Life in the Universe 4th Edition By Jeffrey O. Bennett – Test Bank

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Life in the Universe, 4e (Bennett)

Chapter 5 The Nature of Life on Earth

1) What can be said about the presence of order in living organisms?

A) it is a necessary condition, but not a sufficient condition for life

B) it is a sufficient condition, but not a necessary condition for life

C) it is both a necessary condition and a sufficient condition for life

D) it is neither a necessary condition nor a sufficient condition for life

Answer: A

2) The type of reproduction that occurs between human beings is referred to as

A) unsexual

B) carnal

C) asexual

D) sexual

Answer: D

3) Bacteria reproduce by the process of cell division. This kind of reproduction is referred to as

A) sexual

B) unsexual

C) asexual

D) agamic

Answer: C

4) All organisms have finite lifetimes and eventually die. Which of the basic characteristics of

life corrects for this?

A) energy utilization

B) response to the environment

C) evolutionary adaptation

D) reproduction

Answer: D

5) A mule is an example of an exception to which of the fundamental characteristics of life?

A) response to environment─mules cannot respond to changing environmental conditions and

that is why they are stubborn

B) evolutionary adaptation─because mules are sterile they cannot evolve and adapt

C) growth and development-mules being sterile do not grow and develop like other life forms

D) reproduction─a mule is sterile and cannot reproduce even though it is the product of

reproduction between two closely related animals (a horse and a donkey)

Answer: D

6) Scientists cannot agree on whether viruses are living or not because

A) they are much smaller than other simple living organisms

B) they can reproduce but do not require any utilization of energy to do so

C) they can only reproduce within a host cell and not independently

D) under certain conditions they can reproduce, but they do not contain any DNA

Answer: C

1

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.7) Abnormal forms of protein molecules called prions have one of the characteristics of living

things in that they

A) can replicate themselves by causing other molecules to change

B) actively respond to external changes

C) have very complex structures

D) use sunlight for energy

Answer: B

8) Traits passed from parents to offspring are referred to by biologists as

A) inheritance

B) heredity

C) adaptation

D) heraldry

Answer: A

9) The property of growth and development appears to be

A) a necessary condition, but not a sufficient condition for life

B) a sufficient condition, but not a necessary condition for life

C) both a necessary condition and a sufficient condition for life

D) neither a necessary condition nor a sufficient condition for life

Answer: A

10) Nearly all life on Earth passes on its heredity using

A) lipids

B) RNA

C) DNA

D) proteins

Answer: C

11) Energy utilization appears to be

A) a sufficient condition, but not a necessary condition for life

B) both a necessary condition and a sufficient condition for life

C) neither a necessary condition nor a sufficient condition for life

D) a necessary condition, but not a sufficient condition for life

Answer: D

12) Energy utilization in living organisms is

A) one of the most basic requirements of life, without which organisms could not maintain order,

grow, and reproduce

B) only important for organisms like plants which receive their energy directly from the Sun

C) neither a necessary nor a sufficient condition for life

D) not important for organisms that have adapted to survive extremely low temperatures

(psychrophiles)

Answer: A

2

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.13) The second law of thermodynamics states that

A) energy cannot be created or destroyed

B) matter cannot be crated or destroyed

C) the energy in a system undergoes changes that lead to increasing disorder

D) the energy in a system undergoes changes that lead to increasing complexity

Answer: C

14) The property of response to the environment appears to be

A) a necessary condition, but not a sufficient condition for life

B) a sufficient condition, but not a necessary condition for life

C) both a necessary condition and a sufficient condition for life

D) neither a necessary condition nor a sufficient condition for life

Answer: A

15) When humans get hot, they sweat in order to reduce their body temperature. Which of the

key properties of life is this an example of?

A) growth and development

B) reproduction

C) response to environment

D) order

Answer: C

16) When humans get cold, they shiver in order to increase their body temperature. Which of the

key properties of life is this an example of?

A) growth and development

B) reproduction

C) order

D) response to environment

Answer: D

17) Species are groups of organisms

A) with a common ancestor

B) that are genetically distinct

C) that look similar

D) that are capable of interbreeding with one another

Answer: B

18) A genus is

A) a group of species that are closely related to one another

B) a group of species that are particularly intelligent

C) a group of organisms that look similar

D) groups of organisms that are genetically distinct

Answer: A

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.19) Humans are scientifically classified as Homo sapiens. In this system, the word Homo refers

to the

A) family

B) genus

C) order

D) species

Answer: B

20) Humans are scientifically classified as Homo sapiens. In this system, the word sapiens refers

to the

A) genus

B) species

C) order

D) family

Answer: B

21) The organisms Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and Homo sapiens

A) are part of the same genus

B) have nothing in common

C) are part of the same genus and species

D) are part of the same species

Answer: A

22) Emperor penguins are part of the species forsteri and genus aptenodytes. Given this, their

scientific classification would be written

A) Aptenodytes Forsteri

B) forsteri Aptenodytes

C) Forsteri aptenodytes

D) Aptenodytes forsteri

Answer: D

23) Of the six basic properties of life, biologists consider the most fundamental to be

A) response to environment

B) reproduction

C) order

D) evolutionary adaptation

Answer: D

24) The first person to introduce the concept of evolution was the

A) English scientist Charles Darwin

B) Greek scientist Anaximander

C) American scientist Stephen Jay Gould

D) the French scientist Jean Baptiste Lamarck

Answer: B

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.25) What is the main factor that drives Darwinian evolution?

A) the competition for finite resources

B) the need to have sex

C) the ability of an organism to harness the energy of the Sun

D) the size of an organism

Answer: A

26) According to Darwin, in the struggle for survival, those individuals whose traits best enable

them to survive and reproduce will, on average, leave the largest number of offspring that in turn

survive to reproduce. This is the basic idea behind his theory of

A) natural selection

B) creationism

C) differential evolution

D) artificial selection

Answer: A

27) The different species of finches found on the Galapagos islands are evidence of Darwin’s

theory of natural selection because

A) all species are competing for the same resources

B) they are capable of interbreeding with each other

C) they have all evolved adaptations from a common ancestor to suit the environmental

conditions found on different islands

D) some species are more successful than others

Answer: C

28) Different dog breeds have been bred by humans from a common ancestor over the past few

thousand years. This is an example of

A) natural selection

B) un-natural selection

C) artificial selection

D) artificial insemination

Answer: C

29) The resistance of bacteria to certain antibiotics is a current example of

A) natural variety

B) artificial selection

C) un-natural selection

D) natural selection

Answer: D

30) Evolutionary adaptations are related to changes that occur through time in

A) lipids

B) carbohydrates

C) proteins

D) DNA

Answer: D

5

Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.31) In the scientific method, natural selection is classified as a

A) theory

B) hypothesis

C) model

D) principle

Answer: A

32) What is the unifying theme of all modern biology?

A) zoology

B) ecology

C) evolution

D) biochemistry

Answer: C

33) The most basic definition of life which takes account of the relative importance of the six

fundamental properties of living things is that life is something that can

A) grow and develop

B) respond to environmental changes

C) utilize energy

D) reproduce and evolve through natural selection

Answer: D

34) Most likely, before biological evolution there was

A) chemical evolution

B) physical evolution

C) geological evolution

D) no evolution of any kind

Answer: A

35) The basic biological structures of life on Earth are called

A) cells

B) bacteria

C) molecules

D) atoms

Answer: A

36) The walls of cells are referred to by biologists as

A) linings

B) coats

C) shells

D) membranes

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.37) The fact that all cells used in life on Earth are based on the same biochemistry suggests that

A) life originated from a variety of sources

B) life on Earth was created by some omnipotent being

C) all life on Earth shares a common ancestor

D) the biochemistry of life on Earth is universal

Answer: C

38) More than 96% of the mass of living cells are made of

A) carbon and hydrogen

B) carbon

C) carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen

D) hydrogen and oxygen

Answer: C

39) Most of the oxygen in living cells is found in

A) carbohydrates

B) water

C) lipids

D) proteins

Answer: B

40) Which is the MOST important property of the element carbon that makes it ideal as a

fundamental building block of biological molecules?

A) it is a very stable element

B) it is the only element capable of bonding to itself

C) it is a common element

D) it readily forms chemical bonds with itself and other elements, allowing a wide variety of

complex molecules to form

Answer: D

41) The atoms in a molecule are joined together by chemical

A) bonds

B) linkages

C) attachments

D) ligatures

Answer: A

42) What is the maximum number of atoms that carbon can bond to?

A) 4

B) 2

C) 3

D) 1

Answer: A

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.43) The bond between carbon atoms in the molecule ethane, H3C—CH3 is referred to as

A) a triple bond

B) an ionic bond

C) a single bond

D) a double bond

Answer: C

44) The bond between carbon atoms in the molecule ethylene, H2C=CH2 is referred to as

A) an ionic bond

B) a double bond

C) a single bond

D) a triple bond

Answer: B

45) The bond between carbon atoms in the molecule acetylene, HC=CH is referred to as

A) an ionic bond

B) a double bond

C) a single bond

D) a triple bond

Answer: D

46) Chemists refer to molecules containing carbon atoms as

A) carbonic

B) organic

C) carbonaceous

D) inorganic

Answer: B

47) Simple molecules containing only carbon and hydrogen are referred to as

A) carbon hydrides

B) hydrocarbons

C) carbohydrides

D) hydrogen carbides

Answer: B

48) Why might we think that silicon would be an obvious alternative to carbon as a building

block for biological molecules?

A) it forms the basis of some life forms on Earth

B) it has a similar abundance on Earth to carbon

C) it forms complex molecules like carbon

D) it has a similar electronic structure to carbon, forming a maximum of four bonds and, hence,

should have a similar chemistry

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.49) Silicon forms its strongest chemical bonds with

A) itself

B) carbon

C) oxygen

D) hydrogen

Answer: C

50) Which is NOT a reason that silicon is unsuitable as a building block for life compared to

carbon?

A) silicon—silicon bonds are much weaker than carbon—carbon bonds

B) silicon does not form multiple bonds with itself, limiting the complexity of molecules it can

form

C) silicon does not bond with many other elements

D) silicon dioxide is a high melting point solid and, hence, cannot be used to transfer silicon

atoms like gaseous carbon dioxide can be used to transport carbon atoms

Answer: C

51) What is the MOST important role that carbohydrates play in living organisms on Earth?

A) long-term energy storage and cell structure

B) information storage

C) basic functioning of living organisms

D) short-term energy storage

Answer: D

52) What is the MOST important role that nucleic acids play in living organisms on Earth?

A) long-term energy storage and cell structure

B) basic functioning of living organisms

C) the storage and transfer of information

D) short-term energy storage

Answer: C

53) What is the MOST important role that lipids play in living organisms on Earth?

A) basic functioning of living organisms

B) long-term energy storage and cell structure

C) short-term energy storage

D) information storage

Answer: B

54) What is the MOST important role that proteins play in living organisms on Earth?

A) basic functioning of living organisms

B) short-term energy storage

C) information storage

D) long-term energy storage and cell structure

Answer: A

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.55) Lipids are more commonly known as

A) enzymes

B) sugars

C) fats

D) organic acids

Answer: C

56) Enzymes are catalysts which means that they

A) speed up biochemical reactions which would normally occur too slowly

B) slow down biochemical reactions which would normally occur too quickly

C) prevent unwanted biochemical reaction occurring

D) destroy harmful chemical species

Answer: A

57) Perhaps the most fundamental role that enzymes play in living cells is

A) attacking foreign bodies like bacteria and viruses

B) carrying oxygen across cell membranes

C) facilitating the replication of DNA and the reading of the genetic code

D) the breaking down of more complex molecules

Answer: C

58) The basic molecular building blocks of proteins are

A) nucleotides

B) fatty acids

C) amino acids

D) monosaccharides

Answer: C

59) How many different amino acids make up proteins found in virtually all life on Earth?

A) 23

B) 5

C) 20

D) 4

Answer: C

60) Which of the following observations is consistent with the hypothesis that all life on Earth

has a common ancestor?

A) different organisms use the same set of amino acids

B) different organisms use different sets of amino acids

C) all proteins are made of amino acids

D) some organisms don’t use amino acids at all

Answer: A

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.61) Which of the following molecules does NOT occur in left- and right-handed forms (carbon is

the central atom and the groups around this central atom are in parentheses)?

A) (H) (Cl) C (F) (D)

B) (CH3) (NH2) C (COOH) (H)

C) (CHO) (C2H5) C (C2H5) (H)

D) (C4H9) (C2H5) C (CH3) (C3H7)

Answer: C

62) Amino acids found in protein in life on Earth are

A) a unequal mixture of left-handed and right-handed molecules, left-handed being most

abundant

B) all left-handed molecules

C) all right-handed molecules

D) an equal mixture of left-handed and right-handed molecules

Answer: B

63) Organisms whose cells lack a nucleus are called

A) prokaryotes

B) eukaryotes

C) non-nucleotes

D) karyokes

Answer: A

64) Eukaryotes

A) are made of two cells fused together

B) are all unicellular

C) can be unicellular or multicellular

D) are all multicellular

Answer: C

65) Bacteria are examples of

A) unicellular prokaryotes

B) unicellular eukaryotes

C) multicellular eukaryotes

D) multicellular prokaryotes

Answer: A

66) An amoeba is an example of a

A) multicellular prokaryote

B) multicellular eukaryote

C) unicellular prokaryote

D) unicellular eukaryote

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.67) Human beings are examples of

A) multicellular eukaryotes

B) unicellular prokaryotes

C) unicellular eukaryotes

D) multicellular prokaryotes

Answer: A

68) The most numerous life on Earth is

A) insects

B) plants

C) human beings

D) microbes

Answer: D

69) Based of cellular biochemistry, how many different domains can life be classified into?

A) 4

B) 3

C) 2

D) 1

Answer: B

70) Which domains of life consist entirely or microbes?

A) bacteria only

B) archaea and eukarya

C) bacteria and archaea

D) archaea only

Answer: C

71) The tree of life

A) traces back the evolution of all mammals to a common ancestor

B) classifies organisms according to their physical appearance

C) illustrates the biochemical and genetic relationships between the different domains of life

D) is a name for the first organism from which all life originated

Answer: C

72) In the tree of life

A) animals are members of the domain Eukarya, while plants are members of the domain

Archaea

B) animals are members of the domain Archaea, while plants are members of the domain

Eukarya

C) both plants and animals are members of the domain Archaea

D) both plants and animals are members of the domain Eukarya

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.73) Which domains of life are closely related to each other?

A) Eukarya and Archaea

B) all three are closely related

C) Bacteria and Eukarya

D) Bacteria and Archaea

Answer: A

74) Which forms of life on Earth show the greatest diversity?

A) insects

B) human beings

C) plants

D) microbes

Answer: D

75) Branch lengths in the tree of life are a measure of the

A) rate of evolution between different species

B) size difference between species

C) life expectancy difference between species

D) amount of genetic difference between different species

Answer: D

76) At the root of the tree of life

A) is the common ancestor of all life on Earth

B) is the common ancestor of all mammals

C) are viruses

D) are human beings

Answer: A

77) Metabolism is a term that describes the

A) breaking down of complex organic molecules by bacteria

B) rate at which molecules travel across cell membranes

C) chemical processes that occur inside cells

D) rate of cell division of bacteria

Answer: C

78) All living cells use the molecule adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

A) to carry oxygen into cells

B) to catalyze biochemical reactions

C) as a building block for nucleic acids

D) to store and release energy for biochemical processes

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.79) The basic requirement for metabolism inside cells is

A) a source of carbon and a source of energy

B) a source of carbon only

C) a source of energy only

D) the presence of ATP

Answer: A

80) A chemoheterotroph gets is energy from

A) chemical reactions and its carbon from its environment

B) the Sun and its carbon from its environment

C) chemical reactions and its carbon from other organisms

D) the Sun and its carbon from other organisms

Answer: C

81) A photoheterotroph gets its energy from

A) chemical reactions and its carbon from other organisms

B) the Sun and its carbon from other organisms

C) the Sun and its carbon from its environment

D) chemical reactions and its carbon from its environment

Answer: B

82) A photoautotroph gets its energy from

A) the Sun and its carbon from other organisms

B) chemical reactions and its carbon from other organisms

C) chemical reactions and its carbon from its environment

D) the Sun and its carbon from the its environment

Answer: D

83) A chemoautotroph gets its energy from

A) chemical reactions and its carbon from its environment

B) the Sun and its carbon from other organisms

C) chemical reactions and its carbon from other organisms

D) the Sun and its carbon from its environment

Answer: A

84) Plants get their energy directly from the Sun and their carbon from the atmosphere. Given

this, they can be classified metabolically as

A) photoheterotrophs

B) chemoheterotrophs

C) chemoautotrophs

D) photoautotrophs

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.85) The Archaea Sulfolobus live in volcanic hot springs where they obtain energy from chemical

reactions and carbon from their environment. Given this, they can be classified metabolically as

A) photoheterotrophs

B) chemoautotrophs

C) photoautotrophs

D) chemoheterotrophs

Answer: B

86) The Bacteria Chloroflexus live in live in lakes, rivers, hot springs, and aquatic environments

with very high salt contents. They obtain energy from the Sun and carbon from other bacteria.

Given this, they can be classified metabolicaly as

A) photoheterotrophs

B) chemoautotrophs

C) chemoheterotrophs

D) photoautotrophs

Answer: A

87) Human beings obtain energy from chemical reactions and carbon from other organisms.

Given this, they can be classified metabollically as

A) photoheterotrophs

B) chemoheterotrophs

C) chemoautotrophs

D) photoautotrophs

Answer: B

88) Life on Earth can use a variety of different carbon and energy sources. However, the one

thing that no organism on Earth can survive without is

A) water in any form: solid, liquid, or gas

B) oxygen

C) a liquid solvent of any kind

D) liquid water

Answer: D

89) The search for Earth-like extraterrestrial life is essentially a search for

A) energy

B) liquid water

C) oxygen

D) carbon

Answer: B

90) The basic molecular building blocks of DNA and RNA are

A) nucleotides

B) adenosine triphosphate molecules

C) amino acids

D) monosaccharides

Answer: A

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.91) Of the many possible nucleotides, the DNA used in living organisms on Earth uses how

many?

A) 20

B) 4

C) 5

D) 23

Answer: B

92) How many different nucleotide bases are used in nucleic acids in life on Earth (consider both

DNA and RNA)?

A) 25

B) 4

C) 20

D) 5

Answer: D

93) What is the complementary sequence corresponding to the DNA fragment GATACA?

A) AGCGTG

B) TGCCAC

C) CTATGT

D) ACATAG

Answer: C

94) What is the complementary sequence corresponding to the DNA fragment AGTCAG?

A) TCAGUC

B) UCAGUC

C) TCAGTC

D) GACTGA

Answer: C

95) The two strands making up the double helix of DNA are said to be

A) paired

B) corresponding

C) matching

D) complementary

Answer: D

96) DNA is copied via a process called

A) imitation

B) reproduction

C) replication

D) duplication

Answer: C

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.97) A section of DNA that corresponds to a particular protein is known as a

A) codon

B) chromosome

C) gene

D) genome

Answer: C

98) A section of DNA that does not correspond to a known protein is referred to as

A) redundant

B) recombinant

C) unencoding

D) noncoding

Answer: D

99) The complete set of genetic information that makes up an organism is known as a

A) genome

B) codon

C) chromosome

D) gene

Answer: A

100) The process by which a single cell from a living organism is used to grow an entirely new

organism with an identical set of genes is referred to as

A) replication

B) twinning

C) cloning

D) genetic copying

Answer: C

101) The “words” that make up the genetic code contain how many letters?

A) 4

B) 20

C) 5

D) 3

Answer: D

102) Using the following fragment of the genetic code: Leu = ATG, Gly = CAC, Ala = GTC,

which of the following simple proteins does the gene GTCATGCACCACATG correspond to?

A) Ala-Leu-Gly-Gly-Leu

B) Ala-Gly-Leu-Ala-Gly

C) Gly-Gly-Ala-Gly-Leu

D) Leu-Ala-Leu-Gly-Gly

Answer: A

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.103) The process of converting a sequence of nucleotides in a section of DNA to a sequence of

nucleotides in RNA, as a precursor to protein synthesis is called

A) encryption

B) translation

C) deciphering

D) transcription

Answer: D

104) The process of converting a sequence of nucleotides in RNA into a protein is called

A) translation

B) transformation

C) transcription

D) encryption

Answer: A

105) Instead of thymine, RNA uses the nucleotide base

A) guanine

B) uracil

C) adenine

D) cytosine

Answer: B

106) How is RNA different from DNA?

A) its monomers do not contain nucleotide bases

B) it is single stranded rather than consisting of a double helix

C) it consists of a triple helix rather than a double helix

D) its strands are much longer than DNA

Answer: B

107) Any change in the base sequence of an organism’s DNA is referred to as a

A) malformation

B) transmutation

C) distortion

D) mutation

Answer: D

108) Which kinds of mutation tend to have the most dramatic effects on protein structure?

A) all mutations are equally dramatic

B) those which change a single base that do not result in a change in the amino acid

C) those which change a single base that result in a single amino acid being changed

D) those that add or delete a base within a gene

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.109) At a molecular level, evolution proceeds via a process of

A) transcription

B) translation

C) replication

D) mutation

Answer: D

110) Chemically based extraterrestrial life

A) will not need to store information

B) may not use DNA to store information but will very likely use a molecule with a similar

function

C) will certainly use DNA to store information, but with different nucleotides

D) will certainly use DNA to store information

Answer: B

111) One of the most remarkable discoveries by biologists over recent decades is that life can

A) survive in an astonishing variety of environments

B) only exist in a very narrow range of environments

C) only exist under conditions that exist on Earth

D) survive in any and every environment, however harsh

Answer: A

112) Organisms which have evolved to survive under severe environmental conditions are

referred to as

A) tortuophiles

B) acutophiles

C) extremophiles

D) extremophobes

Answer: C

113) Organisms that are found living close to volcanic vents on the ocean floor are referred to as

A) calorophiles

B) hypothermaphiles

C) thermophiles

D) psychrophiles

Answer: C

114) Organisms that are found living kilometers beneath Earth’s crust are referred to as

A) asthenophiles

B) magmaphiles

C) sublithophiles

D) endoliths

Answer: D

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Copyright © 2017 Pearson Education, Inc.115) Organisms that can survive at very low temperatures are referred to as

A) frostophiles

B) freezophiles

C) hypothermaphiles

D) psychrophiles

Answer: D

116) The bacteria species known as Deinococcus radiodurans has evolved to survive extreme

levels of

A) cold

B) heat

C) salinity

D) radiation

Answer: D

117) Endospores are

A) fossilized organisms found inside meteorites

B) organisms that embed themselves inside other cells

C) dormant or resting cells formed by certain organisms that are able to survive extreme

conditions

D) organisms which that live beneath Earth’s crust

Answer: C

118) Good examples of a multicellular organisms which can exist under an enormous range of

conditions are

A) tardigrades

B) algae

C) corals

D) molds

Answer: A

119) The discovery of extremophiles on Earth suggests that

A) life elsewhere will only be found under conditions that are similar to those of Earth

B) life elsewhere will only be possible over a much narrower range of conditions than initially

thought

C) life elsewhere may be possible over a much wider range of conditions than initially thought

D) extraterrestrial life will exist only under extreme conditions

Answer: C

120) The theory of evolution satisfies the standards of science because it is

A) able to explain the geological record and the observed relationship among species

B) has enabled the development and testing of models

C) has made predictions which were testable

D) all of these are true

Answer: D

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