Biology

Question 1

Biology

True/False.

Science is made up of a collective of human observers, and (as such) it can make direct claims about how the world works.

Answer 1

False.

Science is simply the tool of observation/hypothesis/experimentation/discussion that we use to analyze the world around us. Science is not a being or collection of beings that can make claims about anything at all. Science is a process and tool.

Question 2

Biology

The scientific process is an __________ (a priori / a posteriori) process.

Answer 2

The scientific process is an a posteriori process.

Question 3

Biology

Science is based on ____able ___________.

Answer 3

Science is based on testable predictions.

Question 4

Biology

What is the only reliable method human beings have found to differentiate what is true from what is false (i.e., imagination from reality)?

Answer 4

The scientific method

Question 5

Biology

The human genome is made of ____________ base pairs.

Answer 5

The human genome is made of 3 billion base pairs.

Question 6

Biology

The human genome is made of ____________ genes.

Answer 6

The human genome is made of 20,000 genes.

Question 7

Biology

• Before* accounting for DNA repair, what is the average number of base-pairing errors made by DNA polymerase?
• After* accounting for DNA repair, what is the average number of base-pairing errors made by DNA polymerase?

Answer 7

1 per 100,000

1 per 1 billion

Question 8

Biology

The 3 billion base pairs in our genome are not entirely made up by the 20,000 protein-coding genes.

What are some of the other segments of our genome?

Answer 8

Repetitive DNA sequences (~50% of genome)

Regulatory genes

Inactive genes

RNA_(non-coding)-coding genes

Introns

Question 9

Biology

Approximately ___% of the human genome is made up of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which are viral gene sequences that have become a permanent part of the human lineage.

Answer 9

Approximately 8 % of the human genome is made up of endogenous retroviruses (ERVs), which are viral gene sequences that have become a permanent part of the human lineage.

Question 10

Biology

What percent of our genome’s 3 billion base pairs is made up by the 20,000 protein-coding genes?

Answer 10

1 - 2%

Question 11

Biology

Name some of the major molecular mechanisms of epigenetic changes.

Answer 11

1. Covalent modification (e.g., CpG methylation; histone methylation)
2. RNA regulation (transcriptional, MicroRNA, sRNA)

Question 12

Biology

How long has life been evolving on the earth?

How long has complex life been evolving till today?

Answer 12

3 billion years

1 billion years

Question 13

Biology

What structure contains homologous proteins to those found in bacterial flagella, also serves a beneficial function, and also projects from the cell membrane?

Answer 13

Type III secretion systems

(used by many modern bacteria, including Shigella and Salmonella)

Question 14

Biology

Describe the evolutionary mechanism by which the human eye may have developed.

Answer 14

Question 15

Biology

In the fairly pessimistic simulations run by Nilsson and Pelger, how long did it take for their simulated starting material (three cell layers: basal, photosensitive, and translucent) to become a fully functioning eye similar to a fish’s eye?

(Note: pessimistic here indicates that they made the mutation process more difficult than more optimistic simulations might.)

Answer 15

< 400,000 generations

Question 16

Biology

Which modern-day evolutionary biologists have spent decades measuring various aspects of the Galapagos finches in order to show that natural selection can be directly observed in the finch population within the timeframe of a human lifespan (in other words, incredibly fast; much faster than Darwin suspected)?

Answer 16

Rosemary and Peter Grant

(NOTE: some morphological changes in the finch phenotypes were observed in as little as two years, not the thousands or millions of years one might expect.)

Question 17

Biology

What are the three domains of life?

Answer 17

Eukarya

Prokarya

Archaea

Question 18

Biology

What are the classifications of life connecting domains to individual species?

Answer 18

Domain >

Kingdom >

Phylum >

Class >

Order >

Family >

Genus >

Species

Question 19

Biology

What mnemonic can be used to remember the classifications of life connecting domains to individual species?

Domain > Kingdom > Phylum > Class > Order > Family > Genus > Species

Answer 19

Dastardly King Phillip Came Over For Great Spaghetti

Question 20

Biology

Define meme as coined by Dawkins.

Answer 20

A unit of cultural information spread by imitation

Question 21

Biology

How might it have been that RNA and DNA first came to be?

Answer 21

As descendents of earlier, more simplistic replicators (e.g. a proto-RNA)

(NOTE: there may have been multiple earlier replicators, out of which natural selection would have promoted the most efficient.)

Question 22

Biology

Besides arising de novo in the primitive earth conditions of the Hadean (e.g. as indicated via the Miller-Urey experiments), how else might the building blocks of life (i.e. complex molecules such as peptides and RNA) have arisen on earth?

Answer 22

Asteroid impacts

• (see Nicholas Hud’s research)*
  https: //scitechdaily.com/asteroid-remnants-can-help-explain-how-life-on-earth-began/

Question 23

Biology

What is a simplified version of Dawkin’s extended phenotype?

Answer 23

All the external factors that our genes manipulate

(e.g. a bird’s nest is technically built by its genes)

Question 24

Biology

Differences in what between two species can be used to quantify their evolutionary relationship?

Answer 24

Their genetic sequences

(Random mutations occur at a predictable rate;

note: natural selection can increase the rate at which a certain mutation predominates, so this measurement is only an estimate.)

Question 25

# Biology Generally speaking, a mammal with 2x the mass (i.e. 2x the number of cells) of a smaller mammal will have what metabolic need per cell as compared to the smaller animal?

Answer 25

**3/4 per cell (25% decrease)** * (I.e., for every doubling in animal mass, the cells only have 3/4 the metabolic need per cell.)* * (E.g., an elephant's cells would have 3/4 the metabolic need when compared to an animal half the elephant's size.)*

Question 26

# Biology Generally speaking, a mammal with 2x the mass (i.e. 2x the number of cells) of a smaller mammal will have what lifespan as compared to the smaller animal?

Answer 26

**5/4 (25% increase)**

Question 27

# Biology In his now-disproved theory, Jean-Baptiste _________ proposed that the "use or disuse" of a trait dictated its heritability. In a classic example, giraffes who often stretched their necks would have offspring with longer necks than average.

Answer 27

In his now-disproved theory, Jean-Baptiste **_Lamarck_** (Lamarckian inheritance) proposed that the "use or disuse" of a trait dictated its heritability. In a classic example, giraffes who often stretched their necks would have offspring with longer necks than average.

Question 28

# Biology What are the three main forms of evolutionary pressure through natural selection?

Answer 28

Directional, stabilizing, disruptive

Question 29

# Biology Antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains are an example of what form of natural selection?

Answer 29

Directional

Question 30

# Biology Human birth weights are an example of what form of natural selection?

Answer 30

Stabilizing

Question 31

# Biology If one collective of horses has long manes and a separate one has developed short manes, what form of natural selection is illustrated?

Answer 31

Disruptive

Question 32

# Biology What are the three forms of symbiosis?

Answer 32

Mutualism, commensalism, parasitism

Question 33

# Biology \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ evolution causes distinct lineages to evolve similar traits over time.

Answer 33

**_Parallel_** evolution causes distinct lineages to evolve similar traits over time.

Question 34

# Biology \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ evolution causes related groups to become increasingly different. I.e., they evolve apart.

Answer 34

**_Divergent_** evolution causes related groups to become increasingly different. I.e., they evolve apart.

Question 35

# Biology \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ evolution causes unrelated, originally dissimilar groups to become increasingly similar.

Answer 35

**_Convergent_** evolution causes unrelated, originally dissimilar groups to become increasingly similar.

Question 36

# Biology What evolutionary term refers to the condition where a small group founds a new population in a new environment, reproducing and creating a population defined by the small group's genetic makeup?

Answer 36

The founder effect

Question 37

# Biology What evolutionary term refers to the condition where environmental pressures reduce a population to a relatively small group that then reproduces, meaning the growing population is defined by the small group's genetic makeup?

Answer 37

The bottleneck effect

Question 38

# Biology Describe the basic difference between antigenic drift and antigenic shift.

Answer 38

Question 39

# Biology \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ structures are anatomical features of two species that developed from the same part of a common ancestor.

Answer 39

**_Homologous_** structures are anatomical features of two species that developed from the same part of a common ancestor.

Question 40

# Biology \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ structures are anatomical structures of two species that share a form or function, but did not develop from a common ancestor.

Answer 40

**_Analogous_** structures are anatomical structures of two species that share a form or function, but did not develop from a common ancestor.

Question 41

# Biology Which theory states that evolution occurs in short, rapid bursts within long periods of little change?

Answer 41

Punctuated Equilibrium Theory

Question 42

# Biology \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ occurs when a single species displays discrete phenotypic forms, such as Mendel's green and yellow peas.

Answer 42

**_Polymorphism_** occurs when a single species displays discrete phenotypic forms, such as Mendel's green and yellow peas.

Question 43

# Biology **True/False**. Whales and hippos are extremely closely related.

Answer 43

True.

Question 44

# Biology What are three well-known kingdoms within eukarya?

Answer 44

***Fungi*** ***Animalia*** ***Plantae*** (also, *Chromalveolata*, *Rhizaria*, and *Excavata*)

Question 45

# Biology What are three less well-known kingdoms within eukarya?

Answer 45

***Chromalveolata*** (di-ciliates) ***Rhizaria*** (unicellular) ***Excavata*** (some photosynthetic and parasitic organisms)

Question 46

# Biology Most Archaea are thought of as being what?

Answer 46

Extremophiles

Question 47

# Biology What term refers to a natural form of asexual reproduction in which growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by sperm? ## Footnote *(Note: this can occur in some invertebrates and vertebrates.)*

Answer 47

Parthenogenesis

Question 48

# Biology How many cells are there in the average human body?

Answer 48

~60 trillion

Question 49

# Biology _Disorders evolving to increase resistance to infectious disease_ Hemoglobinopathies confer some resistance against \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Tay-Sachs disease confers some resistance against \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_. Cystic fibrosis confer some resistance against \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_.

Answer 49

_Disorders evolving to increase resistance to infectious disease_ Hemoglobinopathies confer some resistance against **_malaria_**. Tay-Sachs disease confers some resistance against **_tuberculosis_**. Cystic fibrosis confer some resistance against **_cholera_**.

Question 50

# Biology What animal is a good example of an organism in-between flying and non-flying on the evolutionary tree?

Answer 50

**Flying squirrels** (think normal squirrels vs. these gliders vs. bats)

Question 51

# Biology **True/False**. Human beings and a few select animals (e.g. corvids, other primates, dolphins) are really the only organisms who learn.

Answer 51

**False**. The neural networks of ants and many other 'lower' organisms are equipped to learn *(e.g. ants memorizing the route from the nest to food)*.

Question 52

# Biology How do bees communicate the location of food to their comrades?

Answer 52

Via a **dance** (the dance works based on the **location of the sun**, which the bee modifies if it has been a while since it located the food and the sun has since shifted)

Question 53

# Biology Bees communicate via intricate dances based on their positioning relative to the sun. What do they do if the day is cloudly?

Answer 53

They rely on the **polarized light** they can still detect through the clouds

Question 54

# Biology Besides pheromones, how do ants learn the path from their nest to food and back?

Answer 54

Their neural networks calculate the speed and time traveled at that speed in a certain direction, then they memorize the steps as direction changes ## Footnote *(So, if you pick up an ant and place him off course, he may follow the same memorized route back, but wind up far from the nest.)*

Question 55

# Biology How do birds learn to navigate at night via the stars?

Answer 55

Spending hours as baby chicks watching the sky rotate around a fixed point (the north celestial pole) and they memorize the relevant constellations around it

Question 56

# Biology What naturally occurring phenonemon may be a good model for exploring the jump from unicellular to multicellular organisms?

Answer 56

**Biofilms** *(This phenomenon may be an example of a proto-body of sorts that only has to be connected in the right way by the already-present ion channels to form a sort of rudimentary nervous system.)*

Question 57

# Biology What cellular structure is likely _vital_ to the formation of communicative biofilms, shared cellular 'experience,' logic gates, neural networks, and eventual multicellularity?

Answer 57

Voltage-gated gap junctions

Question 58

# Biology How could a group of unicellular cells in a biofilm become a connected multicellular body that could reproduce from a single cell (although not necessarily specific in eventual number of the resultant organism)?

Answer 58

One only needs a mutation that allows for connectedness via gap junctions and a shared experience that is beneficial to the cell's survival (this cell type will out-reproduce the rest, replacing the colony)

Question 59

# Biology If any, name some examples of multicellular eukaryotes that create biofilms.

Answer 59

Certain **fungi** Certain **bioalgae**

Question 60

# Biology Name the type of flatworm that has a nervous system, primitive brain, GI tract, light-sensitive eye patches, and that can asexually regenerate into two entirely whole creatures if a small portion is cut off (i.e. both the near-complete piece and the tiny piece form complete flatworms).

Answer 60

Planerian

Question 61

# Biology What is the record for the number of slices one can make in a single planerian and still have each slice regenerate into individual, whole planerians?

Answer 61

**279** *(So, cutting a single planerian into 279 pieces will yield 279 intact planerians. These little pieces reform into entire organisms within just a few weeks!)*

Question 62

# Biology **True/False**. Planerians are immortal due to their regenerative and telomerase activities, and they reproduce asexually through regeneration when cut into pieces; therefore, planerian bodies today are contiguous with the planerians of billions of years ago.

Answer 62

True.

Question 63

# Biology What hypothesis does Michael Levin suggest is the key to the planarian flatworm's ability to regenerate oneself from a tiny piece of the original organism?

Answer 63

Subcellular cytoskeletal structures that outline the desired eventual shape and outcome (with more details in cell polarity and ion channel function)

Question 64

# Biology How does Michael Levin suggest we think about cancer cells in light of the topics of biofilms, unicellularity, and multicellularity?

Answer 64

It is a reversion to a unicellular, independent state (in which the cells are no longer communicating/sharing properly)

Question 65

What is the significance of tiktaalik?

Answer 65

Found in arctic Canada, Tiktaalik is a prime example of a **transitional fossil** representing **the move from water-based creatures to land-based creatures**. Tiktaalik is a type of fish, but with sturdier bones and a body organization that would have allowed it to prop itself up in shallow water. It is likely an example of the transition from aquatic creatures to four-legged vertebrates (i.e., amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals).

Question 66

# Biology Most genetic mutations are __________ (beneficial/neutral/harmful).

Answer 66

Most genetic mutations are **_neutral_**.

Question 67

# Biology Why do spider legs curl inwards when the spider dies?

Answer 67

Spider legs have leg flexor muscles but few-to-no leg extensors. Leg extension is pneumatically operated via increased hemolymph pressure throughout the limb. When the spider dies, the pressure gradient dissipates.

Question 68

# Biology What is the blubber found on many cetaceans (e.g., dolphins) and pinnipeds (e.g., seals)?

Answer 68

Blubber is a more rigid, proteinaceous form of fat storage.

Question 69

# Biology How many chromosomes do most great apes have? How are humans different?

Answer 69

**48** Humans have two of the 24 pairs fused into a single chromosome 2, yielding 23 pairs

Question 70

# Biology How similar are human and chimpanzee genomes?

Answer 70

~96%

Question 71

# Biology Some gorillas have been noticed singing and humming while they eat (usually the dominant males). Why might this be?

Answer 71

This behavior has been thought to indicate that they are **signaling contentment and safety to the rest of the group**. A cessation of singing and humming has been linked to a general state of unease among the troop.

Question 72

# Biology **True/False**. ## Footnote Some chimpanzees laugh when tickled, maybe to signal that they are content/relaxed and not afraid.

Answer 72

True.

Question 73

# Biology Studies of chimpanzee gestures have shown that their communication often follows Zipf's and Menzerath's laws. What does this mean?

Answer 73

_Zipf's law_ ***-** More frequently used terms are shorter than less common terms, and the most common word is 50% more frequent than the next word (which is 50% more frequent than the next, and so on).* _Menzerath's law_ - *Longer sequences are made of shorter constituents.* These results indicate that **animal communication may demonstrate some of the more basic elements of human communication.** These results have been noted in macaque and dolphin communication as well.

Question 74

# Biology **True/False**. All domestic dogs (*Canis familiaris*) are technically the same species and are descended from a gray wolf (*Canis lupus*).

Answer 74

**True**. In a similar way, all domestic cats are part of the species *Felis catus*.

Question 75

# Biology Single-celled organisms have evolved multicellularity around ____ times. Green algae has gone from a single cell to multicellular at least ____ times (that we know of).

Answer 75

Single-celled organisms have evolved multicellularity around **_100**_ times. Green algae has gone from single-celled to multicellular at least _**25_** times (that we know of).

Question 76

# Biology Eukaryotes likely arose as a mixture of _______ and \_\_\_\_\_\_\_. The larger cell was likely \_\_\_\_\_\_\_, with _______ forming certain smaller structures like mitochondria.

Answer 76

Eukaryotes likely arose as a mixture of **_prokaryote**_ and _**archea**_. The larger cell was likely _**archea**_, with _**prokaryotes_** forming certain smaller structures like mitochondria.

Question 77

# Biology Chimpanzees tend to laugh in what two situations in particular? (And thus mirroring human behavior)

Answer 77

While tickling each other (**mock** **aggression**) and also while attacking rivals as a group (**group** **aggression**)

Question 78

# Biology One hypothesis proposes that sexual reproduction evolved as a tool for ________ evasion.

Answer 78

One hypothesis proposes that sexual reproduction evolved as a tool for **_pathogen_** evasion. ## Footnote **By combining half one’s DNA with half of another's DNA, parents produce a child who is genetically distinct from either parent and may avoid (or at least postpone) pathogens that have evolved to harm either parents. (Pinker gives the analogy of changing the locks once per generation so the pathogens must come up with new keys.)**

Question 79

# Biology In many animals, including humans, which sex typically chooses their mate and which sex typically competes to be chosen?

Answer 79

In many animals besides humans, **the sex that plays the heavier investment into nurturing and growing and raising young is the one that chooses a mate**, while _the sex that plays a smaller role is the one that is more aggressively competing to be chosen_. *(In some species where males carry offspring in pouches or sit on eggs or feed the young, the females are the aggressive competitors and the males are selective [opposite of humans]. Mammals typically follow the same set-up as humans.)*

Question 80

# Biology Aggressive __________ breeds males who are larger and stronger than their female counterparts.

Answer 80

Aggressive **_competition_** breeds males who are larger and stronger than their female counterparts.

Question 81

# Biology **Great apes**: \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ have lots of aggressive male-male competition for females; ________ do as well; ________ can be aggressive but live in chaotic groups where no single male cannot dominate; ________ live in solitary, monogamous isolation.

Answer 81

**Great apes**: **_Gorillas**_ have lots of aggressive male-male competition for females; _**orangutans**_ do as well; _**chimpanzees**_ can be aggressive but live in chaotic groups where no single male cannot dominate; _**gibbons_** live in solitary, monogamous isolation.

Question 82

# Biology Gorilla males are \_\_\_\_x the size of their female counterparts. Orangutan males are \_\_\_\_x the size of their female counterparts. Chimpanzee males are \_\_\_\_x the size of their female counterparts. Human males are \_\_\_\_x the size of their female counterparts. Gibbon males are \_\_\_\_x the size of their female counterparts.

Answer 82

Gorilla males are **_2.0_**x the size of their female counterparts. Orangutan males are **_1.7_**x the size of their female counterparts. Chimpanzee males are **_1.3_**x the size of their female counterparts. Human males are **_1.15_**x the size of their female counterparts. Gibbon males are **_1.0_**x the size of their female counterparts.

Question 83

# Biology Which increases the risk of deadbeat fatherhood in the animal kingdom, internal fertilization or external fertilization?

Answer 83

**Internal** **fertilization** leads to uncertainty of fatherhood and an increased risk of deadbeat fathers. **External** **fertilization** (e.g. in some fish) allows males to be sure they are the father of a particular set of offspring, often increasing paternal involvement in feeding/protecting/nurturing the young.

Question 84

# Biology The level of female promiscuity in great apes can be estimated based on what anatomical feature of male great apes?

Answer 84

**Testicle size** (Chimps have large testicles as males compete against one another by inseminating the same female; gorillas have small testicles as females only mate with one male at a time; humans have testicles slightly larger than gorillas and much smaller than chimps.)

Question 85

# Biology For what likely purpose do humans and many other apes have white sclera?

Answer 85

To allow for tracking one another's eye movements (allowing for communication and reading of other's intent via ocular movement)