SPRING 1999 EXAM II

 

1. An enzyme that cuts DNA molecules at a specific "recognition site" that is defined by a sequence of DNA bases is called a (an) ____________________.

a. DNA polymerase

b. RNA polymerase

c. endonuclease

d. tRNA

e. mRNA

 

2. The idea that changes in structures caused by use or disuse during an organism’s lifetime where passed on to offspring was one of the first mechanisms suggested to bring about evolutionary change. It was proposed by ________________.

a. Lamarck

b. Wallace

c. Darwin

d. Chargaff

e. Malthus

 

3. The phase of protein synthesis in which the DNA base triplet message is copied into a molecule of mRNA is called ___________________.

a. amplification

b. transcription

c. translation

d. replication

e. mutation

 

4. The principle that, under certain conditions, genotype and allele frequencies in a population will remain unchanged is called __________________.

a. Mendel’s Law of Segregation

b. the Hardy-Weinberg Law

c. Bergmann’s Rule

d. Chargaff’s Rule

e. natural selection

 

5. Which of the following is a characteristic of DNA, but not of RNA?

a. nucleotides containing the nitrogenous base uracil.

b. nucleotides containing the sugar deoxyribose.

c. nucleotides containing the sugar ribose.

d. a double chain of nucleotides.

e. both b and d are characteristics of DNA but not RNA.

 

6. Two species of frogs occasionally mate in the wild to produce hybrid offspring. These offspring develop normally but die shortly after leaving the tadpole stage. This is an example of _________________.

a. prezygotic isolation

b. mechanical isolation

c. hybrid inviability

d. hybrid sterility

e. ecological isolation

 

7. The phenomenon called __________________ produces random changes in allele and genotype frequencies and is an important evolutionary force in small populations.

a. inbreeding

b. genetic drift

c. gene flow

d. natural selection

e. adaptation

 

8. The anticodon sequence UAACGCAAU would correspond to what DNA base sequence?

a. ATTGCGTTA

b. UAACGCAAU

c. TUUGCGUUT

d. TAACGCAAT

e. none of the above.

 

9. The notion that the geological features of the earth are the results of violent events such as floods and volcanic eruptions is called _____________.

a. catastrophism

b. uniformitarianism\

c. oogenesis

d. continental drift

e. immutability

 

10. In order to perform DNA fingerprinting in a forensic investigation, large amounts of fresh DNA are required. TRUE or FALSE?

a. True

b. False

 

11. Which of the following persons possessed critical information that would have allowed Darwin to answer the major criticism against his theory of evolution by natural selection?

a. Wallace

b. Lyell

c. Huxley

d. Lamarck

e. Mendel

 

12. Which of the following CANNOT be said about the genetic code?

a. it’s semi-conservative

b. it’s a degenerate code

c. it’s universal for all species on earth

d. it contains "punctuation marks" (e.g. "stop" codons)

e. all of the above are TRUE for the genetic code

 

13. Which of the following patterns would be consistent with a special creation model?

a. increasing complexity of fossils in progressively younger strata of rocks.

b. different species displaying similar developmental stages and features.

c. a single genetic code for all species.

d. decreasing complexity of fossils in progressively younger strata of rocks.

e. all of the above because creation models can explain ANY pattern.

 

14. While recombinant DNA technology is a relatively recent development, humans have been modifying gene pools of organisms for centuries through ___________.

a. natural selection

b. artificial selection

c. gene therapy

d. PCR

e. none of the above.

 

15. In protein synthesis, the actual linking of amino acids to make protein occurs in the ___________ of cells.

a. chromosomes

b. nucleus

c. ribosomes

d. plasmids

e. mitochondria

 

16. The observation that DNA contains equal amount of A and T and equal amounts of C and G is called _________________ Rule.

a. Bergmann's

b. Watson and Crick’s

c. Chargaff’s

d. Wallace’s

e. Huxley’s

 

17. The biological species concept can be applied to all species, including those that reproduce asexually. TRUE or FALSE?

a. True

b. False

 

18. The phrase "differential reproduction of genotypes" is a definition for ____________.

a. evolution

b. mutation

c. natural selection

d. genetic drift

e. gene flow

 

19. The process by which small amount of DNA can be multiplied into billions of copies over several hours through cycles of heating and cooling is called ____________.

a. RFLP analysis

b. PCR

c. DNA fingerprinting

d. transcription

e. electrophoresis

 

20. For speciation to occur, it is generally believed that ___________________ must be eliminated.

a. mutations within populations

b. genetic drift within populations

c. natural selection within populations

d. gene flow between populations

e. all of the above

 

21. In DNA replication, ______________ allows each chain of the DNA molecule to serve as a template or guide for constructing the other chain.

a. complementary base pairing

b. DNA polymerase

c. mutation

d. transcription

e. none of the above

 

22. According to a widely used definition for "evolution" given in lecture, the __________ is the unit of evolution.

a. species

b. organism

c. population

d. ecosystem

e. cell

 

23. Two species of mosquitoes avoid hybridization by selecting different kinds of aquatic habitats in which to breed. This is an example of _________________.

a. ecological isolation

b. hybrid sterility

c. post-zygotic isolation

d. mechanical isolation

e. hybrid inviability

 

24. A particular protein is 300 amino acids in length. Therefore, the instructions to make this protein consists of __________ DNA bases.

a. 300

b. 100

c. 900

d. 4

e. can’t tell from this information

 

25. Since horses and donkeys can mate to produce healthy offspring (mules), then horses and donkeys belong to the same species. TRUE or FALSE?

a. True

b. False

 

26. Genetic characteristics that help organisms survive and reproduce in their environments are called _______.

a. dominant traits

b. mutations

c. adaptations

d. RFLPs

e. clines

 

27. The term "survival of the fittest" was coined by _________________.

a. Darwin

b. Malthus

c. Marx

d. Spencer

e. Huxley

 

28. Molecules consisting of DNA from different species are called ________DNA molecules.

a. recombinant

b. replicated

c. fingerprint

d. sticky

e. RFLP

 

29. A widely held belief during the 17^th century was that ____________________________.

a. life forms were the product of evolution

b. the earth was approximately 6,000 years old

c. life forms were put on earth by special creation

d. the earth was shaped by violent, cataclysmic events.

e. b, c and d were all widely held beliefs of that time.

 

30. Which of the following would NOT be required for DNA replication?

a. ATP

b. DNA polymerase

c. nucleotides containing the base thymine

d. amino acids

e. all of the above ARE required.

 

31. During the 5-year voyage H.M.S. Beagle, Darwin’s ideas about evolution were stimulated by a visit to ____.

a. India

b. Jamaica

c. the Galapagos Islands

d. Hawaii

e. Las Vegas

 

32. The fitness of a genotype is fixed and is unaffected by changes in the environment. TRUE or FALSE?

a. True

b. False

 

33. The total of all genes, alleles, etc. in a population is referred to as the population’s _____.

a. gene pool

b. cline

c. fitness

d. genotype frequency

e. RIM

 

34. A group of interbreeding organisms that are reproductively isolated from other such groups is called a (an) ____.

a. ecological race

b. population

c. species

d. cline

e. ecosystem

 

35. The idea that natural selection might provide a mechanism for evolutionary change was proposed independently by Darwin and _____________.

a. Dobzhansky

b. Chargaff

c. Lamarck

d. Lyell

e. Wallace

 

36. The relative reproductive contribution of a genotype to future generations is called the genotype’s ________.

a. frequency

b. allele frequency

c. fitness

d. mutation rate

e. none of the above

 

37. Which of the following is NOT one of the major points made by Darwin in "On the Origin of Species?"

a. organisms display genetic variation among themselves.

b. only traits that help organisms survive and reproduce are passed on from one generation to the next.

c. in nature, organisms produce far more offspring than actually survive to reproductive age.

d. evolution occurs as favored genetic variations accumulate over time.

e. all of the above ARE major points made by Darwin in his book.

 

38. If a population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium for a given genetic trait, then we can deduce that _____.

a. natural selection is operating on the trait

b. the population is evolving for this trait

c. allele and genotype frequencies are remaining constant

d. the population is not evolving for the trait

e. both c and d

 

39. Consider a hypothetical population with a gene having alleles A and a. This population consists of 500 individuals such that 125 individuals are genotype AA, 250 are Aa and 125 are genotype aa. Therefore, the allele frequency for allele A is _________.

a. 1.00

b. 0.75

c. 0.50

d. 0.25

e. can’t say given only is information.

 

40. Darwin defined "evolution" as ____________________.

a. genetic changes in populations through time

b. the differential reproduction of genotypes

c. random changes in the genetic material

d. the formation of new species from pre-existing ones

e. descent with modification

 

41. DNA replication is based upon complementary base pairing. This is normally a very accurate process, but sometimes errors occur and complementary bases do not pair. Such "mistakes" are called ___________.

a. transcriptions

b. mutations

c. recombinations

d. clones

e. genetic drift

 

42. The phenomenon known as "industrial melanism" was discussed at length in class. Industrial melanism illustrates which of the following?
a. Fitnesses of genotypes change with changes in the environment.

b. Natural selection operating through the ecological agent of disease.

c. The inheritance of acquired characteristics.

d. The evolutionary action of genetic drift.

e. Both a and b above.

 

43. Similar structures that have been modified in different species for different functions are called "__________ structures" and reflect the common ancestry of the species.

a. homologous

b. analogous

c. vestigial

d. transitional

e. none of the above

 

44. Proteins normally produced by human genes, such as insulin, growth hormone, and somatostatin, are now commercially produced by genetically engineered bacteria. TRUE or FALSE?

a. True

b. False

 

45. The "double helix" model for the structure of DNA was first proposed by _________________.

a. Dobzhansky

b. Hershey

c. Chargaff

d. Watson and Crick

e. Huxley

 

46. Who was the gentleman that debated on Darwin's behalf and became known as "Darwin's bulldog?"

a. Charles Lyell

b. Thomas Malthus

c. John Stevens Henslow

d. Thomas Huxley

e. Karl Marx

 

47. Bacteria possess circular, non-chromosomal pieces of DNA called ________________ which are important in recombinant DNA technology.

a. restriction fragments

b. plasmids

c. histones

d. libraries

e. clones

 

48. Both evolution and special creation share the fact that, since neither has been directly observed, neither can be studied in a scientific fashion. TRUE or FALSE?

a. True

b. False

 

49. Fragments of DNA can be separated on the basis of size and charge by a process called _______________.

a. RFLP analysis

b. PCR

c. gel electrophoresis

d. transcription

e. translation

 

50. For a substance to be the hereditary material, which of the following must it be capable of?

a. replication

b. direct protein synthesis

c. photosynthesis

d. all of the above

e. a and b above

 

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