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Fill out your scantron answer sheet: Write in and bubble in your name and PID number. Leave the
sequence number blank.
You may write on this and YOU MAY KEEP IT! You will only be able to see your score later, so to know how
you answered a specific question, keep track of your answers on these sheets too.
1. Which one of the following statements is accurate?
1) Natural selection works on variation already present in a population. 2) Natural selection works on non-heritable
traits. 3) Individuals evolve through natural selection. 4) Organisms evolve structures that they need.

2. Which statement describes the swallow with the greatest evolutionary fitness?
1) A swallow that lives to be 3 years old and has four offspring, two of which survive to reproduce themselves
2) A swallow that lives to be 5 years old and has five offspring, one of which survives to reproduce 3) A swallow
that lives to be 2 years old and has four offspring, all of which survive to reproduce themselves 4) A swallow that
lives to be 7 years old and has three offspring, all of which survive to reproduce 5) All are equally fit

3. Some head lice are now resistant to all commonly used pesticide shampoos used to kill them. Which is the
better explanation for this observation?
1) Frequent contact with pesticide shampoos caused mutations that allowed the lice to become resistant so resistant
lice became more and more common. 2) Some lice carried genes for resistance to the pesticide before contact with
the shampoos and their numbers increased after lice shampoos became common.

4. A class of 100 students was tested for the ability to taste

phenylthiocarbamide (PTC). It was found that 50 students Trait A B C D
could taste it very strongly (genotype TT), 20 students
could taste it weakly (genotype Tt), and 30 students could no yes yes yes
not taste PTC at all (genotype tt). What is the frequency of Can hear tones above 40,000 Hz
the recessive allele, t, in the population?
1) 0.40 2) 0.50 3) 0.60 4) 0.80 5) Narrow Eustachian tube yes yes yes yes
none of the choices
no no yes yes
Spiraled cochlea
5. The “spiraled cochlea” trait on the phylogenetic tree to
the right would be trait: 1) x 2) y 3) z

6. A lamprey, a shark, a lizard and a rabbit, share all the following characteristics
except:
1) a dorsal, hollow nerve cord 2) a post-anal tail 3) vertebrae 4) hinged
jaws 5) pharyngeal slits in embryo or adult

7. Which of the following factors would NOT contribute to allopatric speciation?

1) A population becomes geographically isolated form the parent population 2) A
separated population is small and genetic drift occurs 3) An isolated population is
exposed to different selective pressures than the parent population 4) Different mutations begin to
distinguish the gene pools of separated populations. 5) Gene flow between two populations continues to occur.

8. Which of the following would cause negative population growth in birds?

1) An increase in earthworm population—the prey of birds. 2) Fewer of the bird’s predator due to hunting
3) High birth rates and low death rates 4) Less rain-- lowering the success of parasites and viruses infecting birds
5) The logging (cutting down) of trees that the nests are built in
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9. Which phylogenetic tree below demonstrates that organisms in groups B, C, and D all share a common
ancestor with a particular characteristic not seen in group A?

1) The first tree 2) the second tree 3) the third tree 4) the fourth tree 5) all of the trees

Use the graph to the right and the answer choices below to help
answer the next two questions
1) A 2) B 3) could be A or B
_3_10. Line(s) on the graph corresponding to a vertebrate that is an
amniote
_1_11. Line(s) on the graph corresponding to a vertebrate with a
uterus and placenta.

12. Which of the following is an example of negative feedback?

1) Pressure from a baby in the uterus stimulates contractions. The
contractions result in greater pressure against the opening of the uterus,
heightening the contractions, causing even greater pressure. 2) A
lizard sits in the sun absorbing the heat from the sun, raising its body temperature.
3) Gastrin is produced when food puts pressure on the stomach. When food exits the stomach, gastrin is no longer
produced. 4) Leptin is produced by adipose cells. More adipose tissue leads to more leptin.

13. In which of the following places in the body are

you least likely to find simple squamous epithelium?
1) cells of the thyroid gland secreting high levels of
thyroid hormone 2) the small kidney tubules in which
water moves across as it is reabsorbed into the
interstitial fluid 3) the capillaries providing nutrients
and oxygen to the eye 4) The smallest tips of the lung
branches called alveoli or air sacs

14. Use the graph to the right. In which section of a

country’s development is the growth rate highest?
1) 1 2) 2 3) 3 4) 4

15. Use the table to the right to choose a correct

answer below:
1) The per capita rate of increase (r) is 0.2 N rN K-N/K
2) The carrying capacity for the population is 5,000 500 250 19
3) The rate of growth is increasing as the population size increases 1,000 500 9
4) The carrying capacity is 10,000 5,000 2,500 1
5) The per capita rate of increase (r) is 0.1 10,000 5,000 0
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Use the table to answer the next four questions: Scientists have been studying two species of dragonflies,
Sympetrum strilatum and Sympetrum nigrescens (the darker body color). Below are some fictional data about
these two species.
Species Body color Most often located in: Tagging (July 2009)
Sympetrum strilatum Light Various locations in 100 tagged initially, 1000
England captured on second visit
and 10 had tags
Sympetrum nigrescens Dark West Scotland 100 tagged initially, 1000
captured on second visit
and 2 had tags

16. Which statement is correct about the dragonflies?

1) The population size of Sympetrum strilatum is larger and is about 5,000. 2) The population size of Sympetrum
strilatum is larger and is about 5,000. 3) The population size of Sympetrum nigrescens is larger and is about 2,000.
4) The population size of Sympetrum nigrescens is larger and is about 50,000. 5) none of these are correct

17. Scientists tagging the two different species realized they were tagging them differently. In fact, they
learned that the tags used in the population studies with Sympetrum nigrescens were negatively affecting
their survival because tagged animals were more likely to be impaired in their flying and more likely to be
eaten by a predator. Is the population size estimate likely to be too high or too low compared to the actual
number, because of the detrimental tags?
1) estimation is too low 2) estimation is too high

18. Scientists noted that when put together in containers, the dragonflies could produce fertile offspring and
the offspring successfully reproduced. What is a likely reason(s) why these two dragonflies remain distinct
species in nature?
1) habitat isolation 2) mechanical isolation 3) reduced hybrid viability 4) choices 1, 2 & 3

19. The ancestor of these two dragonfly species was a species that was light in color. However, the weather in
West Scotland is such that the sun doesn’t shine for very long in between the grey clouds most days. Thus,
the darker color is believed to be an adaptation to warm the Sympetrum nigrescens dragonfly in the short
bursts of sunshine. The evolution of Sympetrum nigrescens from its ancestral species is an example of:
1) disruptive selection 2) directional selection 3) stabilizing selection

20. Hairlessness in humans most likely evolved to improve our ability to:
1) swim away from predators more quickly 2) exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide across our skin
3) cool off in hot weather 4) display emotion

21. The Zukzuk is a fictional vertebrate that lives in the forest and essentially looks like a salamander or
lizard. If you only had videos of the animal, what behavior would best distinguish if it was a
salamander(amphibian) or a lizard (reptile)?
1) what the animal eats 2) if it lives in trees 3) where it reproduces 4) if it was active at nighttime

22. A hurricane hits an island where many galoozoos live. Some are green, red, blue, and purple. After the
hurricane, there are much more green galoozoos than any other color. What kind of microevolution is this?
1) natural selection 2) genetic drift 3) gene flow 4) sexual selection
5) heterozygote advantage

23. The biological species concept would be least useful with which types of organisms below:
1) flowering plants 2) bacteria 3) fish 4) birds 5) marine mammals
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24. The graph to the right shows how a particular hormone cycles throughout the day in mice. The mice eat
at 12, 3, 6, and 9 PM even though they have access to food at all times. If this hormone was deleted from the
mouse genome you would expect mice to have a phenotype of:
1) obese 2) leaner than normal

25. The hormone illustrated in the example above is most similar

to what we would expect to see if we looked at hormone levels
over one day for:
1) leptin 2) PYY 3) ghrelin

26. Epithelial cells lining the intestine have surface projections

that increase nutrient absorption. These projections are called:
1) circular folds 2) villi 3) cilia
4) microvilli 5) gap junctions

27. Which of the following is “food”?

1) CO2 2) amino acids 3) H2O 4) all of the choices 5) 1 and 2 only
*Remember from class, we talked about organic compounds.
28. On a remote island in the Pacific, male birds of a specific species fight one another in order to find a
mate. What form of interaction is this?
1) interspecific competition 2) intraspecific competition
*This one was from peerwise.
29. A very large population of capybaras (the largest rodents in the world) exists in an isolated region where
there is no gene flow between populations. There is random mating and no preferential alleles in the current
environment. Is this population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium? Why or why not? 1) The population is in
Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium because there is no natural selection, it is a large population, there is no gene flow and
mating is random. 2) The population is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium because natural selection still affects
the population. 3) The population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium because evolution is not taking place in the
population. 4) The population is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium because directional selection is taking place.
5) The population is not in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium because mutations likely still affect the population.
*This one was from peerwise.
30. Which of the following statements are NOT true when comparing germ free mice and conventionally
raised mice?
1) Conventionally raised mice contain more body fat because intestinal microbes increase the amount of calories
extracted from food. 2) The large intestines of conventionally raised mice look much bigger in comparison to germ
free mice because of the trillions of microbes that live in the large intestines of conventionally raised mice. 3) Germ
free mice consume more food in order to compensate for the less efficient extraction of calories from food in the
absence of intestinal microbes.4) Germ free mice will gain weight if colonized with intestinal microbes. 5) The
intestinal microbes in conventionally raised mice digest plant polysaccharides such as fiber that cannot be digested
by enzymes encoded by the mouse genome.

31. Which of the following most likely does NOT influence the structure of the microbial community in your
intestines?
1) The hamburger you eat for lunch every day. 2) The antibiotic pills you took daily for two weeks. 3) Oxygen
availability in the large intestines. 4) The orange soda you drink every other day. 5) None of the above (all affect
the microbial community).

32. When two species are both negatively affected by their interaction in the community, this fits:
1) mutualism 2) competition 3) parasitism 4) parasoidism 5) herbivory
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Use the passage and data below to answer the next two questions.
In extreme cases, a treatment for obesity is bariatric surgery where the stomach size of the patient is reduced. The
result of this procedure is dramatic weight loss. Although it is not fully understood how this procedure causes
weight loss, it is thought that the reduced stomach size decreases appetite, thus promoting weight loss. However, a
group of researchers were curious if gut microbes could also play a role. They took two groups of obese mice and
performed bariatric surgery in one group and a mock procedure in the other group (where the abdominal cavity is
opened up, but no surgery is performed). The two groups of mice were kept on the same diet throughout the entire
experiment. The researchers recorded the weights of the mice and changes to the gut microbiota before and after the
surgeries.
1 week before surgery 3 weeks post surgery

33. Which of the following Average weight Average weight

statements are TRUE about the 1 week before 3 weeks post surgery
results above? surgery (g) (g)
1) Group 1 bacteria are increased in Bariatric surgery group 36 25
the bariatric surgery group
compared to mock surgery group. Mock surgery group 35 38
2) Group 2 bacteria are increased in
the mock surgery group compared to
bariatric surgery group. 3) Group 1 bacteria are the most abundant bacteria in both groups of mice. 4) Group 2
bacteria are the most abundant in both groups of mice. 5) None of the above.

34. What is the most appropriate conclusion that can be drawn from the data collected in this experiment?
1) Mice that went through bariatric surgery lost weight and this was associated with compositional changes to their
gut microbiota. 2) Mice that went through bariatric surgery did not lose weight and this was associated with
compositional changes to their gut microbiota.3) Mice that went through the mock surgery lost weight and this was
associated with no compositional changes to their gut microbiota.4) Any abdominal surgery alters the composition
of the gut microbiota, so no conclusions can be drawn from this experiment. 5) Mice that went through bariatric
surgery lost weight and this was associated with no compositional changes to their gut microbiota.

35. In humans, triglycerides are first chemically digested in the:

1) mouth 2) stomach 3) pancreas 4) small intestine 5) they cannot be chemically digested

36. The doctor put Chaz on a painkiller, codeine. Codeine interferes with smooth muscle cell movement
(slower/fewer contractions) in the digestive system. We would expect ________ associated with this.
1) diarrhea 2) constipation
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