The Study of Life

How is hormone production and release primarily controlled? 

What are the anatomical differences between nemertines and mollusks?
                                               

Thalidomide was a morning sickness drug given to women that caused babies to be born without arm bones. If recent studies have shown that thalidomide prevents the formation of new blood vessels, describe the type of bone development inhibited by the drug and what stage of ossification was affected. 

A scientist identifies a potential transcription regulation site 300bp downstream of a gene and hypothesizes that it is a repressor. What experiment (with results) could he perform to support this hypothesis?

Oral contraceptive pills work by delivering synthetic progestins to a woman every day. Describe why this is an effective method of birth control. 

What movements occur at the hip joint and knees as you bend down to touch your toes? 

Describe how RBPs can prevent miRNAs from degrading an RNA molecule.

Enumerate features of Caenorhabditis elegans that make it a valuable model system for biologists.                                               

What movement(s) occur(s) at the scapulae when you shrug your shoulders? 

What are the different ways in which nematodes can reproduce?                                               

The adrenal medulla contains two types of secretory cells. What are they and what are their functions? 

How would damage to the posterior pituitary gland affect the production and release of ADH and inhibiting hormones?

Alternative forms of protein can be beneficial or harmful to a cell. What do you think would happen if too much of an alternative protein bound to the 3' UTR of an RNA and caused it to degrade? 

Describe the various superclasses that phylum Arthropoda can be divided into.                                            

What is $2\times 4$hdjkfjlks;, Photosynthesis? 

Decide if each of the following is an example of inductive or deductive reasoning. 

1. All flying birds and insects have wings. Birds and insects flap their wings as they move through the air. Therefore, wings enable flight. 

2. Insects generally survive mild winters better than harsh ones. Therefore, insect pests will become more problematic if global temperatures increase. 

3. Chromosomes, the carriers of DNA, separate into daughter cells during cell division. Therefore, each daughter cell will have the same chromosome set as the mother cell. 

4. Animals as diverse as humans, insects, and wolves all exhibit social behavior. Therefore, social behavior must have an evolutionary advantage. 

Which of the following statements is false? 

a. Tissues exist within organs which exist within organ systems. 

b. Communities exist within populations which exist within ecosystems. 

c. Organelles exist within cells which exist within tissues. 

d. Communities exist within ecosystems which exist in the biosphere. 

The first form of life on Earth were ________

a. plants

b. microorganisms

c. birds

d. dinosaurs

A suggested and testable explanation for an event is called ________.

a. hypothesis

b. variable

c. theory

d. control

Which of the following sciences is not considered a natural science?

a. biology

b. astronomy

c. physics

d. computer science

The type of logical thinking that uses related observations to arrive at a general conclusion is called _________.

a. deductive reasoning

b. the scientific method

c. hypothesis based science

d. inductive reasoning

The process of ___________ helps to ensure that a scientist's research is original, significant, logical, and thorough.

a. publication

b. public speaking

c. peer review

d. the scientific method

A person notices that her houseplants that are regularly exposed to music seem to grow more quickly than those in rooms with no music. As a result, she determines that plants grow better when exposed to music. This example most closely resembles which type of reasoning? 

a. inductive reasoning 

b. deductive reasoning 

c. neither, because no hypothesis was made 

d. both inductive and deductive reasoning 

The smallest unit of biological structure that meets the functional requirements of "living" is the _________

a. organ

b. organelle

c. cell

d. macromolecule

Viruses are not considered living because they ________.

a. are not made of cells

b. lack cell nuclei

c. do not contain DNA or RNA

d. cannot reproduce

The presence of a membrane-enclosed nucleus is a

characteristic of ________.

a. prokaryotic cells

b. eukaryotic cells

c. living organisms

d. bacteria

A group of individuals of the same species living in the same area is called a(n) ________. 

a. family 

b. community 

c. population 

d. ecosystem 

Which of the following sequences represents the hierarchy of biological organization from the most inclusive to the least complex level? 

a. organelle, tissue, biosphere, ecosystem, population 

b. organ, organism, tissue, organelle, molecule 

c. organism, community, biosphere, molecule, tissue, organ 

d. biosphere, ecosystem, community, population, organism 

Where in a phylogenetic tree would you expect to find the organism that had evolved most recently?

a. at the base

b. within the branches

c. at the nodes

d. at the branch tips

Although the scientific method is used by most of the sciences, it can also be applied to everyday situations. Think about a problem that you may have at home, at school, or with your car, and apply the scientific method to solve it. 

Give an example of how applied science has had a direct effect on your daily life?

Name two topics that are likely to be studied by biologists, and two areas of scientific study that would fall outside the realm of biology.

Thinking about the topic of cancer, write a basic science question and an applied science question that a researcher interested in this topic might ask. 

Select two items that biologists agree are necessary in order to consider an organism “alive.” For each, give an example of a nonliving object that otherwise fits the definition of “alive.” 

Consider the levels of organization of the biological world, and place each of these items in order from smallest level of organization to most encompassing: skin cell, elephant, water molecule, planet Earth, tropical rainforest, hydrogen atom, wolf pack, liver 

You go for a long walk on a hot day. Give an example of a way in which homeostasis keeps your body healthy.

Using examples, explain how biology can be studied from a microscopic approach to a global approach.