Biology: Life on Earth 7e
Student Self Test Questions and Answers
Chapter 1: An Introduction to Life on Earth
Self Test
1. A fundamental characteristic of life on Earth is that __________.
a. living things have a complex, organized structure based on inorganic molecules
b. living things passively acquire materials and energy from their environment and convert them into different forms
c. living things grow and reproduce
d. living things reproduce, using information stored in RNA
e. none of the above
2. Homeostasis is the process by which __________.
a. living things maintain their complex structure and the internal conditions needed to sustain life
b. living things reproduce
c. some organisms can enter a kind of suspended animation to survive harsh conditions
d. like organisms associate with like organisms
3. Which of the following groups of organisms contains prokaryotic cells? Please select the most appropriate answer.
a. Bacteria
b. Archaea
c. Plantae
d. Bacteria and Archaea
4. Organisms that can extract energy from light are called __________; organisms that must obtain energy from
molecules made by other organisms are called __________.
a. herbivores, carnivores
b. photosynthetic, herbivores
c. heterotroph, autotroph
d. autotroph, heterotroph
5. Science assumes that natural laws (such as the law of gravity) __________.
a. apply uniformly through space and through time
b. apply in the laboratory but not in nature
c. change with time
d. differ depending on the location of the observer
6. The process of evolution involves __________.
a. natural selection of organisms that produce more offspring in certain environmental conditions
b. changes in a species due to mutations
c. adaptation of an organism to its environment
d. all of the above
e. the first and third answers above
7. You discover a new type of organism in the back of your fridge. Luckily, your roommate is a biology major and
takes you to the lab where he works. You put a small piece of the fuzzy critter under the microscope and see that it is
made of very simple, single cells with no nucleus. What type of organism might this be?
a. Bacteria
b. Archaea
c. Bacteria or Archaea
d. Fungus
1
Biology: Life on Earth 7e
Student Self Test Questions and Answers
8. A scientist is testing whether a new cancer drug will work on prostate cancer in humans. To properly interpret
results of an experiment, control experiments are needed. Which of the following treatments would serve as a control
in these experiments, so that the researchers can conclude that the changes that they see in the patients are due to
the drug?
a. Different doses of the drug are administered to patients.
b. Some patients receive a "mock" injection that contains the same solution base and the same
volume as the drug but does not actually contain the drug itself.
c. At least 1000 individuals are treated with the drug.
d. Patients at three different hospitals, each in a different state, are treated with the drug.
e. Both the second and fourth answers are correct.
9. Your textbook lists seven characteristics that living organisms possess as a group. However, if you could distill
these seven characteristics down to two general descriptive properties held in common by all living organisms, what
would they be?
a. macromolecular complexity and multiple levels of organization
b. atoms and elements
c. cellular structure and genetics
d. chemical relationships and diversity
10. The organic complexity and organization characteristic of living organisms depends on the periodic capture of raw
materials and energy. Ultimately, the source of these materials and energy is __________.
a. metabolism
b. photosynthesis
c. the sun
d. other life-forms
11. Energy, like gasoline for your car, is required for organisms to survive, and even thrive, in the face of diverse
environments. An autotrophic organism __________.
a. would be one who derived its energy from internalizing the cellular matter of other organisms
(i.e., eats others)
b. would be one who derived its energy from a renewable external energy source such as sunlight
(i.e., photosynthetic organisms)
c. would include cucumbers growing in your garden
d. Both the second and third answers are correct.
12. Another way to describe the "scientific method" would be that it is __________.
a. a conceptual and ethical framework that guides scientific inquiry
b. dependent upon observations leading to a hypothesis and careful experimental design and
scrutiny of experimental results (data), leading to a conclusion that refutes or supports the
hypothesis
c. dependent upon "getting the word out" to other scientists via peer-reviewed publications,
including electronic journals
d. all of the above
13. Experiments are carefully designed in an attempt to __________.
a. test a single experimental variable
b. test multiple experimental variables
c. prove a hypothesis
d. none of the above
14. Natural selection is best measured by __________.
2
Biology: Life on Earth 7e
Student Self Test Questions and Answers
a. numerous adaptations
b. reproductive success
c. biodiversity
d. rate of environmental change
15. A basic understanding of basic biological concepts __________.
a. permits a deeper, and sometimes profound, appreciation of the world around us
b. is just a set of facts and ideas about the world around us
c. is necessary only for biology majors
d. often decreases our appreciation (i.e., effectively dehumanizes) our appreciation of the world
around us
16. Which of the following terms includes all of the others?
a. molecule
b. atom
c. subatomic particle
d. electron
17. The diversity of life is mainly due to __________.
a. atoms
b. genetic variation
c. prokaryotic cells
d. organ systems
18. You are a NASA scientist and have discovered an organism in outer space that contains its genetic material in
the cytoplasm rather than in a nucleus. Given this characteristic, how might you classify this organism?
a. heterotroph
b. eukaryote
c. prokaryote
d. autotroph
19. Your baby starts crying. Since she hasn't eaten in two hours, you declare, "The baby must be hungry." Your
statement is a(n) __________.
a. hypothesis
b. experiment
c. conclusion
20. Natural selection would be best illustrated by which of the following?
a. a bacterial cell in the human body that dies when a person takes antibiotics
b. a bacterial cell in the human body with a genetic variation that allows it to survive when the
person take antibiotics
c. a bacterial cell in the human body that mutates itself when a person takes antibiotics
3