Name __________________
BIOLOGY
Ch 1 – Biology & You
Study Guide
Circle the letter that best answers each question.
1. All organisms have which of the following in common?
A. They exhibit complex organization
B. They store genetic information in DNA molecules
C. They utilize energy
D. They reproduce
E. All of the above
2. The ____ is the highest level in life’s structural hierarchy.
A. ecosystem
B. cell
C. organism
D. population
E. molecule
3. Researchers testing new drugs usually give the drug to one group of people and give placebos, “sugar pills”,
to another group. The group receiving the sugar pills
A. constitutes the experimental group
B. is needed so that the test will be repeated enough times
C. is the control group
D. is a backup in case some of the people getting the drug drop out of the test
E. is the experimental variable
4. A control group
A. requires a lead scientist who controls a group of scientists conducting an experiment
B. is always registered with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
C. is the group in an experiment that receives no experimental treatment
D. provides the answer to a problem posed by a theory.
5. During a scientific investigation, a researcher generally forms a hypothesis and makes predictions
A. before asking questions
B. after drawing conclusions
C. before collecting observations
D. after collecting observations
6. Which of these is an organism?
A. dog
B. beetle
C. oak tree
D. bacterium
E. all of these
7. Which of the following is not true? Living systems
A. are composed of one or more cells
B. encode their genetic information in DNA
C. respond to changes in the environment
D. maintain a relatively consistent internal environment
E. violate the second law of thermodynamic
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8. A scientist performs a controlled experiment. This means that
A. the experiment proceeds at a slow pace to guarantee that the scientist can carefully observe all
reactions and process all experimental data
B. one experiment is performed, but the scientist controls the variables
C. two experiments are conducted, one differing from the other by two or more variables
D. two experiments are conducted, one differing from the other by only a single variable
E. the experiment is repeated many times to ensure that the results are accurate
9. Life is organized in a hierarchical fashion. Which of the following sequences illustrates that hierarchy as it
increases in complexity?
A. organism, organ system, tissue, population, organ, community, cell, ecosystem, molecule
B. molecule, cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism, population, community, ecosystem
C. ecosystem, molecule, cell, tissue, organism, organ system, organ, community
D. cell, molecule, organ system, organ, population, tissue, organism, ecosystem, community
E. ecosystem, population, organ system, cell, community, molecule, organ, organism, tissue
10. One ml of an experimental drug diluted in a saline (salt) solution is injected into 20 pregnant mice to
determine possible side effects. Which of the following is a suitable control for this experiment?
A. 20 pregnant mice injected with 2 ml of the drug
B. 20 male mice injected with 1 ml of saline
C. 20 male mice injected with 1 ml of the drug
D. 20 pregnant mice injected with 1 ml of saline
E. 20 non-pregnant mice injected with 1 ml of the drug
11. The role of the control in an experiment is to
A. prove that a hypothesis is correct
B. ensure repeatability
C. provide a basis of comparison with the experimental group
D. both B & C
E. all of the above
12. An organism’s ability to maintain internal stability when the external environment changes is termed:
A. natural selection
B. mutation
C. responsiveness
D. homeostasis
E. metabolism
13. A tree in your backyard is home to two cardinals, a colony of ants, a wasp’s nest, two squirrels, and
millions of bacteria. Together, all of these organisms represent
A. a species
B. a community
C. a population
D. an ecosystem
E. the biosphere
14. Which of the following, if any, is not a common cellular activity?
A. cells respond to the environment
B. cells develop and maintain complex organization
C. cells take in and use energy
D. cells regulate their internal environment
E. all of the choices are common cellular activities
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15. Which of the following is/are properties of life?
A. a complex organization
B. the ability to take n energy and use it
C. the ability to respond to stimuli from the environment
D. the ability to reproduce
E. all of the choices are correct
16. Toads that live in hot, dry regions bury themselves in the soil during the day. What theme of biology does
this phenomenon describe?
A. metabolism
B. homeostasis
C. evolution
D. heredity
17. The factor that is varied in a controlled experiment is called the
A. control
B. hypothesis
C. dependent variable
D. independent variable
18. What is a statement that can be tested by additional observations or experimentation?
A. hypothesis
B. prediction
C. theory
D. variable
19. What is a group of organisms that can produce fertile offspring?
A. gene
B. kingdom
C. reproduction
20. What is the basic unit of heredity?
A. cell
B. chromosome
C. gene
D. species
D. species
21. What is the sum of all chemical reactions carried out in an organism?
A. homeostasis
B. metabolism
C. reproduction
D. sensitivity
22. What is a change in inherited characteristics of species over time called?
A. evolution
B. homeostasis
C. reproduction
D. responsiveness
Read the passage below. Then answer the question.
One of the most important parts of any scientific publication is the section that describes methods and materials
used. In this section, the authors describe how they set up the experiment, what instruments they used to collect
the data, and how they recorded the data.
23. Why is it important for scientists to include in their scientific publications a section that describes the
methods and materials used?
A. it shows how the data can be applied to other fields of study
B. it proves how expensive their experiment is to carry out
C. it allows other scientists to reproduce the experiment accurately
D. it prevents other scientists from repeating the experiment and claiming it as their own
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Read the description for each experiment and answer the questions
Mr. Krabs created a secret ingredient for a breath mint that he thinks will “cure” the bad breath people
get from eating crabby patties at the Krusty Krab. He asked 100 customers with a history of bad breath
to try his new breath mint. He had fifty customers (Group A) eat a breath mint after they finished
eating a crabby patty. The other fifty (Group B) also received a breath mint after they finished the
sandwich, however, it was just a regular breath mint and did not have the secret ingredient. Both
groups were told that they were getting the breath mint that would cure their bad breath. Two hours
after eating the crabby patties, thirty customers in Group A and ten customers in Group B reported
having better breath than they normally had after eating crabby patties.
24. Which people are in the control group?
25. What is the independent variable?
26. What is the dependent variable?
27. What should Mr. Krabs’ conclusion be?
28. Why do you think 10 people in group B reported fresher breath?
Identify each of the two italicized items as either an independent or dependent variable.
29. The number of red blood cells in a mouse’s blood at different levels of iron in its diet.
30. The amount of starch formed in a plant leaf for different times of exposure to light.
Using COMPLETE SENTENCES answer the following questions.
31. A camera sends back pictures of purple gelatinous blobs in near-boiling water near volcanic vents on the
ocean floor. What properties should scientists look for to determine whether the blobs represent life?
32. Define homeostasis and metabolism, and describe how they are related.
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Answer the following questions. All work must be shown for full credit.
33. A recipe calls for 300 mL of water. You add 0.25 L. Have you added too much or too little, or the right
amount. Explain.
34. Determine which of the following measurements is the largest: 18cm, 2.1 m and 0.0017 km.
35. The length of the Nile River is about 6649 km. How many meters is this? How many centimeters is this?
How many millimeters is this?
Compare using < , > , or =.
36. 4 L _____517 cL
37. 57 cm _____29 m
38. 3493 g _____ 507 kg
39. 40826 cg _____3488 jg
40. 483 cL + 26761 cL + 3057 mL _____ 49 L + 2087 kL + 371 L
Convert the following numbers into scientific notation:
41.
3,400 _______________________________
42.
0.000023 _______________________________
43.
101,000 _______________________________
44.
0.010 _______________________________
Convert the following numbers into standard notation:
45.
2.30 x 104 _______________________________
46.
1.76 x 10-3 _______________________________
47.
1.901 x 10-7 _______________________________
48.
8.65 x 10-1 _______________________________
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