Remembering

Charles Darwin published a book on changes in soils which concerned especially the influence of

A. trace elements.
B. grass roots.
C. burrowing insects.
D. moles.
E. earthworms.

Understanding

Which of the following best illustrates feedback in development?

A. As tissue X develops it secretes something that inhibits the development of tissue Y.
B. As tissue X develops it secretes something that induces tissue Y to develop.
C. Tissue X secretes RNA which changes the development of tissue Y.
D. As tissue X develops it secretes something which slows down growth of tissue X.
E. Rates of development in tissue X and tissue Y are controlled by the pituitary.

Applying

A biologist was experimenting with a protozoan, and noticed that the animal's contractile vacuole stopped contracting although the other parts of the organism seemed to be in good health and normal activity. Which of the following experiments was the one which might have produced this result?

A. Cooling the medium from 20°C to 10°C
B. Changing the pH of the medium from 7.0 to 6.5
C. Moving the protozoan from a Syracuse dish to a ten-gallon aquarium
D. Transferring the protozoan from a lighted environment to a dark environment
E. Transferring the protozoan from pond water to sea water

Analyzing

Endoderm cells in 10 three-day old chick embryos were marked with a vital stain (i.e., one which does not kill the cells). One embryo was killed and pre-served immediately and every six hours thereafter for 30 hours a different embryo was sectioned and made into slides which were examined microscopically. The location of the stained cells was recorded. No stained cells appeared within the gonads. It was concluded that endoderm cells do not become germinal cells.

What must be assumed if the results of this experiment are to be considered valid?
A. Endoderm cells usually form the gonads.
B. Ectoderm cells become gametes.
C. Gonads are comprised of cells from various parts of the embryo.
D. The presence of stained cells indicates that they actively move.
E. The vital stain does not affect the cells' functions.

Evaluating

The biologist Dr. Fritz Went found that if coleoptile tips were removed and placed on agar for one hour the agar would produce a bending when placed on one side of freshly-cut coleoptile stumps. Of what significance is this experiment?

A. It is the basis for quantitative determination of small amounts of growth-promoting substances.
B. It made possible the isolation and exact identification of auxin.
C. It is the basis for the experimental support for the hypothesis that IAA is auxin.
D. It demonstrated polar movement of auxins.
E. It made possible the discovery that roots respond differently than do shoots to different quantities of IAA.

Synthesizing

A new ultramicroscopic (c 0.14u long) cell organelle is reported by an electron microscopist. Another biologist challenges the report and claims the organelle is an artifact formed by the deposit of the chemical compounds used in the preparation of the cells. Which experimental procedure would provide the best test of this hypothesis?

A. Analyze the cells chemically to see if they contain the chemical compound in question.
B. Look at living cells with a phase contrast microscope.
C. See if any other report of the organelle exists in previous literature.
D. Use different electron microscopic preparation procedures on similar cells and see if the organelle is present.
E. Use the same procedure as the electron microscopist used on many different cells to see if they have the organelle.

Creating

Charles Darwin's presentation of the theory of evolution by natural selection may be expressed in a set of propositions:
1. Organisms of the same species compete with each other for the necessities of existence.

2. As environments change, selective factors will be different 3. More offspring are produced than the ecologic niche can support. 4. The best adapted forms tend to survive and reproduce in greater numbers than the less well adapted. 5. Members of any species vary widely, some being well adapted, others poorly adapted to their environments. 6. Adaptive characteristics are passed from generation to generation by heredity. 7. Mutations produce new characteristics (post-Darwinian). 8. New species are produced when new selective factors preserve different characteristics.
The best sequencing of these propositions in a logical construction of the natural selection theory is: A. B. C. D. E.


Copyright 2015 by Henry E. Schaffer, Karen R. Young, Emily Wicker Ligon & Diane Chapman     Comments and suggestions are welcome, and should go to hes@ncsu.edu
Last modified 7/22/2015
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