Practice Test 68 - 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 drought reduces plant growth in a grassland. Which outcome is most directly connected to matter cycling (not energy flow) in this situation?
2. A student writes the word equation for cellular respiration: glucose + oxygen → carbon dioxide + water + energy (ATP). Which choice correctly identifies what the cell must take in (consume) for aerobic cellular respiration to occur?
3. A growing plant cell must produce new cell wall material as it enlarges. The cell links many glucose molecules to synthesize cellulose. Why is cellulose synthesis important for cell function?
4. In a bee foraging study, one worker returns to the hive after finding a rich flower patch and performs a behavior that leads other workers to fly to the same location. As a result, many workers gather nectar from that patch quickly. Which option best identifies the cooperative feature of this behavior?
5. Which statement correctly compares which organisms perform photosynthesis and/or cellular respiration? Photosynthesis: $6CO_2 + 6H_2O + \text{light} \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$ Cellular respiration: $C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O + \text{ATP}$
6. A pod of orcas hunts a seal resting on a small ice floe. The orcas line up and swim together to create a wave that washes the seal into the water, where another orca captures it. What best shows that this is cooperative hunting rather than several animals hunting separately?
7. A population of rabbits includes heritable variation in fur thickness. In a very cold region, rabbits with thicker fur survive winter better and have more offspring. In a nearby warm region, rabbits with thinner fur are less likely to overheat and have more offspring. After many generations, the cold-region population has mostly thick fur, while the warm-region population has mostly thin fur. Which conclusion best matches how adaptations work?
8. Bone marrow contains stem cells that can become red blood cells (oxygen transport), white blood cells (immune defense), or platelets (blood clotting). These different blood cells come from the same stem cell type. What is the best description of cell differentiation in this example?
9. A student claims: "Consumers do not really depend on producers because consumers can just eat other consumers." Which response best corrects the claim using food-chain reasoning?
10. Claim: Group living increases survival because individuals detect predators sooner. Evidence: - In a controlled field test, researchers placed realistic predator models at random times near feeding animals. - They compared detection time (seconds until an alarm response) for solitary individuals vs groups of 6, in the same open field. - Solitary: average detection time 18 seconds. - Groups of 6: average detection time 7 seconds. - Survival was not measured directly. Which choice best evaluates how well this evidence supports the claim?
11. A student says, "Crossing over doesn't matter because independent assortment already makes gametes different." Which response best corrects the student?
12. A population of bacteria was exposed to a new antibiotic starting in Year 1. Researchers tracked the frequency of a resistance allele ($R$) in the population. Year 0: $f(R)=0.02$ (2%) Year 1: $f(R)=0.05$ (5%) Year 3: $f(R)=0.18$ (18%) Year 5: $f(R)=0.46$ (46%) Year 8: $f(R)=0.81$ (81%) Which statement best interprets these data?
13. A student claims: "If two organisms have the same genotype, they will always look exactly the same." Which response best corrects the student using genotype–environment interaction?
14. In a musk ox herd, adults sometimes form a circle around calves when wolves are nearby. Compared with calves being alone, what advantage does this group behavior provide?
15. A student writes the overall equations below. Photosynthesis: $6CO_2 + 6H_2O +$ light energy $\rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2$ Cellular respiration: $C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \rightarrow 6CO_2 + 6H_2O +$ ATP energy Which statement best explains how these two processes are related in living systems?
16. A garden has plants, insects that eat the plants, birds that eat the insects, and decomposers in the soil. The gardener removes all decomposers (bacteria and fungi) from the soil. Over time, what is the most likely effect on matter cycling in the garden?
17. A researcher compares a skin cell and a liver cell from the same person. The cells perform different jobs, but genetic testing shows they contain the same DNA sequence. Which statement best explains why they function differently?
18. In a certain animal, allele A produces a dominant trait and allele a produces a recessive trait. A heterozygous parent is crossed with a homozygous recessive parent: $Aa \times aa$. What fraction of the offspring are expected to have genotype $aa$?​
19. Which choice best defines cell differentiation?
20. Honeybees live in colonies where workers can communicate the location of good flower patches to other bees. Compared with solitary bees, what advantage does this provide to the colony members?

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