Food For Thought

BIOLOGY 108
Topic #1, 2, & 3

Biol 108/mkd

Overview
Which of the following properties or
processes do we associate with living
things?
a) evolutionary adaptations
b) energy processing
c) responding to the environment
d) growth and reproduction
e) all of the above

Biol 108/mkd
 Which of the following is not a theme
that unifies biology?
a) interaction with the environment
b) emergent properties
c) evolution
d) reductionism
e) structure and function

Biol 108/mkd

What is the lowest level of biological

organization that can perform all the
activities required for life?
a) organelle—for example, a chloroplast
b) cell—for example, a skin cell
c) tissue—for example, nervous tissue
d) organ system—for example, the
reproductive system
e) organism—for example, an amoeba, dog,
human, or maple tree

Biol 108/mkd
 Form and Function
The idea that form and function are
related would not be exemplified by
which of the following examples?
a) Cells in the intestinal lining of vertebrates have
many small projections that increase the surface
area for absorption of nutrients.
b) Plants that live in dry areas have large roots for
absorbing water.
c) Seeds that are dispersed by wind are very light.
d) Fish that swim rapidly have bodies that are
streamlined.
e) None of the above.

Biol 108/mkd

Food for thought

» Why do some scientists believe that RNA,
rather than DNA, was the first genetic
material?

A. RNA has both information storage and catalytic

properties.
B. RNA contains uracil in place of thymine.
C. RNA could have evolved into DNA.
D. RNA cannot replicate more accurately than
DNA.
E. All the protocells of early Earth contain both
RNA and DNA.

Biol 108/mkd
 Food for thought
» Prokaryotes lack nucleus found in
eukaryotic cells. As a result, prokaryotic
cells do not contain which of the following?

A. Golgi complex
B. one or more chromosome
C. ribosomes
D. nuclear membrane
E. flagella

Biol 108/mkd

Food for thought

» If the mitochondria and chloroplasts in
eukaryotic cells resulted from
endosymbiosis, what feature(s) might we
expect these organelles to contain?

A. nucleus, DNA, and ribosomes

B. a plasma membrane, nucleus, and ribosomes
C. a plasma membrane, DNA, and ribosomes
D. a plasma membrane, nucleus, and cilia
E. nucleus, ribosomes, and cilia

Biol 108/mkd
 Food for Thought
»You discover three fossil
organisms and want to determine
their dates. You measure the Fossil % 14C
percentage of carbon-14
remaining in the fossils. Which of A 38.7
the following correctly places B 77.0
them in order from oldest to
youngest? C 52.1
A. A, B, C
B. B, C, A
C. C, A, B
D. A, C, B

Biol 108/mkd

Food for Thought

»Land animals could be considered to have
been common before the time of the:

A. Cambrian explosion.
B. Cenozoic era.
C. Ediacaran biota.
D. Proterozoic era.

Biol 108/mkd
 Food for Thought
»Many of the animals found in
the Burgess Shale do not
resemble any existing
animals, we have now
determined these animals:

a) Must be classified as members

of their own phyla
b) Are members of extinct phyla
c) Left no decedents
d) Are members of extant phyla

Biol 108/mkd

Food for thought

» Imagine a species of bird in which females prefer
to mate with brightly colored males. However,
males with bright backs are more often preyed
upon by hawks. Assuming that a wide variety of
genetic variation exists in the species, which do
you think is the most likely evolutionary outcome?

A. Males will be selected to be brightly colored

B. Females will be selected to choose drab males
C. Males will be selected to have bright chests and dull
backs
D. Females will not mate
E. The species will go extinct because the hawks catch all
the males

Biol 108/mkd
 Food for thought
» You are confronted with a box of preserved grasshoppers of
various species that are new to science and have not been
described. Your assignment is to separate them into species.
There is no accompanying information as to where or when
they were collected. Which species concept will you have to
use?

A. biological
B. phylogenetic
C. ecological
D. morphological
E. sentimental

Biol 108/mkd