Evaluating Trends & Making Predictions Practice Test

PASSAGE IV

GEOPHYSICS: This passage is adapted from a study on the structure of Earth’s interior using seismic waves.

Seismologists study the interior of the Earth by analyzing the propagation of seismic waves generated by earthquakes. There are two main types of body waves:

•P-waves (Primary waves): Compressional waves that travel through solids, liquids, and gases.

•S-waves (Secondary waves): Shear waves that travel only through solids.

The velocity of these waves depends on the density and physical state (solid or liquid) of the material they travel through. Abrupt changes in velocity indicate boundaries between Earth's layers.

PASSAGE V

BIOLOGY: This passage is adapted from a study on the metabolic rates of vertebrates. Introduction

Metabolism is the set of chemical reactions that occur in living organisms to maintain life. The metabolic rate is often measured by the amount of oxygen ($O_2$) consumed per gram of body mass per hour.

Animals can be classified based on how they regulate body temperature:

•Endotherms (e.g., mammals, birds) generate their own body heat to maintain a constant internal temperature.

•Ectotherms (e.g., reptiles, amphibians) rely on external heat sources to regulate their body temperature.

Students conducted two studies to compare the metabolic rates of a Mouse (Endotherm) and a Lizard (Ectotherm) of similar body mass.

Study 1

The students placed the mouse and the lizard in separate metabolic chambers. They varied the environmental temperature from 5°C to 35°C in 10°C increments. The animals were kept at rest. The rate of oxygen consumption ($mL \ O_2 / g \cdot hr$) was measured after the animals had acclimated to each temperature for 30 minutes. Findings were reported in Figure 1.

Study 2

The students investigated the effect of activity level on metabolic rate. They maintained the environmental temperature at 25°C for both animals. They measured the oxygen consumption while the animals were at rest and while they were running on a treadmill at 1.0 km/hr. Findings were reported in Table 1.

Study 3

To determine if body mass affects metabolic rate within the same group, students measured the resting metabolic rate of three different lizards at 25°C. Findings were reported in Table 2.