Exam Bank I: Principles

Steven Dutch, Natural and Applied Sciences, University of Wisconsin - Green Bay
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  1. Legumes are plants whose roots contain bacteria that can fix nitrogen and naturally fertilize plants. Which of the following are legumes?
    1. Beans and alfalfa
    2. Potatoes and beets
    3. Most trees
    4. Grasses and root crops

  2. Sulfur in the environment is a major contributor to what problem? (pick the best answer)
    1. Habitat destruction
    2. Global warming
    3. Ground water depletion
    4. Acid rain
    5. Soil erosion

  3. The charge on an atom that has gained or lost electrons is called its:
    1. Atomic number
    2. Atomic weight
    3. Oxidation state
    4. Quantum spin number
    5. Electronegativity

  4. Which is a carbon sink?
    1. Combustion of Fossil Fuels
    2. Biomass
    3. Animal respiration
    4. Weathering of carbonate rocks

  5. What can cause nitrogen and oxygen to combine?
    1. Extreme temperatures
    2. Photosynthesis
    3. Ultraviolet light
    4. Presence of water

  6. Why is nitrogen needed as a fertilizer if it makes up 79% of the atmosphere?
    1. There is such intense competition for it
    2. Plants can't use it in its gaseous form
    3. Plants need more than the atmosphere can supply
    4. Plants have no way to take in nitrogen from the air

  7. Which element is most likely to be a limiting factor in biological production?
    1. Carbon
    2. Nitrogen
    3. Hydrogen
    4. Sulfur
    5. Phosphorus

  8. Which element's cycle has no atmospheric component?
    1. Carbon
    2. Nitrogen
    3. Hydrogen
    4. Sulfur
    5. Phosphorus

  9. When plants create organic molecules, the element most likely to be left over as a waste product is:
    1. hydrogen
    2. sulfur
    3. carbon
    4. phosphorus
    5. oxygen

  10. Why do we think carbon is special as a basis for life?
    1. it is so abundant
    2. its atoms can bond in so many different ways
    3. its chemicals are so soluble in water
    4. carbon bonds are unusually stable

  11. Many elements can assume more than one oxidation state. This fact enables them to be used to do all the following except:
    1. trigger chemical reactions
    2. convert one element into another
    3. store energy
    4. store information

  12. The doubling time for curve "A" is:
    1. constant
    2. unpredictable and continually increasing
    3. unpredictable and continually decreasing
    4. predictable and continually increasing
    5. C) predictable and continually decreasing

  13. The doubling time for curve "B"  is:
    1. constant
    2. unpredictable and continually increasing
    3. unpredictable and continually decreasing
    4. predictable and continually increasing at a steady incremental rate
    5. C) predictable and continually decreasing at a steady incremental rate

  14. Which of the following types of population growth patterns would best represent a group of wolves that enter a new, open habitat, and become a stable part of that ecosystem?
    1. exponential growth
    2. irruptive growth
    3. Malthusian growth
    4. chaotic or catastrophic growth
    5. logistic growth

  15. Which of the following types of population curves would best represent a group of wolves that enter a new, open habitat, and become a stable part of that ecosystem?
    1. norm-shaped curve
    2. S-shaped curve
    3. J-shaped curve
    4. cyclic oscillation-shaped curve
    5. e) survivorship curve

    Use the following diagram to answer the next four questions.

  16. The dieback phase is marked by the letter:
    1. A) a B) b    C) c D) d    E) e

  17. The exponential phase is marked by the letter:
    1. A) a    B) b    C) c D) d    E) e

  18. The overshoot is marked by the letter:
    1. A) a    B) b    C) c D) d    E) e

  19. The horizontal line on the population oscillation graph represents:
    1. fecundity
    2. biotic potential
    3. predator populations
    4. arithmetic growth
    5. carrying capacity

    Use the diagram below to answer the next four questions.

  20. Which of the curves represents a species that tend to die more-or-less randomly at any age?
    1. A) a    B) b    C) c D) d    E) e

  21. Which of the curves represents a species that live out a full life span if they survive early life?
    1. A) a    B) b    C) c D) d    E) e
  22. Which of the following statements best describes the species represented by curve “d”?
    1. Reproductive adult species have the highest rate of survival for this species.
    2. The rate of mortality is relatively constant throughout its life span.
    3. It is highly susceptible to mortality early in life.
    4. Once the individual reaches old age its survivorship decreases dramatically.
    5. It is highly susceptible to mortality early in life and late in life.

  23. Which of the following statements best describes the species represented by curve “c”?
    1. Reproductive adult species have the highest rate of survival for this species.
    2. The rate of mortality is relatively constant throughout its life span.
    3. It is highly susceptible to mortality early in life.
    4. Once the individual reaches old age its survivorship decreases dramatically.
    5. It is highly susceptible to mortality early in life and late in life.

  24. You are studying an organism that is a pioneer species, is an opportunist, and does not care for its offspring.This organism probably has a   population growth strategy.
    1. logistic
    2. Malthusian
    3. chaotic
    4. catastrophic

  25. You are studying an organism that is a fairly large, lives fairly long, and cares for its offspring.This organism probably has a   population growth strategy.
    1. logistic
    2. Malthusian
    3. chaotic
    4. catastrophic

  26. What is correlation?
    1. the number of ways something can happen
    2. How well two sets of data relate to each other
    3. range of values where some measurement is most likely to fall
    4. How much data deviate from an ideal pattern

  27. For anecdotal evidence to be valid it must be
    1. Compiled by an accredited research group or university
    2. Follow all the rules under the First Law of Conservation of Biology
    3. be true and representive
    4. all of the above

  28. What is an example of a statistical fallacy involving Clustering?
    1. Nests of baby rattlesnakes have killed small children who played in outdoor play areas
    2. Clusters of alligators live in New York sewers
    3. Groups of gangs use headlight flashing to intiate new members
    4. Clustering bad events such as airplane crashes, natural disasters, and famous deaths into threes

  29. The extent that data deviates from an ideal pattern is called what?
    1. Probability
    2. Scatter
    3. Error Bounds
    4. Correlation

  30. The range of values where some quantity is most likely to fall is known as:
    1. Probability
    2. Scatter
    3. Error Bounds
    4. Correlation

  31. How well two sets of data relate to each other is termed:
    1. Probability
    2. Scatter
    3. Error Bounds
    4. Correlation

  32. The number of ways something can happen divided by the number of ways everything can happen is what?
    1. Probability
    2. Scatter
    3. Error Bounds
    4. Correlation

  33. When you see a correlation between two data sets A and B:
    1. A causes B
    2. B causes A
    3. Both may be related to something else
    4. Any the above are possible

  34. What is evidence based on single noteworthy events or observations?
    1. Empirical data
    2. Accidental evidence
    3. Anecdotal evidence
    4. Standard Deviation

  35. The number of Protons in a nucleus is its:
    1. Atomic weight
    2. Half Life
    3. Atomic number
    4. None of the above

  36. We describe probability as
    1. Two sets of data that relate to each other
    2. the likelihood of an event happening
    3. the range of values where some measurement is most likely to fall
    4. how much data deviates from an ideal pattern

  37. Our globally rapid population growth is mostly due to
    1. World War I
    2. World War II
    3. Scientific &Industrial Revolutions
    4. Poverty

  38. In the 1990's life expectancy in places like North America, Australia, and Western Europe was approximately
    1. 75
    2. 65
    3. 50
    4. 45

  39. Remoras are small fish that attach themselves to large fish like sharks. They eat scraps missed by the shark but neither benefit nor harm the shark. This is an example of:
    1. Predation
    2. Commensalism
    3. Parasitism
    4. Symbiosis

  40. Termites can digest wood only because they have microorganisms in their stomachs that break the wood down. This is an example of:
    1. Predation
    2. Commensalism
    3. Parasitism
    4. Symbiosis

  41. Catbirds lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and the young catbirds are raised by the nest builders and push the other young birds out of the nest. This is an example of:
    1. Predation
    2. Commensalism
    3. Parasitism
    4. Symbiosis

  42. Chewing lice (like Strigiphilus garylarsoni) live on birds and eat dead skin and feathers. They neither help nor harm the bird. This is an example of:
    1. Predation
    2. Commensalism
    3. Parasitism
    4. Symbiosis

  43. The Tasmanian Devil of Australia (not the cartoon kind) is very similar to a North American wolverine in appearance, temperament and lifestyle. This is an example of:
    1. Divergent evolution
    2. Convergent evolution
    3. Batesian mimicry
    4. Mullerian mimicry

  44. The highly venomous coral snake and the harmless king snake are both brightly colored in red, yellow, and black. This is an example of:
    1. Divergent evolution
    2. Convergent evolution
    3. Batesian mimicry
    4. Mullerian mimicry

  45. Three otherwise unrelated species of highly venomous snake all have the same conspicuous color scheme. This is an example of:
    1. Divergent evolution
    2. Convergent evolution
    3. Batesian mimicry
    4. Mullerian mimicry

  46. After the dinosaurs became extinct, mammals and birds rapidly gave rise to a large number of new forms. This is an example of:
    1. Divergent evolution
    2. Convergent evolution
    3. Batesian mimicry
    4. Mullerian mimicry

    Thanks to your stellar performance in this course, you have been hired by MegaBlaster Studios as a science consultant to review scripts. How would you rate the script ideas in the next four questions?

  47. Aliens are kidnapping humans and taking them back to their home planet to raise for food.
    1. There is insufficient biomass to sustain the organism
    2. Carnivores don't eat that much and that rapidly
    3. Humans are at too high a trophic level to be a good primary source of food.
    4. The script does not violate any major principles of ecology

  48. An escaped animal on a cruise ship kills and eats many of the passengers over a span of several days.
    1. There is insufficient biomass to sustain the organism
    2. Large carnivores don't eat that much and that rapidly
    3. Humans are at too high a trophic level to be a good primary source of food.
    4. The script does not violate any major principles of ecology

  49. A genetically engineered plant threatens ecological chaos by displacing crop plants.
    1. There is insufficient biomass to sustain the organism
    2. Carnivores don't eat that much and that rapidly
    3. Humans are at too high a trophic level to be a good primary source of food.
    4. The script does not violate any major principles of ecology

  50. A research station on the Antarctic ice cap encounters a huge predator that lives in the ice.
    1. There is insufficient biomass to sustain the organism
    2. Carnivores don't eat that much and that rapidly
    3. Humans are at too high a trophic level to be a good primary source of food.
    4. The script does not violate any major principles of ecology

  51. Which can be described as a theory?
    1. Ptolemy's idea that the planets went around the earth on circles attached to other circles
    2. The idea that global warming might be beneficial by creating longer growing seasons
    3. The idea that all mater is made up of atoms
    4. All the above

  52. Quantities that grow exponentially grow according to
    1. The First Law of Thermodynamics
    2. The Second Law of Thermodynamics
    3. The Rule of 70
    4. A fixed quantity per year

  53. Logistic growth is also described as
    1. S curve
    2. J curve
    3. Cyclic curve
    4. Arithmetic

  54. The Rule of 70 says:
    1. Populations double in 70 years
    2. Populations grow 70 per cent per year
    3. Populations double in 70 years times annual percent growth rate
    4. Populations double in 70 years divided by annual percent growth rate

  55. Using The Rule of 70, if you have 1000 dollars in the bank at 5% interest, it will double in:
    1. 70 years
    2. 5 years
    3. 14 years
    4. 1.4 years

  56. The principal definition of a species is a group of organisms that
    1. Look alike
    2. Live in the same area
    3. Occupy a continuous stretch of territory
    4. Can interbreed among themselves

  57. Exaptation is:
    1. Utilization of existing organs for new functions
    2. Adaptation of organisms to new environments
    3. Loss of little-used organs
    4. Growth of completely new organs

  58. On a high mountain in the Rockies you find a group of flowers that are identical in form and genetics to flowers now found in the Arctic. You'd best describe this isolated group as a:
    1. Species
    2. Population
    3. Race
    4. Genus

  59. On an island you find birds that are noticeably different in color from similar birds on the mainland, but their habits are identical and they crossbreed easily with the mainland birds. You'd best describe this group as a:
    1. Species
    2. Class
    3. Race
    4. Genus

  60. Any given trophic level needs about ________ as much energy as the level below
    1. Half
    2. Twice
    3. Ten percent
    4. Ten times

  61. The principal reason for the above answer is:
    1. Most of the energy in food goes into sustaining the organism, not building tissue
    2. There are more organisms at higher trophic levels
    3. There are fewer organisms at higher trophic levels
    4. Higher trophic levels include all the biomass from the levels below them.

  62. A pesticide gets into the land and water of an area and is taken up by all organisms in the food chain. Measurements show that contaminated fish are hazardous to eat but cattle that eat the grass are much less so. Why might this happen?
    1. Fish are much more sensitive to contaminants
    2. Fish are at a higher trophic level and accumulate much more of the pesticide
    3. Cows have immune systems that break down contaminants
    4. Pesticides wash off the grass and into the water

  63. The proposal to relieve world hunger by getting food from the sea will not work because:
    1. The seas are not big enough
    2. Fish are at a high trophic level and require a lot of biomass to grow
    3. Productivity in the open oceans is very low
    4. Both b. and c.

  64. Primary productivity is the rate of converting:
    1. Sunlight into chemical energy
    2. Biomass into food
    3. Biomass into the next higher trophic level
    4. Nutrients into energy

  65. Primary productivity is highest in:
    1. Tropical Forests
    2. Temperate forests
    3. Grasslands
    4. Tundra

  66. Primary productivity is highest in:
    1. Open Oceans
    2. Coastal waters
    3. Lakes
    4. Reefs and Estuaries

  67. Going from equator to pole, which decreases?
    1. Species diversity
    2. Abundance within species

  68. Going from equator to pole, which increases?
    1. Species diversity
    2. Abundance within species

  69. If two species are in the same place and need the same resource, which is the least likely outcome?
    1. One will migrate away
    2. One will become extinct in that area
    3. They will share the resource evenly
    4. They will partition the resource so that each uses slightly different parts of it

  70. When generalist species and specialist species meet, who usually wins?
    1. Generalists
    2. Specialists

  71. Why?
    1. Specialists are more attuned to their setting and thus better adapted
    2. Specialists have highly developed traits that generalists lack
    3. Specialists cannot cope with changed conditions as well as generalists
    4. Specialists lack the genetic diversity of generalists

  72. The role a species plays in a biological community is its:
    1. Habitat
    2. Adaptation
    3. Species Diversity
    4. Ecological Niche

  73. When individual organisms adapt, they change so they can cope with a changed environment and:
    1. The changes are passed on to their offspring
    2. The changes are not passed on to their offspring
    3. The change is due to a mutation
    4. The change can be as great as necessary to survive

  74. When populations adapt, they change so they can cope with a changed environment and:
    1. The changes are passed on to their offspring
    2. The changes result from selection of pre-existing genetic diversity
    3. The change can eventually lead to speciation
    4. All of these

  75. Malthusian growth consists of:
    1. Population explosions followed by population crashes.
    2. Growth toward a steady limit
    3. Continually accelerating growth
    4. Growth at a steady rate

  76. Logistic growth consists of:
    1. Population explosions followed by population crashes.
    2. Growth toward a steady limit
    3. Continually accelerating growth
    4. Growth at a steady rate

  77. The tendency of some growth to flatten out with time is due to a factor called:
    1. Exponential decay
    2. Environmental resistance
    3. Predation
    4. Malthusian strategy

  78. The Second Law of Thermodynamics implies
    1. Order cannot arise naturally
    2. Entropy can decrease locally if there is an offsetting increase elsewhere
    3. Entropy is the same thing as disorder
    4. Systems beome more orderly with time

  79. Our cells have structures called mitochondria that are believed by many scientists to have once been independent organisms. One line of evidence for this idea is:
    1. Mitochondria can move
    2. Mitochondria can survive on their own
    3. Mitochondria have their own DNA
    4. Mitochondria contain chlorophyll

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Created 2 September 2011, Last Update 28 September 2011

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