Exam review Flashcards
What causes the seasons to change?
Tilt of the earth
Incident angle of sunlight
Lengths of daylight and nighttime hours
The sun’s rays are more direct in the ______, making the temperatures at latitude ______ and the length of daylight hours ______ compared to the rest of year
Summer, warmer, longer
To describe the motion of one celestial body in orbit around another we use the word:
Revolution
Mid-winter in the northern hemisphere, the path of the sun places it in the ________ part of our sky at noon
Southern
The word “rotation” in science is usually reserved to describe what motion
The spinning of a celestial body on its axis
The Earth makes approximately one complete revolution every:
Year
365.25 days
The reason that an extra day is added to our calendar every 4 years is that:
The period around the sun is slightly greater than 365 days
After several years the calendar would be off if we didn’t compensate for the extra 6 hours of revolution
The reason that we cannot see the new moon is that:
The illuminated surface of the moon is facing away from the earth
Phases of the moon are the result of:
The changing portion of the illuminated surface of the moon visible from the earth as the moon revolves around the earth
Daily tides are caused by:
The gravitational pull of the moon on the earth
Bacteria and viruses are sometimes seen as related in the general public because they are commonly identified as sources of _______ or ________
Disease, pathogens
Saprobes are organisms that get their energy from _______ ______ ______, so they may also be considered _________
Decaying organic matter, decomposers
In Biology, a virus is generally considered non-living because…
It does not grow
It is not capable of reproducing on its own
It does not respond to external stimuli
It does not engage in processes to maintain homeostasis
8 of the 20 peptides common to the proteins of living things are referred to as essential because…
They must be acquired in the diet of humans because our bodies cannot manufacture them
In order for us to get all _ of the essential peptides/amino acids in our diet we must:
8
Eat meat or grains with legumes (beans and rice)
The primary difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells is that eukaryotes have:
Nuclei
The idea that evolutionary development is marked by isolated episodes of rapid speciation between long periods of little or no change is called:
Punctuated equilibrium
When change in an organism’s structure, metabolism, or behavior is genetic and can be passed on to subsequent generations, it’s called:
Adaption
In Biology, when a genetic change in an individual organism leads to genetic change in a population it is called:
Evolution
Darwin’s theory of evolution suggests that organisms have evolved by gradual accumulation of genetic changes over a long period of time is called:
Gradualism
When 2 populations of apparently related species are not capable of interbreeding and producing viable offspring, we call them distinct…
Species
Organisms that must get their energy and carbon source ready-make from existing organisms are called:
Heterotrophs
When organisms are able to produce their own organic molecules from inorganic materials, like CO2 and H2O, using the sun’s light for energy, they are referred to as:
Autotrophs/Photoautotrophs
According to the Campbell text, taxonomists now include a division above kingdom in the Linnaean hierarchy they call ______. According to this extremophiles are no longer classified with the monerals but as _______
Domain, Archaea
The primary method of transmission of HIV in the United States has been:
Sexual intercourse
What are the problems with the second Galapagos Finch articles as a scientific paper by Terry Shea?
#1
Uses emotive language that seeks emotion and sacrifices objectivity
Fails to see that the outcompeting is an example of adaptation driven by natural selection which is evolution
Fails to recognize that the difference in the beak sizes is genetics
One of the problems with the second Galapagos Finch articles as a scientific paper by Terry Shea is that it:
#2
Suggests birds cannot engineer genetic change as if this refutes evolutionary theory, but evolution doesn’t say organisms can will genetic change
A news report like the article from Discover News reporting on research conducted by the Grant’s Daphne Island in the Galapagos is an example of a _______ source of scientific information
Secondary
Human blood can actually be blue as evidenced by which of the following?
It’s not. It’s red because of the iron ion that carries O2 through the bloodstream
What does it mean to say that experimental results are peer reviewed?
The results are analyzed by other scientists before they are published
All of the following statements are examples of anecdotal evidence EXCEPT:
Dr. Chowdury’s research on bowel disorders, which was published in a scientific journal
What are characteristics of summer?
Direct solar radiation = heating
Longer daylight hours
Higher temperatures
What are the characteristics of winter?
Little/no direct solar radiation = cooling
Fewer daylight hours
Cooler temperatures
How can someone obtain the 8 essential amino acids without meat?
Legumes (beans and peas) and grains (wheat, corn, and rice)
Why are 8 of the 20 amino acids called essential?
We can’t manufacture them, they need to be acquired in our diet
What is a possible explanation of a natural phenomenon or solution to a problem based on observations made?
Hypothesis
What does a hypothesis require?
Based on observations of a phenomenon
Testable and falsifiable
What is a scientific theory?
Sometimes contradicted by experimentation in which case it must be changed or rejected
Not an opinion, but based on upon the results of many experiments repeated by scientists throughout the world
To be useful, scientific theories must be able to…
Explain known phenomena
Predict new events
In a controlled experiment how many variables are allowed to change?
1
What is the changed variable in a controlled experiment called?
Experimental
According to Sagan, which of the following could not have existed in an early Earth atmosphere, prior to life?
O2
In Sagan’s COSMOS the Heike crab is used as an example of…
Artificial selection
What does Sagan suggest provides certain evidence to the fact of evolution?
Artificial selection
Natural selection
Fossil record
Shared organic chemistry, especially the genetic code of nucleic acids
In Sagan’s COSMOS he uses the Miller-Urey Experiment to demonstrate which of the following phenomena?
That organic molecules can be synthesized from early atmospheric gases
That the origin of organic molecules in the cosmos doesn’t require life
The ozone layer absorbs primarily…
High-energy, ultraviolet light
The Bullock’s and Baltimore Orioles produced hybrid offspring in areas where their populations overlapped, leading researchers to believe they were ___ ____ ______, but the hybrids molted twice in the molt season, requiring greater energy, thus making the hybrids ________, and therefore ________ ______
The same species, non-viable, different species
What kind of evolution describes cichlids from two different lakes evolving independently similar traits as a result of having to adapt to similar environments or ecological niches?
Convergent evolution
As the evolution of the species of cichlids occurred in two different lakes, this is a good example of…
Allopatric speciation
In Biology an ecosystem is referred to as…
An assembly of populations living together within a defined area and interacting, along with the geologic, climatic, and other abiotic factors of their shared habitat
Define sympatric speciation
When a reproductive barrier isolates a subset of a population within the same geographic location
Define allopatric speciation
When geographically separate populations may evolve independently through mutation, natural selection, and genetic drift
Apple maggots have adapted to the exploitation of domestic apples. These flies appear to have spontaneously emerged from the hawthorn feeding race native to North America. This is an example of:
Divergent evolution and sympatric speciation
A collection of species living in the same area at the same time is termed a:
Community
What is the smallest unit of an element that retains the chemical properties characteristic of that element?
Atom
Dr. David Resnick and his colleagues’ study on guppy evolution in Trinidad show that:
Evolution can be rapid in populations under selective pressure (punctuated equilibrium)
In Biology a community is referred to as:
An assembly of populations living together within a defined area and interacting
What might be a result of the expansion of the oceanic plates in the Atlantic ocean?
Oceanic plate will collide with continental crust
More dense oceanic plate will dive below continental crust, creating subduction zone
Subducting plate may cause volcanic activity on continental margin
Colliding oceanic plate may push continental crust, causing continental drift
When mantle material is heated by the Earth’s core, it becomes ____ _____ and _____ to the crust, where it strikes, spreads side-to-side, and _____ to become ____ _____ and _____
Less dense/rises…cools…more dense/sinks
The heating, rising, cooling, and sinking phenomenon of mantle material is called:
Convection
Digestive, endocrine, nervous, and transport systems are used by the body to maintain a stable internal environment, a process called:
Homeostasis
The process of nutrition involves:
Ingestion, digestion, taking nutrients in from the external environment and converting them into forms useful to life
Organisms build complex substances, break down complex substances, and release energy, by series of chemical reactions collectively called:
Metabolism
Excretion is the process by which:
Organisms remove waste materials, the products of chemical reactions, from their bodies
Natural selection acts in the ________ whereas evolution has a _________ effect
Individual/population
A leaf having a number of leaflets arranged along a common petiole is referred to as:
Compound
If one follows a single blade back to the apparent petiole and finds an axial bud at the point of petiole attachment, then the leaf must be:
Simple
A lead venation pattern in which veins branch from a single main vein extending from the petiole to the leaf tip:
Pinnate
Which of the following are considered lines of evidence that point to an evolutionary history?
Fossils
Anatomy & Development
Molecular Evidence
Sub-optimal Design
Artificial Selection
Dead organisms sometimes leave traces of their existence behind, preserved in form. We call these traces of their former existence:
Fossils
Fossils are often formed from/by:
Hard body parts preserved as/in stone
Impressions of tissues or organisms preserved in sediment
Bodies preserved and transformed into coal, siliceous or calcareous rock
Bodies preserved in peat bogs or tar pits
Possibly the greatest challenge to fossil evidence for evolution is that:
Only a fraction of those formed are ever found
Few organisms are ever fossilized
Soft bodied organisms are not easily preserved
Transitional species are often missing
According to the ___ __ ___________, sedimentary layers are deposited in a time sequence, with the oldest on the bottom and the youngest on the top. Using relative dating principles and the position of layers within rock, it’s possible to reconstruct the sequence of geologic events that have occurred at a site
Law of Superposition
Wetlands found in temperate regions characterized by the presence of sphagnum moss, typically nutrient poor and acidic, with few tree species (mostly tamarack)
Bogs
Wetlands found in temperate regions that contain low-growing emergent plants such as cattails as well as shrubs and trees:
Swamps
Herbaceous plants that are characterized by coming up from new seed every year, blooming, setting seed, and then dying:
Annuals
What herbaceous plants likely evolved as a result of the farming practices common in Europe at the time that settlers from Europe first arrived in North America?
Biennials
The farming practice common in Europe at the time that settlers from Europe first arrived in North America that is believed led to the evolution of the biennial is referred to as:
Crop rotation
Weeds are defined as those plants that are typically characterized as:
Prolific seed producers
Plants that thrive in disturbed areas
Trees of the upland forest in the temperate deciduous region are typically characterized by:
Long tap roots
Nodules on the roots of legumes contain _______ that add ________ to soil:
Bacteria/nitrogen
Trees of this community have no need of taproots and instead have shallow, wide-spreading roots, making them susceptible to tip-ups:
Swamp forest
Animals tend to populate edge zones of natural biotic communities, referred to as the ____ ______. This occurs because it’s here that these animals find the best supplies of space, shelter, food, and water:
Edge effect
The predictable and orderly changes in the composition or structure of an ecological community:
Succession
This form of succession begins in a virtually lifeless area where soil has not yet formed. Soil develops gradually as rock weathers, and decays from the activity of early colonizers like algae and lichens:
Primary succession
This form of succession occurs where an existing community is cleared by a disturbance that leaves the soil intact, like fire or farming:
Secondary succession
After croplands are abandoned to nature, the area slowly returns to its original state by a progressive series of changes called _______ ________. Ultimately, succession produces a ______ community, a permanent, self-sustaining community appropriate to the local area:
Secondary succession/climax
A community of organisms determined by climate conditions and recognized by the characteristic structure of its dominant vegetation is a:
Biome
Taiga is characterized by:
Spruces and firs
Much of precipitation is snow
Forest is occasionally interrupted by areas of bog
Moose are the dominant herbivore
The bulk of organic material in the tropical rain forest is found:
In living things, mostly above ground
Permafrost is characteristic of:
Tundra
Plants growing with their roots anchored on other plants are called:
Epiphytes
Herbaceous plants that return every year from rootstock that survives the winter or dry season are called:
Perennials
What are considered limiting factors for plant growth?
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Potassium
If a plant species is introduced from outside its native habitat and outcompetes the native plants in that area it is typically referred to as:
Invasive
When an introduced species survives and reproduces in a new environment without impacting the general survival of native species it’s most commonly referred to as being:
Naturalized
