, and what good is a test if you can't predict what the results
should be if the hypothesis is true-?

___C___11. Which is universally a reliable marker for gender?

a. Haploid nucleus b. Penis c. Polar body d. Flagellum
e. Um, what now-?

                    ...this is tricky - it has to connect to one of the gamete types, and should be
                        always true for just that type. They are both haploid, and sperm are only
                        flagellated most of the time, but polar bodies are always part of egg cell
                        production.

___A___12. Which approach to classification is most concerned with the appearance of key features?

a. Cladistics b. Systematics c. Ontology d. Phylogeny
e. Key featurism

...it's part of the definition.

___D___13. A codon is important as it relates to a(n)

a. Protein sequence b. Nucleotide base c. Type of gene
d. Amino acid e. Term I’ve already forgotten

...this could have been written more clearly, but look for that to which a
codon most closely connects.

___C___14. Which is an example of Neo-Darwinian sexual selection?

                    a. Certain animals use sex chromosomes to determine gender
                    b. A female earthworm mates with a male in an adjacent tunnel
                    c. A particular phenotype produces increased reproductive success
                    d. All of these
                    e. Depends on what "neo-darwinian sex" is

                    ...the underlying question is really, "Do you understand what sexual selection
                        is?" You must look for evolutionary processes based upon success at
                        reproduction that are not connected to pure survival.

___B___15. Crossing over is a process that occurs during

a. Geographic isolation b. Meiosis c. Electron beam scanning
d. Acid-base reactions e. Marketing of mainstream music

...that's when homologous chromosomes get together and possibly swap pieces.

___A___16. Histology is the study of

a. Tissues b. Fossils c. Species distribution
d. Genetic connections e. Phlegm

...pure definition.

___D___17. Microvilli are used to

                    a. Move materials across cells                              b. Move cells across surfaces
                    c. Pump materials through membranes                 d. Increase surface area
                                    e. Remind you that you haven’t studied enough

...some of these are more likely to happen in cells with microvilli, but the
microvilli aren't doing them.

___A___18. In most animal populations, the majority of variation arises from

a. Recombination b. Evolution c. Mutation
d. Phenotype changes e. Too much online shopping

...It has to be something connected to the great generator of variation,
sexual reproduction.

SHORT ANSWER.

Pick TEN Questions to answer in the spaces provided.
NOTE: if you answer MORE than ten, only the first ten will be corrected.
Four Points each. Partial credit is possible.

1. The two most common imaging (beam) systems for microscopes: what type of beam is used?
LIGHT	ELECTRON
2. What two discredited ideas are attributed to Lamarck?
Features picked up during life are passed on the offspring (Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics)	Evolution is a constant progress toward perfect forms / a predetermined course
3. What are two different features that cilia and flagella have in common?
Long, cylindrical. Movement structures.	Microtubule drive systems. Projections of the cell.
4. Briefly explain the hypothesis of ontogeny recapitulates phylogeny. ...as an embryo develops, it "relives" the evolutionary steps of its species.
5. Asexually-reproducing organisms gain what two different adaptive advantages from producing huge numbers of offspring? Be specific.
Useful variation can be produced even by very rare positive mutations.	Offspring are dispersed and less likely to all be caught by negative circumstances.
6. What are the two basic ways to produce a syncytium?
Multiple cells fuse	Multiple mitosis happens without cell division
7. What two rates together tend to determine the evolutionary rate?
Rate of reproduction / Turnover	Rate of environmental change
8. Briefly explain how uniformitarianism was first applied to determine the approximate age of the Earth. ...the rate of ocean sediment buildup was used to determine how long it would take to build up sedimentary rock deposits.

9. What particle movement pattern definitely indicates that active transport is happening? ...from low concentration area to high concentration area (opposite diffusion).
10. During the primordial soup molecular evolution phase, what are two "life" abilities that even those early systems absolutely required?
Reproduction. Ability to self-organize.		Ability to evolve. Ability to transform energy in chemical reactions.
11. In general, what is by far the most common type of fossil? ...animals with hard parts that lived in the oceans or seas (marine).
12. According to ecologists, there are three potential responses of a population to change in their environment. What are two?
Continuation with no or minimal change. Continuation with significant change.		Extinction.
13. What, in order, are the four organization levels between protoplasmic and individual?
CELL	TISSUE	ORGAN	ORGAN SYSTEM
14. What are two different basic uses for lipids in animals?
Water barriers. Longterm energy storage.		Steroid-type hormones. Insulation.
15. Which basic types of different molecules are the major components of cell membranes?
Phospholipids		Proteins
16. For a low chromosome number -
Evolutionary Fewer mistakes when cells advantage? divide.		Evolutionary Less variation in disadvantage? offspring.

LONG ANSWER.

Select and answer completely any four of the following questions.
NOTE: if you answer more than four, only the first four will be corrected.
Six Points Each. Partial credit is possible.

1. What are six basic features found in common in all living things? (Not just animals)
Unique chemistry (protein based w/ DNA coding)	Metabolic manipulation of energy & nutrients
Complex, heirarchical organization	Life cycles involving growth & development
Reproduction with inheritance	Interaction with environment
Ability to evolve	Cellular

2. Give the relevant steps between a change in environment and the production of a new species from a population there, according to Darwin’s theories.

Individuals with traits best-suited to the changed environment are more likely to survive to reproductive age.

A large fraction of the next generation will inherit traits that suit the new environment.

Individuals with adaptive traits and combinations of traits continue to have a better chance to survive and make offspring with their advantages.

The combination of traits in the "typical member" of the group, over time, are those traits that work in the new environment.

If the new "typical member" is different enough from the ancestor "typical member," the new group is considered a new species.

Use like lined paper. The number of lines is not supposed to represent the number of steps.

3. For three different classes of animal tissue, name the tissue and give the feature that makes it clearly distinct from the other tissues.
EPITHELIAL TISSUE	Always faces some kind of space
CONNECTIVE TISSUE	Cells exist suspended in a non-cellular material
MUSCLE	Cells can contract
NERVOUS TISSUE	Cells can produce electrochemical signals
REPRODUCTIVE TISSUE	Cells can undergo meiosis
4. For any three organelles found between the nucleus and cell membrane of animal cells, name the organelle type and briefly give it function.
RIBOSOME		Protein production from RNA codes
ENDOPLASMIC RETICULUM		Passageways through the cell
GOLGI BODY		Production of secretions
VESICLE / VACUOLE		Specialized chambers for various processes (You could answer with particular types as well)
MITOCHONDRION		Aerobic respiration
5. In each column, place three things in chronological order (although they don’t have to be in strict sequence) according to the heterotroph hypothesis.
When the most advanced life was prokaryotes				When the most advanced life was eukaryotes
1 DNA Coding & Protein Chemistry				1 Compartmentalization of cell
2 Basic Anaerobic Respiration				2 Endosymbiosis of prokayotes (Aerobic / Photosynthetic)
3 Photosynthesis				3 Colonialism
4 Aerobic Respiration				4 Multicellularity
6. What are four conditions, according to Hardy-Weinberg principles, necessary in a population for allele frequencies to persist?
No Natural Selection				Very large population size
Mating completely random				No migration in or out
No mutations
7. For each, give one real-world example of 2 species and explain what aspect of Darwin’s theories that example supports.
Convergent Evolution			You're looking for unrelated species with similarities - wings, claws, fishy shapes, wormy shapes, legs, etc.
Divergent Evolution			You're looking for related species that are significantly different - like bats, people, whales, all mammals.

NO KEY FOR BONUS QUESTIONS.

Answer as many or as few as you wish. You can't lose points on the rest of the exam by getting these wrong. Partial credit is possible.

What problem is shared by the terms adaptation and spores? Three Points.

What are two features of silicate clays that suggest they may have played a critical role in the early development of life in the primordial soup? Three Points each.

What appears in the fossil record to demonstrate the rise of photosynthesis in the world? Three Points.

Why does it take two divisions for meiosis to do its main job of splitting up chromosome sets? Three Points.

What do biological Laws often have that physical Laws are never supposed to have? Three Points.

Thomas Malthus wrote about one thing but was most concerned with something somewhat different: what was his underlying concern? Three Points.

Alfred Russel Wallace is considered the "father" of which biological discipline other than evolutionary biology? Three Points.

Why is mitochondrial DNA considered a better molecular clock? Three Points.

What is most likely true if a modern form is almost identical to its ancient ancestor? Three Points.

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