Practice Test 57 - High School Biology

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

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1. A student claims that photosynthesis can occur with only carbon dioxide ($CO_2$) and water ($H_2O$). Based on the overall equation, what else is required?
2. A farmer grows new potato plants from pieces of a potato tuber. The new plants have the same traits as the original plant because they have the same DNA (except for rare mutations). This is best described as:
3. A diverse prairie has many plant species, including some that tolerate drought and others that grow best in wet years. A nearby pasture is planted with only one grass species. During a dry summer, the prairie still stays mostly covered with vegetation, while the pasture loses much of its plant cover. What does this show about biodiversity and population fluctuations?
4. A mountain species is losing habitat as temperatures rise, pushing suitable climate conditions upslope. A proposed strategy is to create a small protected area around the current population, without addressing greenhouse gas emissions or providing habitat connections to higher elevations. How effective is this likely to be for long-term biodiversity preservation, and why?
5. Which statement correctly compares the energy in glucose and the energy in ATP during cellular respiration?
6. A finch population has heritable variation in beak size (small vs. large). A severe storm changes the available food so that mostly large, hard seeds remain for several years. Which change is most likely in the finch population over generations?
7. A student touches a hot pan and quickly pulls their hand away. How do the nervous and muscular systems interact to produce this fast movement?​
8. During childhood growth, bones lengthen and muscles increase in size. Which explanation best connects cell processes to this increase in body size?
9. Which description best matches the overall shape and organization of DNA?​
10. A fertilized egg (one cell) develops into a multicellular organism with many different tissues. Which statement best explains how this happens without requiring detailed developmental stages?
11. In a seabird colony, thousands of birds nest close together on cliffs. Birds can quickly find mates each breeding season, and many adults alarm-call when a predator approaches. What combination of benefits of group living is best supported by this situation?
12. During transcription, DNA unwinds in a gene region. RNA nucleotides pair with the DNA template strand using base-pairing rules (DNA A with RNA U; DNA T with RNA A; DNA G with RNA C; DNA C with RNA G). Which RNA base pairs with a DNA adenine (A) during transcription?
13. A gene's coding DNA strand includes the sequence ATG-CCC-GAA (read in groups of 3 bases). A substitution mutation changes it to ATG-CTC-GAA (one base changed). Which outcome is most likely for the protein made from this gene?
14. A group of grazing animals lives together in a herd. Living in a herd can increase competition for food and can make disease spread easier, but herds still form. Which statement best explains why group living can still be favored over solitary living?
15. Which option correctly matches the terms genotype and phenotype for a single-gene trait where $T$ is dominant for tall and $t$ is recessive for short?
16. A scientist observes that a single bacterium divides into two daughter cells, and the two daughter cells have the same DNA as the original cell (except for rare mutations). Which statement best describes this type of reproduction?
17. A lab compares gene activity in two human cell types. Muscle cells make large amounts of proteins used for contraction, while nerve cells make many proteins used for sending electrical signals. Both cell types have the same DNA. Which statement best explains these observations?
18. During translation, how does a tRNA help ensure the correct amino acid is added to the growing protein?
19. In a shallow pond, a fish population grows quickly in spring. In mid-summer, hot weather warms the water and oxygen levels drop. Fish begin gasping near the surface and many die even though there is still plenty of algae and insects to eat. What is the limiting factor most directly causing the population to decrease in mid-summer?
20. Which statement correctly compares which organisms perform photosynthesis and/or cellular respiration?

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