Chapter 1
Which level of biological organization is composed of several tissues?
A. organism
B. organ system
C. organ
D. cell
E. molecules
C. Organ
Which of the following statements is NOT true about fixed action patterns (FAPs)?
A. All the members of a species perform the exact same sequence of behaviors.
B. The behavior pattern is stereotyped.
C. The fixed action pattern is considered to be initiated by a sign stimulus.
D. FAPs require learning.
D. FAPs require learning.
Under what conditions would one expect a negative population growth rate?
A. birthrate is greater than death rate.
B. death rate is greater than birthrate.
C. a country becomes poorer, because it is related to economic growth.
D. better health care reduces the death rate and increases survivorship of newborns.
B. death rate is greater than birthrate.
Ecologists have found that
A. ecology cannot be explained using principles from chemistry and physics.
B. it is possible to capture all the photosynthetic energy absorbed in a molecule of glucose.
C. energy flows one way through an ecosystem and requires an external input.
D. inorganic elements flow through an ecosystem.
D. inorganic elements flow through an ecosystem.
A populations under exponential growth would be graphed with ______-shaped curves.
A. bell
B. pyramid
C. S
D. J
D. J
Which statement about living organisms is not correct?
A. Living organisms create energy.
B. Living organisms maintain homeostasis.
C. Living organisms reproduce.
D. Living organisms have adaptations.
E. Living organisms grow and develop.
A. Living organisms create energy.
Male elk may earn the right to mate with female elk by battling other males with their antlers. This is an example of
A. sexual selection.
B. altruistic behavior.
C. sociobiology.
D. classical conditioning.
A. sexual selection.
The maximum population that the environment can support for an indefinite period of time is called the
A. biotic potential.
B. environmental resistance.
C. carrying capacity.
D. replacement reproduction.
C. carrying capacity.
Animals that feed on both plants and other animals are called
A. herbivores.
B. carnivores.
C. omnivores.
D. detritivores.
C. omnivores.
Once a nutrient enters an ecosystem, it
A. can cycle endlessly in that ecosystem.
B. must remain in that ecosystem.
C. can only leave that ecosystem if it is carried by a living organism.
D. cannot leave that ecosystem.
A. can cycle endlessly in that ecosystem.
Jeff wants to know what concentration of bleach would be most effective at killing bacteria without overdoing it and using too much bleach. Jeff makes 3 solutions of bleach in water, 1, 5, and 10% solutions. He then adds a specific number of bacteria to a test tube of each solution and waits 3 minutes. He puts these bacterial on a petri plate and later counts colonies to see how many bacteria survived. In this experiment, the concentration of the bleach would be
A. control.
B. experimental/independent variable.
C. response/dependent variable.
D. confounding variable.
E. hypothesis.
B. experimental/independent variable.
Natural selection might favor altruistic behaviors in closely related individuals because it
A. increases the frequency of the altruistic individual's genes in the next generation.
B. reduces fighting between species.
C. ensures the survival of the altruistic individual.
D. stimulates new learning behaviors.
A. increases the frequency of the altruistic individual's genes in the next generation.
In a species with a type III survivorship curve
A. most individuals die of old age.
B. many individuals die early in life.
C. individuals die at a constant rate throughout time.
D. most individuals die during their reproductive years.
B. many individuals die early in life.
Atmospheric carbon serves as
A. an exchange pool for carbon that is available to plants for photosynthesis.
B. a long-term storage reservoir that becomes available to plants through the action of bacteria.
C. a reservoir of carbon that will eventually be released into the ecosystem through the process of weathering.
D. a storage reservoir of carbon that is part of the sedimentary cycle of carbon.
A. an exchange pool for carbon that is available to plants for photosynthesis.
To train an animal, you try to reward each instance of desired behavior. In this way, you can eventually get pigeons to play ping-pong. This system of reward, where animals are given a reward each time they responded correctly, usually in a boxlike environment, is called
A. operant conditioning.
B. insight learning.
C. extinction.
D. motivation.
A. operant conditioning.
Which statement regarding the scientific method is false?
A. A theory is an explanation of why a pattern occurs.
B. Confounding variables make experiments difficult to interpret.
C. Deductive reasoning is often used in the design of an experiment.
D. A control group is always exposed to the factor being tested.
D. A control group is always exposed to the factor being tested.
A nephew has a genetic relatedness of ____________ to an uncle?
A. 1/2
B. 1/4
C. 1/8
D. 1/16
B. 1/4
A relationsip in which two species live very close to each other and have close interactions is
A. competition.
B. a community.
C. an ecosystem.
D. predation.
E. symbiosis.
E. symbiosis.
When a plant produces food by photosynthesis, what is the fate of food stored as sugars, starches, etc.?
A. All of the food stored by plants is eventually consumed by animal consumers.
B. All of the food stored by plants is eventually consumed by either animals or decomposers.
C. Most of the plant is consumed by animals and very little is consumed by decomposers.
D. A portion of the food is used by the plant itself in cellular respiration and the rest is consumed by animals or by decomposers.
D. A portion of the food is used by the plant itself in cellular respiration and the rest is consumed by animals or by decomposers.
In the antibiotic experiment in the textbook, what is the independent/experimental variable?
A. Presence/absence of stomach ulcers.
B. Number of people in the control group.
C. Number of people in the taking antibiotic A.
D. Whether or not the patient gets one of the antibiotics or placebo.
D. Whether or not the patient gets one of the antibiotics or placebo.
Which of the following statements about the strengths of science is false?
A. Science is publicly understandable.
B. Scientific theories can change as new data become available.
C. Scientific theories, once found to be true, are always true.
D. Science is capable of making measurable predictions.
*C. Scientific theories, once found to be true, are always true.
Which of the following is NOT true about the bee waggle dance.
A. is a tactile form of behavior since it is done in a dark hive and the other beestouch the dancing bee to get information.
B. It is primarily a visual form of behavior as all dances are.
C. The angle the bee moves to gravity communicates the angel a bee must fly compared to the position of the sun to find the food source.
D. Bees can use the sun as a compass since they have an internal biological clock that allows them to compensate for the movement of the sun.
B. It is primarily a visual form of behavior as all dances are.
Which is NOT a density-dependent factor?
A. food supply
B. weather
C. shelter or nest space
D. disease
B. weather
.Ecological pyramids show the relative
A. biomass at each level.
B. numbers of organisms at each level.
C. all the organisms at each level and their interactions.
A. biomass at each level.
All of the organisms living in your front yard represent a(n) _______, while the blue jays represent a(n) ______.
A. population; community
B. population; ecosystem
C. community; population
D. ecosystem; community
C. community; population