Practice Test 54 - High School Biology

20 questions. Answer them in any order, then submit to see your score and every explanation.

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1. After a shallow cut, the skin closes. A student claims: "Healing happens because the nearby skin cells just move into the gap; cell division and differentiation are not involved." Which response best corrects the student using a cell-based model?
2. In humans, chromosomes are arranged in 23 pairs in body cells. What does it mean to say the chromosomes in a pair are homologous?
3. The fossil Archaeopteryx shows feathered wings like birds but also has teeth and a long bony tail like many non-bird dinosaurs. What does Archaeopteryx best illustrate about evolution?
4. A cut on the skin causes bleeding. Platelets stick to the wound and release chemicals that attract and activate more platelets, which attracts even more platelets until a clot forms and bleeding stops. What type of feedback is this?
5. A student claims: "All mutations are harmful because they always change the protein." Which response is most accurate?
6. A student claims: "All of the atoms in a plant's macromolecules (carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids) come from photosynthesis." Which choice best evaluates this claim using element tracking?
7. A scientist makes a simple model of tissue maintenance: stem cell mitosis two daughter cells (one continues as a stem cell; the other becomes a specialized cell). Which scenario is best explained by this model?
8. A pond food chain is: algae (producer) → zooplankton (primary consumer) → small fish (secondary consumer) → heron (tertiary consumer). If zooplankton obtain about 900 kcal of energy, about how much energy is available to the heron level using the 10% rule?
9. A genetics worksheet lists these terms: gene, allele, genotype, phenotype. Which pairing is correct?
10. A lake ecosystem follows the 10% rule. If producers have 80,000 kJ, what percentage of the producers' energy is available to secondary consumers?​
11. A petri dish contains 120 mL of nutrient solution usable by a bacterial species. Each bacterium needs about $3\times 10^{-4}$ mL of nutrient to survive until the next nutrient refill. Estimate the carrying capacity (K) of the dish (maximum bacteria supported by the nutrients available).
12. A population of wild grasses has heritable variation in root depth (shallow, medium, deep). After several years of severe drought, water is mostly available deeper underground. Which outcome best describes natural selection in this environment?
13. Male peacocks with longer, more colorful tails attract more females and mate more often than males with shorter, less colorful tails. However, longer tails can make it harder to escape predators. Which choice best explains why long tails can still increase fitness?
14. A plant uses sunlight to build glucose from CO2 and H2O. Which comparison correctly describes the energy of the molecules before vs. after photosynthesis?
15. A forest produces about 8,000 kg of acorns in a typical year. A squirrel population depends on acorns as its main food source. Each squirrel needs about 80 kg of acorns per year. What is the carrying capacity (K) for squirrels in this forest (assuming acorns are the limiting resource)?
16. A wildlife reserve can provide enough food for 900 deer, enough water for 1,100 deer, and enough winter shelter for only 650 deer. Assuming deer need all three resources, what is the most likely carrying capacity $K$ for the reserve?
17. A student says, "All sperm made by one person should be genetically identical because they come from the same body." Which response correctly explains why this is not true?
18. In a cross $Dd \times Dd$ (where $D$ is dominant over $d$), what is the probability an offspring will have the recessive phenotype?
19. A coral reef is declining due to warming ocean temperatures that cause coral bleaching. A local community proposes two actions: Action A: Build artificial reef structures (concrete blocks) to provide habitat for fish. Action B: Reduce local greenhouse gas emissions by switching municipal electricity to renewable sources and improving energy efficiency. Which statement best compares the actions for addressing the main cause of coral bleaching?
20. A species has a diploid number of 12 chromosomes (2n = 12). After meiosis, what should be true of the gametes produced?

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