True/False
Indicate whether the sentence or statement is true
or false.
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| 1. | Parsimony refers to the concept of choosing the simplest explanation when faced with
two or more otherwise equal explanations of an event.
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| 2. | Peer
reviewed studies are considered less reliable than non-peer reviewed studies.
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| 3. | Science is a democratic process where ideas that are believed by the most people are
considered to be the truth.
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Multiple Choice
Identify the
letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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| 4. | The
big bang theory attempts to explain the origin of a. | only Earth. | c. | our galaxy. | b. | our solar
system. | d. | the entire
universe. | | | | |
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| 5. | Geologists have worked out a history of Earth from evidence in its a. | rocks. | c. | animals. | b. | plants. | d. | DNA. | | | | |
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| 6. | Miller noted that, in his experiments, ____ was needed to produce the more complex
amino acids. a. | methane | c. | glycine | b. | nitrogen | d. | formaldehyde | | | | |
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| 7. | As
scientists use the term, a theory is a. | an idea that is accepted as truth because it is well thought
out. | b. | an explanation
supported by many observations. | c. | a hypothesis that has not yet been tested by
observation. | d. | a simple observation that is recorded
carefully. | | |
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| 8. | Charles Darwin was a. | a 19th-century fanatic who opposed scientific study of
life. | b. | a scientist who developed a well-supported theory of how
organisms change through time. | c. | a scientist who developed a theory of evolution that scientists
no longer accept. | d. | a 19th-century scientist who showed how fossil evidence
supports the idea that the earth is about 6,000–10,000 years old. | | |
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| 9. | The
legal decisions of the U. S. Supreme Court in 1981 and 1987 to stop the teaching of creationism in
public-school biology classes were based on the fact that a. | creationism does
not meet the requirements of science and is, instead, a religious belief held by some but not all
religions. | b. | the court ruled that evolution had been shown to be
incorrect. | c. | creationism does not represent the view of all religions about
how life has come to exist. | d. | the court noted that creationism is not a socially popular
idea. | | |
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| 10. | Scientists use a control in an experiment in order to a. | regulate the
outcome so that it fits the hypothesis. | b. | record data automatically using a
computer. | c. | make more than one experimental
observation. | d. | have a standard to compare with any
changes. | | |
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| 11. | The
careful steps in scientific problem solving are used a. | in research
experiments in a laboratory but not for thought problems. | b. | only when one
scientist challenges the ideas expressed by another. | c. | to solve
problems in both research and everyday life. | d. | to answer
questions without repeating experiments. | | |
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| 12. | Scientific ideas, once accepted, are a. | part of
scientific law and cannot be changed. | b. | accepted as long as no new evidence disagrees with them. Then
they are automatically discarded. | c. | irrelevant to new data. New data are important only for forming
new hypotheses. | d. | constantly tested against new evidence and modified as needed
to fit all scientific evidence that applies. | | |
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| 13. | Pseudoscience refers to a. | ideas that supporters claim are scientific but that do not meet
the basic requirements of science. | b. | popular ideas that have been carefully tested and retested to
demonstrate their accuracy. | c. | areas of science that are of less interest than the major
topics. | d. | science that deals with topics other than
biology. | | |
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| 14. | Evidence about the composition of Earth’s early atmosphere implies that the first
organisms were probably a. | aerobic. | c. | photosynthetic. | b. | anaerobic. | d. | eukaryotic. | | | | |
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| 15. | The
major difference between prokaryotes and eukaryotes is in a. | their cell
membranes. | c. | their internal
enclosure of organelles. | b. | how they obtain energy. | d. | their cell walls. | | | | |
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| 16. | The
best current estimate is that Earth formed about a. | 4.6 billion years ago. | c. | 4.0 billion years ago. | b. | 3.0 billion
years ago. | d. | 3.6 billion
years ago. | | | | |
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| 17. | A
fossil was found with a C-14/C-12 ratio of 0.04 times that found in material today. Futher
testing revealed approximately 10 units of O-16/mm3 and that puppies are cute.
Approximately, how old is the fossil? a. | 8,000 years | d. | 1.5 million years | b. | 14,000
years | e. | 1.5 billion
years | c. | 25,000 years | | | | |
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| 18. | Carbon 14 a. | cannot be used to measure the age of
fossils. | b. | reacts with carbon to form carbon
dioxide. | c. | decays slowly into nitrogen 14. | d. | never becomes a
part of living things. | | |
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| 19. | The
major idea put forward in the theory of evolution is that organisms a. | change during
their lifetimes to adapt to the environment. | b. | have not changed
since the beginning of life on Earth. | c. | change suddenly without any connection between past and
present. | d. | change gradually over many
generations. | | |
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| 20. | The
theory of evolution developed by Lamarck differed from Darwin’s theory of evolution by including
the idea that a. | offspring
inherit characteristics from the parents. | b. | species change over long periods of
time. | c. | characteristics acquired in one’s lifetime can be
inherited. | d. | Earth is much older than 6,000 years. | | |
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A customer fills a bag, closes it, and presents the closed bag to a
store clerk. The customer states, "This type of orange sells for 99 cents a pound." The
clerk places the bag, unopened, on the scales and announces, "That will be $1.98, please."
The customer pays without hesitation and leaves the store.
An assumption is something one takes for granted without getting the facts to
support it.
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| 21. | Based
on the preceding information, which of the following statements best represents an assumption
made by the customer? a. | The scales are working properly, and the clerk read them
accurately. | b. | Oranges of this type grow on trees in warm
climates. | c. | The clerk does not know how to read the scales
properly. | d. | The bag contained oranges of a type that cost 99 cents per
pound. | | |
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| 22. | A
scientific prediction is a. | a way to test an explanation. | c. | a known fact. | b. | a direct
observation. | d. | a random
guess. | | | | |
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Figure
P.02
An experiment
was designed to study the effects of salt concentration on the mass of potato tissue. Six pieces of
potato of equal mass were placed in six different concentrations of salt water for the same amount of
time. The mass was then measured, and changes were recorded on the graph.
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| 23. | In
the graph above, the dots J, K, L, M, N, and O represent a. | conclusions. | c. | hypotheses. | b. | qualitative observations. | d. | data. | | | | |
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| 24. | The
theory of evolution is a. | one of the major ideas in biology. | b. | a theory that is
not widely accepted by biologists. | c. | a theory that is interesting but lacks supporting scientific
evidence. | d. | an accepted scientific theory that applies only to certain
organisms. | | |
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Lemmings are small mouselike animals. (1) Lemmings exhibit an
unusual behavior. Every 3 to 5 years, they move for miles toward bodies of water. Eventually the
lemmings drown as they fall into lakes, rivers, or fjords.
For example, in 1963, Sweden’s hordes of lemmings moved south. (2) At a
certain road in their path, 44 of them crossed per minute. Although plenty of food was available,
when one of the lemmings died, it was eaten by the others. Contrary to what one might expect, these
moving lemmings were healthy, mature young born the previous spring. These mass movements have been
seen in years in which food was ample.
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| 25. | Statement 1 underlined in the paragraph above is a. | an opinion
supported by evidence. | c. | an unsupported
opinion. | b. | a direct observation. | d. | a testable prediction. | | | | |
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| 26. | An
important concept in evolution is that of species. A species is a group of a. | closely related
organisms that naturally reproduce with one another. | b. | organisms that
are identical in behavior and heredity. | c. | organisms that appear very similar to
humans. | d. | extinct organisms known primarily from their
fossils. | | |
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| 27. | According to Darwin's thinking at the time he developed his theory, the raw material
of evolutionary change is due to a. | genetic change. | c. | variations that exist in a species. | b. | long periods of
geological history. | d. | selection by
humans. | | | | |
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| 28. | The
differences among the beaks of finches that Darwin observed in the Galápagos Islands
are a. | variations that
can be inherited and can be adaptations. | b. | acquired characteristics that influence
evolution. | c. | not related to the environment in which the finches
live. | d. | characteristics of different species that do not
change. | | |
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| 29. | Scientists looking for evidence of evolution have found a. | scientific
evidence that refutes evolution as an acceptable theory. | b. | fossil species
that are intermediate between extinct species and modern species. | c. | no fossil
evidence of intermediate species. | d. | that evolution cannot be addressed by scientific processes such
as testing, observation, and prediction. | | |
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| 30. | In
science, observations and experimental results are accepted as confirmed when they a. | are carefully
recorded and are interesting and informative. | b. | are repeated by
other scientists. | c. | are published in newspapers with a national
audience. | d. | help suggest new experiments. | | |
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| 31. | Darwin theorized that organisms undergo descent with modification, which means
that a. | new organisms
can be produced through genetic modification. | b. | similar
organisms perform similar functions but are not related. | c. | they change
during their lifetimes but these changes are not inherited. | d. | organisms can be
somewhat different from their ancestors. | | |
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| 32. | Life
on land today is possible because of the presence of a. | an ozone
layer. | c. | hydrogen
gas. | b. | food made by
plants. | d. | water vapor in
air. | | | | |
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| 33. | Which
gas probably contributed the amino group of the first amino acids? a. | oxygen
(O2) | c. | methane
(CH4) | b. | ammonia (NH4) | d. | nitrogen (N2) | | | | |
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| 34. | According to the RNA world hypothesis a. | RNA would not
have to reproduce itself completely. | b. | DNA formed first so that it could produce
RNA. | c. | RNA must serve
only as an information molecule. | d. | RNA must have served as both an information molecule and a
catalyst. | | |
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| 35. | Proteins apparently cannot replicate without the help of a. | carbohydrate. | c. | RNA. | b. | other proteins. | d. | fat. | | | | |
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| 36. | The
microfossil records indicate that life may have existed on Earth for as long as a. | 3.5 billion
years. | c. | 100 million
years. | b. | 600 million years. | d. | 3.5 million years. | | | | |
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| 37. | The
strongest evidence for the age of the earliest organisms is provided by a. | strata. | c. | microfossils. | b. | stromatolites. | d. | coral reefs. | | | | |
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| 38. | Methanogens have been found in every place except a. | hydrothermal
volcanic vents. | c. | meteorite
fragments. | b. | extremely acidic environments. | d. | extremely salty water. | | | | |
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| 39. | The
cells of all plants and animals are a. | eukaryotic. | c. | prokaryotic. | b. | heterotrophic. | d. | microscopic. | | | | |
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| 40. | Mitochondria and chloroplasts have all of the following except a. | DNA. | c. | double
membranes. | b. | single membranes. | d. | ribosomes. | | | | |
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Figure
17.01
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| 41. | Refer
to the diagram of Miller’s apparatus in Figure 17.01. Which part of the apparatus
simulated the temperature and relative humidity of the ancient atmosphere?
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| 42. | The
question of where life came from or where it began is a. | an easy problem
to solve. | b. | possible to replicate for detailed
study. | c. | difficult to answer because there are no
witnesses. | d. | impossible to study scientifically. | | |
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| 43. | A
blueshift means that the light source is a. | moving closer to the observer. | b. | moving away from
the observer. | c. | moving the same speed as the
observer. | d. | not moving at all. | | |
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| 44. | The
surface of the earth 4.6 billion years ago would have been hostile to modern life for all of the
following reasons except a. | temperatures were extremely high. | b. | atmosphere was
rich in carbon dioxide. | c. | tremendous amounts of ultraviolet
radiation. | d. | atmosphere was rich in oxygen. | | |
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| 45. | Oparin and Haldane hypothesized that all the following energy sources caused gases in
the early atmosphere to react, forming organic compounds, except a. | volcanoes. | c. | radioactivity. | b. | lightning. | d. | high winds. | | | | |
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| 46. | RNA
molecules that act as enzymes have been given the name a. | RNAzine. | c. | ribosomes. | b. | ribozymes. | d. | rhizomes. | | | | |
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| 47. | The
discovery of microscopic fossils in northwestern Australian stromatolites suggests
that a. | life may be
older than previously thought. | b. | life on Earth did not come from
space. | c. | the earliest organisms were
photosynthetic. | d. | life may be younger than previously
thought. | | |
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