Spring Semester Exam Study Guide- Biology
Complete this study guide for the opportunity to earn 10 extra points on your final exam grade. Only
study guides that are COMPLETE, HANDWRITTEN, and turned in on YOUR EXAM DAY will be taken for
credit. Any of the material on this review could be tested on the final exam!
1. Every cell contains DNA. The main purpose of DNA is to store the cell’s genetic information. How does DNA
control the cell?
a. DNA activates nerve signals
b. DNA determines what proteins are
c. DNA protects the cell from invaders
made
d. DNA speeds up chemical reactions
The diagram below shows part of a DNA strand. Use it to answer questions 2 -5.
2. Which part of the DNA strand is the phosphate group?
D
C
A
B
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
a. A
c. C
b. B
d. D
What part of the DNA strand does the diagram above represent?
a. Nitrogen base
c. Ribose sugar
b. Phosphate
d. Nucleotide
What part of the DNA strand represents the deoxyribose sugar?
a. A
c. C
b. B
d. D
The section of the DNA strand labeled “C” is known as a—
a. Phosphate molecule
c. Hydrogen bond
b. 5-carbon sugar
d. Nitrogenous base
The DNA of a cell contains the genetic information of the cell and governs how the cell functions. What would
you expect to observe if you compared the DNA from a cell of a frog with the DNA from a cell of a mouse?
a. The DNA from the frog would include
c. The DNA from the frog would be in the
different nucleotides.
cytoplasm of the cell.
b. The DNA from the frog would have the
d. The DNA from the frog would not
nucleotides in a different order.
contain adenine
A paleontologist discovers a fossil that resembles a bear, but it shows no trace of claws. The paleontologist
guesses that the modern bear evolved claws in response to environmental changes. What is this process called?
a. Binary fission
c. Mitosis
b. Meiosis
d. Natural selection
Spring Semester Exam Study Guide- Biology
8. Archaea are a diverse group of microorganisms. They live in conditions very similar to the environment of Earth
when Earth was first formed. What BEST explains the rarity of evolutionary change in Archaea since they first
appeared more than 3.5 billion years ago?
a. Sexual reproduction
c. Resistance to disease
b. Asexual reproduction
d. Extinction of their original food source
9. Clostridium botulinum is a bacterium that causes botulism in animals. Clostridium tetani is a bacterium that
causes tetanus in humans. Clostridium chauvoei is a bacterium that causes blackleg disease in cattle. What is
the CLOSEST relationship between these three harmful bacteria?
a. they share the same kingdom
c. they share the same genus
b. they share the same phylum
d. they share the same class
10. Which term below does NOT describe an organism from the Kingdom Protista?
a. Multicellular
c. Prokaryotic
b. Unicellular
d. Eukaryotic
11. There are many ways humans would benefit from the Kingdom Fungi. Which benefit is MOST important to
maintaining life on Earth?
a. Symbiosis
c. Medicine
b. Pest control
d. Food
12. Based on their names, you know that the baboons Papio annubis and Papio cynocephalus do not belong to the
same-a.
class.
c. genus
b.
family.
d. species
13. Fungi obtain food by
a. photosynthesis
c. endocytosis
b. absorbing nutrients by decomposing
d. chemosynthesis
14. The kingdom Plantae contains primarily
a. photosynthetic autotrophs
c. photosynthetic heterotrophs
b. unicellular autotrophs
d. protists.
15. In a 4 trophic level energy pyramid, which level of organisms would contain approximately 1% of the original
energy?
a. Herbivores
c. Producers
b. Secondary consumers
d. Tertiary consumers
16. The kingdom Plantae consists of organisms such as salt marsh, aquatic plants, grasses, coniferous trees, and
many other species. These organisms are considered to be autotrophic, meaning that they—
a. Need to get energy from other food
c. Can make their own food through
sources
photosynthesis
b. Can make their own food through
d. Need to get energy from sources other
binary fission
than the sun
17. In animals, if a female is malnourished, signals from the digestive and nervous systems shut down another body
system. Which system is it?
a. Nervous
c. Respiratory
b. Skeletal
d. Reproductive
18. Which system does a lowered body temperature LEAST affect?
a. Nervous system
c. Circulatory system
b. Digestive system
d. Integumentary system
Spring Semester Exam Study Guide- Biology
19. Digestion begins in the mouth, when the muscular and skeletal systems work together to help you chew food.
What is the correct pathway of food and nutrients through the human body after swallowing?
a. Digestive system -> excretory system ->
c. Circulatory system -> digestive system circulatory system
> excretory system
b. Excretory system -> circulatory system d. Digestive system -> circulatory system > digestive system
> excretory system
20. A mammal is able to maintain its body temperature partially by proper functioning of these organs:
a. Liver, kidney, skin
c. Skin, liver, brain
b. Kidney, liver, stomach
d. Hormones, skin, liver
21. How do the kidneys maintain homeostasis?
a. By absorbing nutrients
c. By removing wastes
b. By preventing infection
d. By digesting protein
22. Your body must maintain a relatively stable internal environment despite change in the external environment.
What is this process called?
a. Automaticity
c. Metabolism
b. Homeostasis
d. Physiology
23. Internal feedback mechanisms maintain homeostasis by doing which of the following?
a. Making adjustments in response to
c. Predicting how external changes will
input
affect internal conditions
b. Keeping internal processes working at a
d. Altering the external environment to
consistent rate
meet the organism’s needs
24. Which of the following is an example of an internal feedback mechanisms working to maintain homeostasis?
a. The iris constricts to reduce the amount
of light entering an eye on a bright day.
c. A father makes omelets for dinner
b. A student plays volleyball in the park
because his family requested them.
every Saturday when the weather is
d. The stomach extends to contain up to 2
nice.
liters of food during mealtime.
25. Javelinas are desert animals that eat mostly plants. When a javelina eats a plant leaf, what happens to most of
the energy store in the leaf’s chemical bonds?
a. All of the energy is used up by the
c. Some of the energy is destroyed and
javelina
some is stored as ATP
b. The energy is changed into living tissues
d. Some of the energy is transformed to
ATP and some is released as heat
26. In a simple oceanic food chain, phytoplankton, which obtain their energy by photosynthesis of light from the
Sun, are eaten by small shrimp, which are then eaten by whales. However, the amount of energy that the
phytoplankton have obtained from the Sun is far greater than the amount of energy available to the whales.
Which of the following provides the best explanation for this loss of energy?
a. Energy cannot be converted and
c. The energy obtained by the
transferred from one source to another
phytoplankton must be transferred to
b. The amount of energy in any system
shrimp before it can be transferred to
decreases over time
whales.
d. There is a loss of useful energy in the
form of heat at each stage of the food
chain
Spring Semester Exam Study Guide- Biology
27. Study the following illustration of a food web. What would happen if coyotes were removed from the
ecosystem?
a. The population of hawks and snakes
would decrease
b. The population of grasses and shrubs
would greatly increase
c. The rabbit and rat population would
greatly decrease
d. The rabbit and rat population would
increase
28. When lions prey on a herd of antelopes, some antelopes are killed and some escape. Which part of Darwin’s
concept of natural selection might be used to describe this situation?
a. acquired characteristics.
c. survival of the fittest.
b. reproductive isolation.
d. competition.
29. Charles Darwin called the ability of an organism to survive and reproduce in its specific environment
a. diversity.
c. adaptation.
b. fitness.
d. artificial selection.
Use the following information to answer questions 30-34.
30.
31.
32.
33.
34.
A—Biochemical Events
B—Biogeography
C—Comparative Anatomy
D—Fossil Record
E—Observable Events
Evidence that shows evolution as an ongoing event; such events have been seen and studied in various species
of organisms.
Studying the remains of organisms that lived long ago and how life on Earth has changed and increased in
number.
Perhaps the strongest evidence of evolution since such evidence is linked to the genetic code, which has
remained nearly unchanged over the ages.
Evidence that considers homologous structures, vestigial organs and embryological development of organisms
and how these may be linked to a common ancestor.
Evidence that shows how organisms living widely apart may be similar because they shared a common ancestor.
Spring Semester Exam Study Guide- Biology
35. Homologous genes are genes that descend from the same common ancestor gene in different species. A
scientist sequences homologous genes in several different related species. To find out which two species are
most closely related, how should the scientist analyze the data?
a. Count the number of amino acid differences
between sequences from different species.
b. Count the number of dominant traits encoded
by the sequences from each species.
c. Count the total number of amino acids in the
sequence from each species.
d. Count the number of traits showing incomplete
dominance in the sequence from each species.
36. [Transcription/Translation] _____is the first process in protein synthesis in which mRNA is made from the
instructions of a DNA template.
37. [Transcription/Translation] _____ is the second process in protein synthesis in which tRNA brings the amino
acid to the mRNA at the ribosome to form the protein.
38. Translation occurs where in the cell? [Nucleus/Ribosome]
39. Replication occurs where in the cell? [Nucleus/Ribosome]
40. Which type of RNA is a structural component of a ribosome? [mRNA/rRNA/tRNA]
41. The figure below shows—
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
a. Nucleotide
c. RNA strand
b. DNA strand
d. carbohydrate
In meiosis and mitosis, the beginning parent cell is considered to be HAPLOID/ DIPLOID
In meiosis, there are TWO/FOUR resulting daughter cells.
The daughter cells formed during meiosis are called gametes and have 23/46 chromosomes.
The picture below shows a NORMAL/ ABNORMAL person.
The picture below shows a KARYOTYPE/PEDIGREE. This picture shows a FEMALE/MALE
Spring Semester Exam Study Guide- Biology
Produces 4 cells
47. The Table to the left shows characteristics of which process?
a. Replication
b. Mitosis
c. Meiosis
d. cytokinesis
Ending cells haploid(n)
New cells different from
each other and parent
Produces egg and sperm
New cells have fewer
chromosomes than
parent
48. Fruit fly traits are represented with the following letters: L = long wings, l = short wings, G = grey body
colour, g = black body colour. What is the genotype of a fly that is homozygous long winged, and
heterozygous grey body color?
LLGg
49. In guinea pigs, black hair colour (B) is dominant to brown hair colour (b). Long hair (L) is dominant to
short hair (l).
a) What are the phenotypes of the parents in the cross BbLl  BbLL?
__black, long hair for both________________________________________________________
b) Construct a Punnett square for the offspring of the cross in part (a).
complete a dihybrid cross
step 1- FOIL both parents to determine the gametes
step 2- place the gamete pairs on the 4x4 box (16 box square)
step 3- combine like terms into the boxes (they will contain a combo of 4 letters)
50. If a potato chip that is homozygous barbeque (B) and wavy (a) is crossed with a chip that is salted (b) and wavy,
which percentage of genotypes would most likely be found in the first generation?
Write the gametes for the parents here: BBaa______ X __bbaa_____
a.
50% BBaa, 50% bbAA
c.
100% Bbaa
b.
100% BbAa
d.
50% BbAA, 50% bbAA
51. Biomass describes the total weight of organisms in an ecosystem. Each trophic level also has its own biomass.
The following food chain demonstrates four trophic levels, from primary consumers to quaternary consumer.
Which trophic level will have the largest biomass?

a. Hawk
b. Snake


c. Frog
d. Grasshopper