Practice Test 59 - High School Biology

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

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1. In humans, sperm and egg cells are made by meiosis and then fuse during fertilization to form a zygote. Compared with the parents, the offspring are usually genetically different. Which choice correctly connects the process to the type of reproduction?
2. Cellular respiration is often described as a controlled form of "burning" food. Which statement best explains how cells benefit from breaking down glucose in controlled steps rather than all at once?
3. A biologist sampled two pond edges and recorded which amphibian species were present. Site 1 species list: Frog A, Frog B, Salamander A, Salamander B, Toad A Site 2 species list: Frog A, Toad A Which site has greater species richness, and what are the richness values?
4. A student tracks a person's core temperature during a short run: - 0 min: 37.0°C (resting) - 10 min: 38.0°C (running) - 20 min: 37.4°C (still running, sweating heavily) - 30 min: 37.1°C (cooling down) Thermoreceptors detect changes in core temperature and the body can adjust sweating and skin blood flow. Which explanation best matches the pattern in the data using a feedback loop?
5. Which word equation correctly represents photosynthesis at the organism level?​
6. A scraped knee removes part of the outer skin layer. Which outcome would best show that both mitosis and differentiation occurred during healing?
7. A plant makes glucose from CO2 and H2O. Later it makes both starch and proteins. Which comparison correctly describes how atoms from glucose are used differently in these two synthesis processes?
8. Wolves, lions, and many other animals live in groups even though group living can increase competition for food and can make diseases spread more easily. Which statement best explains why group living can still be common?
9. A coastal community reports that herbivorous fish and coral diversity have declined on a reef due to heavy fishing pressure. A proposal would create a no-take marine protected area (no fishing) covering 25% of the reef for at least 10 years, while allowing fishing in the remaining 75%. Which evaluation best describes how effective this strategy is likely to be for preserving reef biodiversity, and the main trade-off?
10. Two different mutations occur in the coding region of the same gene: Mutation 1 (substitution): ATG CCC GAA → ATG CCT GAA Mutation 2 (deletion): ATG CCC GAA → ATG CCG AA... (one base deleted, shifting the grouping) Which comparison is most accurate about their likely effects on the protein?
11. In many textbooks, cellular respiration is described as capturing only about 40% of glucose's energy in ATP, with the rest released as heat. Which statement best interprets this idea?
12. A student compares three mutations in the coding region of the same gene: Mutation A: substitution (one base replaced) Mutation B: insertion of 1 base Mutation C: deletion of 1 base Which comparison is generally most accurate about their likely effects on the protein's amino acid sequence?
13. A biologist observes that a bacterium divides into two daughter cells, and repeated divisions produce a colony in which individuals have the same DNA sequence (except for rare mutations). Which type of reproduction is being described?
14. In a flower species, red petals (A) are dominant over white petals (a). Compare two crosses: Cross 1 is $Aa \times Aa$ and Cross 2 is $Aa \times aa$. In which cross is the probability of producing a white-petaled offspring higher?​
15. A rabbit population in a meadow has been recorded for 15 years. For the last 8 years, the population has fluctuated between about 480 and 520 rabbits, without a long-term upward or downward trend. Based on this history, what is the best estimate of the meadow's carrying capacity (K) for rabbits?
16. A farm compares two fields after an unusually wet summer that increases fungal disease. Field 1 is a wheat monoculture (one crop variety). Field 2 is planted with a mix of crop species and varieties (wheat, barley, and two disease-resistant wheat varieties). Which statement best explains how biodiversity affects population stability in this situation?
17. In snapdragons, flower color shows incomplete dominance: red is $RR$, white is $WW$, and pink is $RW$. Two pink plants are crossed and produce 96 offspring: 23 red, 49 pink, and 24 white. Which conclusion is best supported?
18. A rabbit population would increase rapidly in a grassy area, but a nearby fox population hunts the rabbits. When fox numbers rise, more rabbits are killed and fewer survive to reproduce, keeping rabbit numbers from getting very large. Which factor is limiting the rabbit population in this scenario?
19. A mosquito population shows heritable variation in insecticide resistance: a small number carry alleles that reduce the insecticide's effect. A city sprays the same insecticide each summer. After several summers, a much larger fraction of mosquitoes survive the spraying. Which statement best describes what happened?
20. A person stands up quickly and their blood pressure briefly drops below normal. The body responds by increasing heart rate and narrowing some blood vessels, which raises blood pressure back toward normal. Which type of feedback loop is this?

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