Problem Set #1 Flashcards
Which of the following properties or processes do we associate with ALL living things?
responding to stimuli
Natural selection and evolution are NOT interchangeable definitions. All living organisms must evolve. However, evolution is NOT limited mechanisms of natural selection. Meaning, natural selection is just one of many different ways populations can evolve.
Which of these factors are required for biological evolution to occur?
hertiable variation in the population
Alfred Wallace was the first person to propose which of the following?
a mechanism for evolution that was supported by evidence
Alfred Wallace simultaneously came up with the mechanism of natural selection to explain how evolution can occur.
A null hypothesis states that
the independent variable has no effect on the dependent variable
A null hypothesis is NOT (necessarily) the opposite of your working hypothesis. For example, if you are testing the wavelength of light on the rate of photosynthesis your hypothesis could be:
H1: We hypothesize that white light will cause the highest rate of photosynthesis.
therefore your null hypothesis, for H1, is:
H0: The wavelength (or color) or light will have no effect on the rate of photosynthesis.
Which of the following is correct, from most complex to least complex, in the hierarchical order of life? (Some levels have been omitted, so you are looking for the correct order.)
Ecosystem → Community → Population → Organ → Tissue → Cell → Molecule → Atom
A scientific “theory”:
is a carefully-formulated proposition, based on observations, and supported by an accumulation of experimental data.
Scientific theories are hypotheses that have been rigorously and repeatedly tested and have yet to be rejected. Then can still be rejected but after years, decades, even centuries have yet to be.
Multiple studies conducted at TAMU have shown that there is a positive correlation between students who regularly attend SI sessions and the average scores on exams. What is the dependent variable (DV) in this study?
The exam score.
IV = what you are changing –> attendance at SI sessions
DV = what you are measuring –> exam score
Hypothesis based science requires:
the ability to test a claim.
The only one of these choices that is correct is that the hypothesis must be able to be tested.
If LaMarck was correct in his idea about the inheritance of acquired traits, which of the following would you be able to pass along to your offspring?
Many of these things are heritable…Which one is heritable according to LaMarck
Your right-ear deafness obtained after randomly contracting a virus.
Your right-ear deafness resulted from something that you acquired during your life, not something that you were born with. If LaMarck was correct, you should be able to pass this along to your kids. However, you cannot do this.
If you were born deaf because of a genetic abnormality, you could absolutely pass this along to your offspring!
In taxonomy, what is true about the hierarchal rank of “family”?
A genus will almost always include far fewer taxa (plural of taxon) than a family.
Think about the hierarchical order here…Family is above Genus meaning it’s more encompassing. Therefore, families almost always have more taxa in them than one genus in the family.
Natural selection is:
differential reproductive success of different phenotypes
Our official class definition: differential reproductive success.
Please remember: natural selection and evolution are NOT used interchangeably. NS is one way evolution works. NOT the only way!
Suppose you wanted to test the effect of different fertilizers on the growth of tomato plants. What is the independent variable (IV)?
The type of fertilzer used.
IV = what you are changing/manipulating –> the type of fertilizer
DV = what you are measuring –> plant growth
The scientific method has great flexibility in the order of operations. Which of these is not always a necessary step in the process?
Supporting the hypothesis
There is nothing wrong with rejecting your hypothesis. Often times we learn a lot from experiments that don’t work out like we initially thought would.
Which of following is NOT a tenet of the cell theory?
You should know what the definition of ‘tenet’ is from here out. If you don’t, please look it up!
All cells have mitochondria
Tenet = a main part/section of a philosophy.
The cell theory has 4 main tenets:
1. All living organisms are made up of one or more cells.
2. Chemical reactions necessary for life take place within cells.
3. All cells come from pre-existing cells
4. Cells contain the genetic information in the form of DNA.
All cells do NOT have mitochondria! Like say, bacterial cells for prokaryotes and red blood cells for eukaryotes.
Which of the following is an example of applied science?
Developing and implementing a successful vaccine against melanoma (skin cancer).
Applied science is basically technology. The end result is usually something tangible (or for a more timely way to describe, the end result is usually patentable.)
In the choices above, the skin cancer vaccine is the end product. Oh, and yes, it’s really happening right now!
