Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life

1. Chapter 1 Introduction: Themes in the Study of Life Questions prepared by Janet Lanza University of Arkansas at Little Rock Louise Paquin McDaniel College

2. Overview • Which of the following properties or processes do we associate with living things? • a) evolutionary adaptations • b) energy processing • c) responding to the environment • d) growth and reproduction • e) all of the above

3. Which of the following is not a theme that unifies biology? • a) interaction with the environment • b) emergent properties • c) evolution • d) reductionism • e) structure and function

4. What is the lowest level of biological organization that can perform all the activities required for life? • a) organelle—for example, a chloroplast • b) cell—for example, a skin cell • c) tissue—for example, nervous tissue • d) organ system—for example, the reproductive system • e) organism—for example, an amoeba, dog, human, or maple tree

5. Systems Biology Which of the following scientific studies would represent an example of a “systems biology” approach? • measuring the effect of an invading insect that eats oak leaves on the numbers of oak trees and on any subsequent changes in the number and types of decomposer fungi in the soil • discovering the structure of an enzyme that is important in digestion of protein • comparing the microscopic structure of leaves of two different species of magnolias • measuring the reproductive rate of emperor penguins during exceptionally warm and exceptionally cold years • comparing the DNA sequence of two closely related plants and inferring their evolutionary histories

6. Energy Transfer Like jackrabbits, elephants have many blood vessels in their ears that help them cool their bodies by radiating heat. Which of the following statements about this radiated energy would be accurate? • The original source of the energy was the sun. • The energy will be recycled through the ecosystem. • The radiated energy will be trapped by predators of the elephants. • More energy is radiated in cold conditions than in hot conditions. • More energy is radiated at night than during the day.

7. Form and Function The idea that form and function are related would not be exemplified by which of the following examples? • Cells in the intestinal lining of vertebrates have many small projections that increase the surface area for absorption of nutrients. • Plants that live in dry areas have large roots for absorbing water. • Seeds that are dispersed by wind are very light. • Fish that swim rapidly have bodies that are streamlined. • None of the above.

8. Negative Feedback Which of the following examples would represent negative feedback? • As carbon dioxide levels rise in the blood of a mammal, the rate of breathing increases, leading to a decrease in blood levels of carbon dioxide. • As global temperatures rise, more ice melts, leading to greater planetary absorption of sunlight and additional temperature increase. • The speed of a racehorse decreases after running a mile. • The metabolic rate and energy consumption of grizzly bears decrease during hibernation. • Frog eggs hatch after 5 days of development at 28C but after 10 days of development at 23 C.

9. Unity and Diversity of Life Imagine that you have just discovered a new multicellular but microscopic organism that swims in ponds. You see that it is propelled by cilia on the outside of the organism. What can you say about the evolutionary relationships of this organism? • The presence of cilia shows that it is more closely related to Paramecium than to humans. • The presence of cilia shows that it shares a common ancestor with Paramecium and humans. • It is probably closely related to pond algae. • It is probably most closely related to prokaryotes. • The presence of cilia demonstrates the diversity, but not the unity, of life.

10. Tree of Life Examine the figure on the next slide and predict which species pair has the most similar DNA sequence. • vegetarian tree finch (Platyspiza crassirostris) and mangrove finch (Cactospiza heliobates) • medium tree finch (Camarhynchus pauper) and large tree finch (Camarhynchus psittacula) • large tree finch (Camarhynchus psittacula) and small tree finch (Camarhynchus parvulus) • sharp-beaked ground finch (Geospiza difficilis) and large ground finch (Geospiza magnirostris) • No such predictions are possible.

12. Experiments Most mammals, like those who attacked the artificial snake shown in the figure below, cannot see color. With this idea in mind, choose the experiment that would best test whether the color of the artificial snakes were important.

13. Choose the experiment that would best test whether the color of the artificial snakes were important. • Compare attack rates on red-black-white ringed artificial snakes to attack rates on black-brown-white ringed artificial snakes in areas without coral snakes. • Measure attack rates on black-brown-white ringed snakes in areas with many coral snakes. • Compare attack rates on black-brown-white striped artificial snakes to attack rates on black-brown-white ringed artificial snakes in areas with many coral snakes. • Compare attack rates on black-brown-white ringed artificial snakes to attack rates on plain brown artificial snakes in areas with many coral snakes. • Compare attack rates on red-black-white ringed artificial snakes to attack rates on black-brown-white artificial snakes in areas with many coral snakes.

14. Theories in Science People who characterize evolution as “just a theory” show that they • know the difference between a hypothesis and a theory. • do not understand that “theory” in science is a broad, overarching concept that explains a variety of observations and instead think scientists use the term “theory” as a synonym for “hypothesis.” • understand how science accumulates information about the nature of the natural world. • understand how to develop scientific experiments.

15. Science, Technology, and Society Which of the following is an activity that would not be classified as science or technology? • development of methods to insert human genes into pig embryos • measurement of the flavor and ripening speed of tomatoes that have had different flavor-enhancing genes inserted into their genetic material • investigation of the allergic effect of peanut genes inserted into tomatoes when the tomatoes are eaten by people allergic to peanuts • discussion of whether government-granting agencies should support research into treatment of Parkinson's disease with products from human fetal cells • comparison of the growth rates of different strains of wheat grown at different temperatures