Characteristics of Life & Cell Theory
What is the best explanation for why a tree is considered a living thing while a rock is not?
What is Identifying defining characteristics
Which organelle labeled in the model is primarily responsible for capturing light energy and converting it into chemical energy stored in glucose?
*See question #42
What is organelle identification
50. A biologist is studying how human eye color is passed from parents to offspring and the relationship between DNA, genes, alleles, and chromosomes. Choose a word for each blank to correctly complete the sentences. The trait for brown eyes is located on chromosome 15, where a specific [CHOICE 1] contains the instructions that code for the protein that produces eye color pigment. When this genetic information is passed from parents to children during reproduction, the [CHOICE 2] from each parent combine to determine the offspring’s eye color.
What is vocabulary mastery?
41. Scientists have studied how giraffes evolved long necks. In the past, giraffe ancestors had shorter necks, but over time, giraffes with slightly longer necks had a better chance of reaching leaves on tall trees, giving them more food.
How did natural selection lead to the evolution of long necks in giraffes?
What is cause and effect reasoning?
The Cell Theory states that all living things are made of cells, cells are the basic unit of structure and function in living organisms, and all cells come from pre-existing cells.
Based on these tenets, which scenario best demonstrates Virchow’s contribution to the Cell Theory?
What is applying cell theory?
A cell can be compared to a post office: the nucleus is the manager, ribosomes are workers who make packages, the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is the conveyor system, and the Golgi apparatus is the shipping center.
Which two statements correctly describe protein synthesis and transport in this model?
What is organelle identification & function?
6. The table below shows the blood types of children born to parents with different blood type combinations. Based on the data table, which statement best explains the inheritance pattern of human A and B blood types?
*see table*
What is pattern recognition?
4. During early development, fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals all have embryos that share common features, such as gill slits and tail-like structures. As the embryos continue to develop, these features change, and each species grows into its distinct adult form.
Why do the embryos of fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals share similar structures early in development?
What is evidence-based reasoning?
A man has the flu and visits his doctor. The doctor explains that the flu is caused by a virus, not bacteria, so antibiotics will not help. Curious about the difference, the man researches how viruses and cells compare, and records his findings in the table below:
Look at the chart on #27
Based on the data, why must viruses use living cells to reproduce?
What is Evaluating scientific criteria
A group of researchers is investigating how cells grow and divide in a laboratory setting. They notice that some cells are not completing the cycle correctly. Instead of following the normal process, these cells continue dividing without stopping, even when new cells are not needed.
What is the most likely cause of the abnormal cell division observed by the researchers?
What is cause and effect reasoning?
A plant breeder in the Mississippi Delta is developing a new variety of bell pepper plants. In this variety, green fruit color (G) is dominant over yellow fruit color (g). A breeder crosses two heterozygous plants, as shown in the Punnett square below. What is the probability of producing a green fruit plant in this cross?
*see #23
What is quantitative reasoning?
32. Based on the cladogram, which organism shares the most recent common ancestor with rabbits?
*See Diagram
What is model interpretation?
A group of biology students is examining historical scientific discoveries that led to modern Cell Theory. During their research, they find an article about a scientist who claimed to have discovered a new type of organism that has biological functions but no cellular structure. This claim directly challenges established biological principles.
Based on the tenets of Cell Theory and the contributions of key scientists to its development, which response best evaluates this claim?
What is scientific argumentation?
38. A class is conducting an experiment to investigate how the cell membrane regulates water movement. They place cucumber slices into two different beakers: one filled with distilled water and the other with a concentrated salt solution. After 30 minutes, they record their observations: The cucumber slices in distilled water remain firm and slightly swell. The cucumber slices in the salt solution become limp and shrink.
Which statement best explains the results of the investigation?
What is applying models?
25. The pedigree below shows the inheritance of cystic fibrosis, a genetic disorder that affects the respiratory and digestive systems. Half-shaded individuals are carriers of cystic fibrosis, while the shaded individuals have the disease.
Based on the pedigree, which statement best explains the inheritance pattern of cystic fibrosis?
What is pedigree interpretation?
44. A population of brown bears lived on an island with a large mountain range splitting the population into two groups. Over many generations, the bears on one side of the mountain range adapted to a colder environment, while the bears on the other side adapted to a warmer environment. Eventually, a significant storm caused a river to form, completely isolating the two populations. Despite being of the same species originally, the two populations no longer interbreed even when the river subsides.
What is the most likely reason that the two populations of brown bears have evolved into distinct species?
What is explaining processes?
31. Current scientific literature presents evidence both for and against classifying viruses as living organisms. According to research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), viruses exhibit some characteristics of life, such as containing genetic material (DNA or RNA) and evolving over time. However, viruses lack cellular structure, cannot maintain homeostasis, and cannot reproduce without a host cell. Students are watching a documentary about the flu virus. The narrator explains that the flu virus can evolve over time and contains genetic material but cannot reproduce on its own.
Based on the information, how should the flu virus be classified?
What is evaluating criteria?
20. Chromosomal abnormalities often result from errors during meiosis called nondisjunction. When this happens during either meiosis I or meiosis II, gametes can receive an abnormal number of chromosomes. If such a gamete participates in fertilization, the resulting zygote will have an abnormal chromosome number, which can lead to various syndromes. Genetic counselors can predict these abnormalities. A genetic counselor is reviewing test results for a prenatal screening. The counselor analyzes the karyotype below from cells collected during the amniotic fluid test.
What is applying genetic models?
A female sea turtle lays hundreds of eggs in a single nesting season. However, only a small percentage of the hatchlings survive to adulthood. Many are eaten by predators, while others struggle to find food or face harsh environmental conditions. Despite these challenges, sea turtles continue to produce large numbers of offspring.
How does this scenario demonstrate the role of overproduction in natural selection?
What is concept application?