1. In the flowering plant called the 4 o’clock, bloom color is controlled by exactly
2 alleles. A 4 o’clock that makes red blooms has two red alleles. A 4 o’clock
that makes white blooms has two white alleles. A 4 o’clock that makes pink
blooms have one white allele and one red allele.
A gardener grows 100 four o’clock plants. By pure chance, 50 plants make red
blooms, 25 plants make pink blooms, & 25 plants make white blooms.
Which graph below shows the distribution of the total number of alleles for
bloom color among all 100 plants?
A.
C.
white
pink
red
red
white
B.
D.
150
150
100
100
50
50
0
red
pink
white
Type of Allele
0
red
white
Type of Allele
2. Which tool would a biologist use to view the site of protein production in an
animal cell?
a. a microscope
b. a magnifying glass
c. a digital balance
d. a spectrophotometer
3. A team of ecologists measured the levels of dissolved oxygen at different depths
in three lakes. Their results are shown below:
Depth
(m)
Oxygen Concentration (mg/L)
Cobble Lake
Forest Lake
Rainy Lake
5
7.2
7.1
7.3
10
6.6
5.7
7.0
15
5.9
4.3
6.6
20
5.1
2.9
6.2
What is the best prediction for the level of dissolved oxygen in Forest Lake at
18m deep?
A. 4.2 mg/L
B. 4.0 mg/L
C. 3.5 mg/L
D. 3.0 mg/L
4. The following graph shows how a population of snails in a pond changed over
3 years.
Snail Population Over Time
Number of
Snails
Time
Which statement best explains the data displayed in the graph?
A. Predation of snails increased.
B. The snails migrated to another lake.
C. A toxin killed all the snails.
D. A limiting nutrient reduced the population.
5. Tammy is growing a species of algae in a test tube containing a trace amount of
phosphate. The algae multiply until all the phosphate runs out. If Tammy adds
more phosphate, the algae will start multiplying again.
What is the role of the phosphate in this system?
A. consumer
B. limiting factor
C. constant
D. biotic factor
6. Arizona is home to mule deer. Which of the following would lead to an increase in
a population of mule deer in a habitat?
A. a decline in the number of mule deer predators
B. an increase in the rate of mule deer emigration
C. a decline in the rate of mule deer immigration
D. an increase in the mortality rate of mule deer
7. Reba did an investigation with three identical plants in small pots. She put all
three plants in a room with no windows.
 She put the first plant on its side.
 She attached the second plant to a ring stand, & then turned the plant
upside-down.
 She let the third plant rest normally on its base.
Reba put four lamps of equal intensity around each plant. Each lamp was 1m from its
plant. She observed the plants for five days.
Which hypothesis was Reba most likely studying in this experiment?
A. If a plant is near a light source, it will turn to reach that light source.
B. If light source is more than 1m from a plant, the plant will not respond to that
light source.
C. If a plant is in an environment with gravity, it will always grow opposite to the
force of gravity.
D. If a plant is on its side or upside-down, it will not grow as quickly as a plant
that is resting on its base.
8. Which
A.
B.
C.
D.
of the following is a nonrenewable resource?
cotton
cattle
citrus
copper
9. Which of the following human activities is most likely to contribute to flooding
after a large rainstorm?
A. clear cutting on a mountainside
B. building a road
C. prescribed burning
D. tree thinning a forest
10. Which of the following is the most responsible for the brown cloud of smog that
settles over our city?
A. volcanic eruptions
B. dust storms
C. vehicle emissions
D. prescribed burns
11. Which of the following is not a consequence of prescribed burning on Arizona’s
rangelands?
A. heightened concentrations of aerosols in the atmosphere
B. improved visibility in the Grand Canyon
C. increased amounts of nutrients in the soil
D. reduced concentrations of dead plant matter
12. Art grew a population of paramecium in a 500mL beaker. The temperature of the
fluid was a constant 24o C. Her estimates of the population over two weeks are
shown below.
Estimated Paramecium Populations Over 14 Days
Day
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
Population
Estimate
300
500
2,000
3,500
8,500
5,500
7,500
Between with two days did the paramecium population first reach the carrying
capacity of the environment?
A. 6 & 8
B. 8 & 10
C. 10 & 12
D. 12 & 14
13. An ecologist studying a habitat estimates that the fox population is at one-third
the carrying capacity of the ecosystem. If the population contains 10 foxes and
the habitat is 60 square kilometers, then what would be the population density of
foxes if the ecosystem were at carrying capacity?
A. 600 foxes
B. 30 foxes
C. 3 foxes per square kilometer
D. 0.5 foxes per square kilometer
14. The emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, is native to Asia. It was found in
North America in 2002, probably having traveled here in the packing material
used to protect goods shipped overseas. Since arriving, the emerald ash borer
population has exploded. The insects have killed more than 20 million ash trees in
the Midwest.
Which of the following is the most likely explanation for the success of the
emerald ash borer in North America?
A. The ash trees in North America are more nutritious than those in Asia.
B. People are encouraging the growth of the new species in North America.
C. Asian ash trees have a lower resistance to the emerald ash borer than do
North American ash trees.
D. The emerald ash borer has fewer predators in North America than in Asia.
15. Scientists at a university were exploring the interactions between three species
of insects, labeled Q, R, & S. They put different combinations of the species into
three terrariums, then watched their interactions for one week. Their results
are shown in the table below.
Terrarium
1
Insect Species Populations in Terrariums After One Week
Species in
Ratio of Individuals as
Ratio of Individuals
Terrarium
Start of Experiment
After One Week
Q:R
30 : 30
30 : 30
2
R:S
30 : 30
10 : 30
3
Q:S
30 : 30
30 : 15
Which of the following statements is most likely an incorrect interpretation of the
data?
A. Species Q preys on species S but not species R.
B. Species S preys on species R & is the prey for species Q.
C. Species R & S each benefit from the presence of the other.
D. Species Q and R neither benefit from nor are they harmed by each other.
16. Which of the following organisms would be found nearest the top level of a food
pyramid?
A. a cougar
B. an antelope
C. plankton
D. a redwood tree
17. All of the following are examples of symbiotic relationships except:
A. a clownfish living among sea anemones
B. a remora riding along on a shark
C. a tick living on a mule
D. a wolf killing a mouse
18. Could it be said that the plants in an ecosystem are the source of all other
organisms’ food energy?
A. No, because tertiary & quaternary consumers only feed on other consumers
B. No, because many omnivores obtain some of their food energy by eating
animals.
C. Yes, because carnivores eat animals that rely on plants for their food
energy.
D. Yes, because only by eating some plant material can an organism get enough
energy.
19. All elements in an ecosystem can be categorized as either abiotic or biotic.
Which of the following statements uses either “abiotic” or “biotic” correctly?
A. Abiotic factors in a tropical rain forest include mutualism & the diversity
of plants on the forest floor.
B. On a farm, one important biotic factor to monitor is the moisture content
of the soil.
C. If you own a fish tank, two abiotic factors that you should regularly
measure are the water’s temperature and its pH.
D. Volcanoes emit large amounts of carbon dioxide, a biotic factor that can
affect climates.
20. Burning fossil fuels produces a chemical that is linked to the greenhouse effect.
Which of the following processes releases the same chemical?
A. cellular respiration
B. denitrification
C. nitrogen fixation
D. photosynthesis
21. A group of students in Canada measured the diameters of three species of trees
on the north and the south slopes of a large hill. They averaged the diameters of
the trees & their results showed that in all three species the trees on the south
slope grew taller than the trees on the north slope, on average.
Which factor most likely explains the difference in the average diameter of
the trees?
A. The soil on the north slope of the hill has a higher nitrate concentration than
the soil on the south slope.
B. The atmosphere on the south slope of the hill has a higher CO2 concentration
than the atmosphere on the north slope.
C. Herbivores visit the north slope of the hill more often than they do the south
slope.
D. The south slope of the hill gets more hours of direct sunlight per year than
does the north slope.
22. Using the table below decide which two organisms are most closely related.
Organism
Habitat
Diet
Pairs of incisors
in upper jaw
Mass of
adult (kg)
Average gestation
period (days)
Eastern
cottontail
rabbit
Large hairy
armadillo
North
American
porcupine
Eastern
chipmunk
meadow,
forest
grass,
twigs
2
0.8 – 1.5
30
semi
desert
tundra,
chaparral
lizards,
insects
bark,
grass
0
2
65
1
5–4
210
grassland
nuts,
acorns
1
0.08 – 0.15
31
A.
B.
C.
D.
eastern cottontail rabbit and North American porcupine
North American porcupine and eastern chipmunk
Large hairy armadillo and North American porcupine
Eastern cottontail rabbit and eastern chipmunk
23. Eel and sea snakes share many adaptations that allow them to live underwater,
yet they are members of different classes. What type of evolution does this
example illustrate?
A. coevolution
B. macroevolution
C. adaptive radiation
D. convergent evolution
24. A student is developing a classification system to identify taxonomic
relationships among common local plants. What characteristic would be most
helpful in making a classification system for the plants?
A. leaf color
B. plant height
C. reproductive organs
D. scent
25. Biologists are not certain how to classify the North American red wolf in relation
to other, similar species. Some biologists claim that the red wolf existed as a
species before both the gray wolf and the coyote. Other biologists claim that
the red wolf is actually a hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote.
What type of evidence would best support the hypothesis that the red wolf
existed before the gray wolf and the coyote?
A. Fossils of gray wolves and coyotes but not of red wolves
B. Different mating behaviors among all three species
C. Similar body plans between red wolves and gray wolves but not coyotes
D. A DNA sequence shared by the gray wolf and the coyote but not the red
wolf
26. The state amphibian of Arizona, the Arizona tree frog, has the scientific name
Hyla eximia. Which species is most closely related to the Arizona tree frog?
A. Phaenicia eximia
B. Dicentra eximia
C. Hyla wrightorum
D. Dicentra Formosa
27. What would most likely happen to a population of plants if their environment
undergoes long-term climate change that results in a much hotter and drier
environment?
A. The plants would increase the number of seeds they make to improve their
chances of reproducing.
B. Individual plants would work hard to grow longer roots and thicker leaves.
C. All of the plants would die off before producing offspring
D. The plants that gather and store water most efficiently would survive.
28. Which body part is analogous to the bat wing?
A. butterfly wing
B. lobster claw
C. fish fin
D. human arm & hand
Answers
1)
D
2)
A
3)
C
4)
C
5)
B
6)
A
7)
C
8)
D
9)
A
10) C
11) B
12) B
13) D
14) D
15) C
16) A
17) D
18) C
19) C
20) A
21) D
22) B
23) D
24) C
25) D
26) C
27) D
28) A