POINTERS IN BIOLOGY

1. In a tobacco plantation, a few blocks were allotted to planting GM tobacco with antibiotic
resistance. Your friend told you about the risk of some microorganisms acquiring this form
of resistance. Is his claim valid? Why? Ans: Yes. There is a risk of horizontal gene transfer
to Occur.
2. Which of the following is not a time scale used in the Earth's geologic time scale? Ans:
Minutes
3. What do you think is the weakest aspect of the panspermia theory? Ans: Existence of life
outside Earth
4. Which of the following has the biggest time scale among the unit of geologic time scale?
Ans: Eon
5. Which of the following organisms is considered as the oldest life form based on the fossil
evidence discussed? Ans. Cyanobacteria
6. Which of the following does not fall under the precambrian era? Ans: Devonian
7. The Precambrian era has limited landmasses since most of the rocks were molten. Which
of the following organisms can tolerate these conditions? Ans: Thermophilic bacteria
8. At which period did life start to emerge? Ans: Archaean
9. At which period did large continents start to form? Ans: Proterozoic
10. Brylle successfully isolated his gene of interest, which he intends to incorporate into the
genome of a host plant cell. In a reaction vessel, he combined multiple copies of the gene
and the cultured cell of the plant. Thereafter, he generated the cells into mature plants.
However, it did not express the desirable trait. Which of the following could have made his
research more successful? Ans: He must have included an effective vector DNA.
11. You have learned that in the genetic modification of bacterial cells and plants, the gene of
interest must be inserted into a vector DNA, usually bacterial plasmid. In a reaction vessel
containing restriction enzymes, you have mixed multiple copies of the gene of interest and
plasmid. However, upon checking, no recombinant DNA is formed. Which of the following
statements best concludes the experiment? Ans: An enzyme is needed to insert the
gene of interest into the plasmid
12. Many claims have been made about the negative health effects of genetically modified
crops. Which of the following can be best done to evaluate these claims? Ans: Consult
published scientific journals that report assessments about these health claims.
13. Which of the following is the gene of interest in the Bt corn projects? Ans: cry gene
14. Insulin is the first pharmaceutical product that was produced from recombinant DNA
technology. Which of the following is the commercial name of this commercialized
recombinant insulin? Ans: Humulin
15. Which of the following was the initial source of the foreign genes that are responsible for the
creation of the Golden rice? Ans: Daffodil
16. At which period did Earth start to cool down that culminated in the ice age? Ans. Neogene
17. Given that the great Extinction was caused by a large asteroid, which of the following could
directly cause the death of many dinosaurs? Ans: Low sunlight and oxygen in the
atmosphere
18. At which period did humans first appear? Ans: Quaternary
19. Which of the following did not first appear during the Cenozoic era? Ans: Protists
20. If the great extinction did not happen before, what could be the best scenario that describes
modern Earth fauna? Answer: dominated by dinosaurs
21. Small mammals survived extinction due to their size. In which scenario does small size
become advantageous in adaptation? Ans: Hiding from predators and changes in the
atmosphere
22. During the late Triassic period, the continental shelf spread and formed the oceans. Which
of the following can be the role of oceans in the formation of new land animal species? Ans:
Oceans caused the species to be completely separated.
23. Most knowledge that we have regarding the dinosaurs is based on fossil records. Which of
the following explains the importance of fossils in improving our knowledge about
dinosaurs? Ans: Fossils provide knowledge on the morphology of dinosaurs.
24. Which of the following periods is not part of the Mesozoic era? Ans: Cambrian
25. Which of the following events caused the extinction of dinosaurs during the late Cretaceous
period? Ans: Asteroid impact
26. In which of the following periods did Pangea start to move and split that results in the
extinction of some organisms? Ans: Triassic
27. In which of the following periods did dinosaurs first appear? Ans: Triassic
28. Which of the following did not first appear during the Mesozoic era? Ans: bacteria
29. The cambrian explosion allowed the diversification of organisms. If the oxygen in the
atmosphere does not increase during this time, which of the following may describe the
form of organisms that can be present today? Ans: Organisms are still in the form of
multicellular aquatic organisms.
30. During the Permian period, a mass extinction happened. This is primarily caused by the ice
age that made the temperature drop. Given this, which organism can survive? Ans: bigger
mammals
31. Which of the following is the most valid theory that tries to explain the origin of life? Ans:
Primordial soup theory
32. Which of the following special breeding techniques is performed when an organism is under
the threat of being extinct ? Ans: Captive breeding
33. Which of the following correctly differentiates selective breeding from cross breeding? Ans:
Selective breeding makes more members two of the population and have superior traits
whereas cross breeding combines superior traits into an offspring.
34. You have 2 different varieties of tomatoes. One of which produces large fruits while the
other has a high tolerance of temperature. Why is it important to emasculate or to remove
the anthers? ..... Ans: Emasculation is necessary to prevent pollination.
35. A farmer successfully established a pure line green fruit bearing vine that produces a
relatively high number of fruits. However, this established superior breed ends at becoming
seedless. Should the farmer become completely…? Ans: No, he can resort to vegetative
propagation.
36. Two different plant species, one with natural variance that has a resistance against drought
and the other have a variance that has a resistance against frost . Several attempts were
made to crossbreed these species through pollination. However, all attempts failed. Which
of the following methods could be the best alternative to successfully cross the 2 species?
Ans: Somatic hybridization
37. A new corn variety was genetically modified to possess the Bt toxin gene. After the
successful introduction of the foreign gene from Bacillus thuringiensis and consequent
regeneration of the cultured corn cells, a large fraction of the mature GM corn fails to reach
sexual maturity in repeated field trials. Which of the following best interprets the result of the
experiment? Ans: The GM corn must still be crossed to other superior varieties.
38. Which of the following incorrectly describes recombinant DNA technology? Ans: It allows
an organism to undergo induced mutation to express a desirable trait.
39. Who among the following worked with Stanley Cohen to develop the first genetically
modified organism? Ans: Herbert Boyer
40. What branch of agriculture is concerned about the application of various real methods to
improve the traits of livestock? Ans: animal husbandry
41. A certain mutation results in the production of abnormal proteins that will meet up the
splyce lusome, which of the following is most likely the consequence of these events in
eukaryotes? Ans: A completely altered amino acid sequence
42. A cell has been exposed to a certain lethal chemical that results in the translation
machinirate to start breeding the transcript in either the 5 inches to 3 inches end, which of
the properties of genetic code is affected after this chemical exposure. Ans: Polaridine
43. Which among the following is not a base that is found in DNA? Ans: Uracil
44. Which of the following correctly describes a similarity between the reflection and
transcription? Ans: The primary polymerase enzyme synthesizes the polynucleotide chain 5
inches to 3 inches in direction.
45. Which among the following plants are abundant during the late Cenozoic era? Ans: grasses