BIOLOGY 161 – EXAM 1, 05 & 07 October 2009 page 1

PART 1:

#1. Consider the “Big Picture” slide of the hierarchical nature of ecology below:

Please write the numbers on the lines below corresponding to the appropriate label for each level in this diagram, _________ population level __________ ecosystem level_________ individual level __________ community level 2 pts.

#2. Please offer a brief but concise definition of Evolution.3 pts.#3. Please explain why “evolution” is an example of an “emergent property” AND name the level

above at which it emerges. 2 pts.#4. List the principal steps of the “scientific method”: 3 pts.#5. Use arrows or brackets written directly on your answer above to indicate clearly which of the above

steps correspond to Inductive and which correspond to Deductive reasoning. 1 pt.#6. Using what kind of reasoning does one predict the outcome of an experiment and thereby test an

hypothesis?{circle your choice} inductive or deductive 1 pt.

#7. What kind of reasoning uses observations to create an hypothesis?

{circle your choice} inductive or deductive 1 pt.#8. Evaluate the use of scientific thinking in the following statement:

“More than 98% of convicted felons are bread consumers and 93.1% of juvenile delinquents came from homes where bread is served frequently – therefore, to reduce crime, bread consumption should be banned immediately nationwide.”

(a) is this an example of inductive or deductive reasoning? {circle one} 1 pt.(b) is this a scientifically valid statement? Why or why not? -- EXPLAIN using your knowledge of

scientific thinking. 3 pts.#9. Evaluate the use of scientific thinking in the following statement:

“Because you can never be sure about anything in science, it doesn’t matter if you have researchthat says that cell phone texting while driving increases accidents by a factor of 30. Besides, I’ve never been in a wreck, and I text constantly while I drive. So, it is safe for me to text while driving– but perhaps it’s not safe for you.”

Is this a scientifically valid statement? Why or why not? -- EXPLAIN using your knowledge of scientific thinking. 4 pts.

#10. Please write down the basic chemical equation for photosynthesis: 2 pts.

____________ + ___________ ____________ + ____________#11. FOLLOW THE HYDROGEN !!! Consider the diagrams below illustrating the major steps in Photosynthesis.

Explain how hydrogen gets from water (upper left) into sugar (lower right). What are the major steps? What are the major structural payers? And what are the reasons, causes, or explanations for why each of these steps occurs? Please, think about how to organize your response before beginning.

8 pts

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34

21

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light

BIOLOGY 161 – EXAM 1, 05 & 07 October 2009 page 2

#12. Please write down the basic chemical equation from class for what fuels the space shuttle (as well as Arnond’s Hummer H2H): 2 pts.

____________ + ___________ ___________ + energy#13. FOLLOW THE

HYDROGEN !!! Consider the diagram at right illustrating the major steps in fuel cell function.

Please explain how this fuel cell generates an electric current that powers Arnold’s Hummer, and state clearly what is the composition of the exhaust from Arnold’s Hummer.

8 pts

#14. Imagine that a mutant Turkey Vulture arose in a west Texas population that had white feathers and black skin instead of the black feathers and white skin that all others possess. Which is true and why?

A. the mutant would more likely overheat compared to the wild type and be selected against under Natural Selection,

B. the mutant’s feathers and skin would have no effect on heat gain and loss compared to the wild type,

C. the mutant would be cooler than the wild type and be favored under Natural Selection.please explain 3 pts.

#15. Please explain the osmotic challenges to an animal such as a Crayfish (at right) of living in a freshwater stream. What osmotic stress does this organism face and why?

3 pts.#16. The figure at right shows the relationship between

time of day and the fraction of a lizard’s home range that is so hot that it would be lethal for the lizard to go there.Explain how this illustrates the “ecological cost” of ectothermic body temperature regulation. 3 pts.

#17. How do the patterns of energy allocation (to growth (G), storage (S), maintenance (M), or reproduction (R)) differ between a typical “ectothermic” animal such as a lizard versus an “endothermic” bird? Please explain the major differences in their energy budgets and energy allocation. (Hint use the little energy budget diagrams below in your response – which one is the bird and why?)

3 pts.

Fuel Cell Membrane (PEM)

SUV

BIO161 – EXAM 1, page 3 Name ______________________________________ Sect A, B, or C ? (+1 pt)

PART 2:

#1. Please write on the lines below what are the five environmental types that directly affect the day to day lives of individual organisms?

5 pts

#2. By the year 2010, it is predicted that Zebra mussels will have invaded every waterway in the lower 48 states of the USA. List two of the MOST important life individual history characteristics of Zebra mussels that make them such good ecological invaders.1 – 2 – 4 pts.

#3. Is the phrase: “For scientific questions in which there is controversy and no clear right answer, all opinions are equally valid. ….”TRUE or FALSE ? Please explain below

3 pts.

#4. Smoking tobacco (and the ammonia compounds added to cigarettes by some tobacco companies) has been a widely popular activity in this country for several decades. The figure at right shows the data from an experimental study of smoking and lung cancer rate in rats. The control group (“not smoking”) had a 0.12 rate of cancer and the experimental group (“smoking”) had a cancer rate of 0.31, which is significantly higher.

Is the conclusion that: “smoking can cause lung cancer in these rats”

VALID or NOT VALID {circle your choice} Please explain your choice: 4 pts.

#5. From a data set on smoking and cancer rate in people, the figure at right shows the relationship between the number of cigarettes smoked per day and the lung cancer rate by smokers from public health data. Is the conclusion that:

“smoking is a cause of increased lung cancer rates” VALID or NOT VALID {circle your choice}

Please explain your choice: 4 pts.

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smokingnot smoking

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BIOLOGY 161 – EXAM 1, 05 & 07 October 2009 page 4

Please do EITHER #6 or #7 in the space below:

#6. In class, I mentioned the story of giraffes who possess extremely long and tough tongues that can strip leaves off of thorny tree branches in African savannah habitats.

Please explain how leathery giraffe tongues might have evolved by a process of Darwinian Natural Selection.

Please answer EITHER #6 or #7 in the space below: 10 pts.

#8. Imagine that your dog is overweight and your vet recommends that your dog needs to eat less and exercise more. Because you care about your dog, you follow this advice, and after one month your dog has lost 20 pounds of body fat!Where did the body fat go? What happened to the fat tissue? What fraction of this fat was "lost” in your dog’s urine, feces, or breath? EXPLAIN your dog’s fat loss using biologically accurate concepts. 4 pts.

#9. Imagine that you are camping and your friend hands you a dry but heavy log for the fire. Your friend then says “That was a heavy log! It must have taken up a lot of stuff from the soil as it grew!” Is your friend correct from a biological point of view? Explain why or why not. 4 pts.

#10. Please write down the basic chemical equation from class for metabolism: 2 pts.

____________ + ___________ ___________ + ___________ + ATP#11. FOLLOW THE HYDROGEN !!! Consider the diagrams below illustrating the major steps in Aerobic

Respiration.

Explain how hydrogen gets from sugar (upper left) into water (lower right). What are the major steps? What are the major structural players? And what are the reasons, causes, or explanations for why each of these steps occurs?

8 pts.

#7. In class, I mentioned the story of a species of ground beetle that lives in the Namib Desert in southern Africa in a sand dune habitat with no rainfall. These beetles have long legs and stand on their heads along dune ridges to catch dew drops from drifting fog at dawn.

Please explain how the long legs of these beetles might have evolved by a process of Darwinian Natural Selection.

BIO161 – EXAM 1, page 5 Name ______________________________________ Sect A, B, or C ? (+1 pt)

#12. Use your knowledge of the steps of aerobic metabolism (at right) and the steps of fuel cell function (below) to argue that we, and all other animals and plants on Earth, are in fact “hydrogen powered vehicles.” What exactly are the similarities and differences? Use circles and arrows written directly on the diagrams to make your case and justify this claim.

10 pts.

#13. When Konrad Lorenz raised chicks and found that they followed his yellow boots, what contribution did he make to the debate about the roles of innate instinct vs. environmental learning in the evolution and expression of behavior? What did this say about “nature [genetics] vs. nurture [environment]”?

3 pts.#14. Please offer a brief but concise definition of altruism

2 pts

#15. At right is a figure showing the average distance traveled by male and female prairie dogs from their family colony. Based on these data, which sex would you expect to give “alarm calls” to warn the other prairie dogs nearby of an approaching predator (suchas a hawk)? Please explain your reasoning. 3 pts

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