Sample midterm questions for the second part of Biology 102.

Supposedly there is one answer for each of these that is correct or, at least, is the best answer.   Which?

1.  Plants and animals first became established on land during the ______ .
A. early Proterozoic Eon                                 D. mid Paleozoic Era
B. late Proterozoic Eon                                   E. late Paleozoic Era
C. early Paleozoic Era

2.  Many evolutionary biologists think that evolution occurs in spurts.  This theory of evolution is called _________ .
A. adaptive evolution                                        D. punctuated equilibrium
B. coevolution                                                  E. convergent evolution
C. gradualism

3. How is the merging of continents to form Pangaea believed to have altered the Earth's environments at that time?
A. Resulted in decreased shorelines so that algae were forced to evolve onto land and become plants.
B. It changed the pattern of ocean currents, which in turn affected climates on land. And produced more large, cold and dry continental area.
C.  Increased the shoreline so that more evolution occurred among early segmented worms
D.  It made inland climates milder
E.  Both A. and B. are true

4. The flowering plants first evolved during the _________ era (or eon)?
A. archeozoic     B. proterozoic        C. paleozoic         D. mesozoic         E. cenozoic

5.  Leeches are members of which animal phylum?
A.  segmented worms      B. mollusks          C. arthropods        D. velvet worms      E. water bears

6. Which group of insects is the most numerous animal group on earth today?
A. dragon flies          B. ants        C. ear wigs         D. beetles              E. bees

7. Which group of insects were one of the earliest predators that "took to the air" during the late Paleozoic Era, in the early vascular plant forests?
A. dragon flies          B. ants        C. ear wigs         D. beetles              E. bees

8.  The type of life cycle seen in all plants is called __________ .
A. haplodiploidy
B. gametophyte production
C. alternation of generations
D. seed production
E. cyclic reproduction

9.  Which part of the life cycle does a pollen grain represent?
A. a spore                                            D. a male sporangium
B. a sperm cell                                     E. a male sporophyte
C. a male gametophyte

10. Which of the following types of plants dominates most of the world's land areas today?
A. angiosperms                                     D. cycads
B.  gymnosperms                                   E. club mosses
C.  mosses

11. Which part of the moss has one-celled leaves?
A. protonema                                            D. sporophyte
B. adult gametophyte                                E. sporangium
C. archegonium

12. Which of the following economically important products come from gymnosperms?
A. citric acid        B. wood            C. soy sauce           D. cotton          E. pine fruits

13. Which of the following adaptations to a terrestrial existence is (are) found in all ferns?
          1. spores that disperse without the need for water
          2. a female gametophyte that remains enclosed in the sporangium
          3. a mechanism for uniting gametes that eliminates the need for water
A. 1           B. 2        C. 3        D. all of these         E. both 1 and 3

14.  What does the lichen algal partner provide the mutualistic association?
A. Fungi      B. Water      C. nucleic acid     D. minerals     E. carbohydrate

15. Early vascular plants (Club Mosses, Horsetails and Ferns) present in the Carboniferous Period of the Paleozoic (towards the end of this Era) can be compared in terms of size and commonness to the plants classified in these same phyla that exist on the earth today.  How?
A. they were much smaller and less dominant in environments
B. they were much smaller but more dominant in environments
C.  they were much larger but less dominant in environments
D.  they were much larger and more dominant in environments
E.  they occupied the same level of dominance as today's versions, and were about the same size

16. What feature(s) of animals shows up widely in the fossil record beginning in the Cambrian Period of the Paleozoic Era?
A. protostomes                                            D. teeth
B. jointed appendages                                  E. shells and skeletons
C.  brain cases

17.  True / False?  All of the phyla classified as Fungus-like Protista are closely related and represent fomrs in the direct evolutionary line to the true fungi (kingdom Fungi).
     A. True                          B.  False

18.  A yeast is ______ .
A. a mycelium                                             D. an unicellular fungus
B. a protozoan                                            E. a unicellular alga
C. a fungal protistan

19. A mushroom is to a mycelium as ________ (choose the analogy that best expresses the biological relationship between these two structures).
A.  a lichen fungus is to its alga
B.  a larval insect is to its adult stage
C.  an apple is to an apple tree
D.  a tree is to its mycorrhiza
E.  a flower is to its bee

20. Insects are said to be built upside down, inside out and backwards relative to human beings.  What feature of their development and/or organization makes them "upside down"?
A. position of the anus
B. position of the skeleton
C. position of the nerve cord relative to the gut
D. position of the mouth parts relative to the eyes
E. position of the wings relative to the feet
 

Answers to these questions can be found HERE.