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• The basic structural and physiological unit of most living organisms is the
• aggregate.
• organelle.
• genome.
• membrane.
• cell.

ANSWER: e

• Unmanned space probes are searching for signs of life on Mars. Which of the following would provide the

best evidence for the presence of living organisms on Mars?

• Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere
• Gravitational field
• Fatty acid molecules
• Complex molecules containing genetic information
• Simple organic molecules

ANSWER: d

• The seed of a desert plant may be dormant for many years without growing, but it is still considered to be

alive because it

• is always converting molecules.
• contains a genome and is capable of growing into a fully functional organism.
• is always regulating its internal environment.
• is reproducing.
• is extracting energy from its environment.

ANSWER: b

• Bacterial cells and human cells share many similar features. Which feature can be used as support for the

claim that humans and bacteria have a common origin?

• Both extract energy from their environment.
• Both undergo cell division.
• Both use chemical reactions to maintain the living state.
• They contain proteins with similar compositions.
• They have similar percentages of water.

ANSWER: d

• Suppose a space probe is successful in discovering a living organism on a distant planet. Which would be the

best approach to collect data that would show whether this organism shares a common origin with Earth organisms?

• Observe the organism’s reproduction rate.
• Test the organism’s ability to adapt to an Earth environment.
• Analyze the chemical makeup of the organism’s genome.

(Life The Science of Biology, 12e David Hillis, Craig Heller, Sally Hacker, David Hall, Marta Laskowski,) ( , For Complete File Download link at the end of this File) 1 / 4

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• Determine whether the organism can use oxygen in its metabolism.
• Investigate whether a population of that type of organism is able to undergo evolutionary change.

ANSWER: c

• Which of the following is true of life on Earth?
• Life does not exhibit great diversity.
• Life is made up of living and dead organisms.
• Living organisms are all descended from a common origin.
• Life has multiple origins.
• Life has little similarity across gene sequences.

ANSWER: c

• Which statement about viruses is true?
• They do not mutate or evolve.
• They do not contain genetic information.
• They carry out physiological functions on their own.
• They depend on cellular organisms to reproduce.
• They are composed of cells.

ANSWER: d

• Which is not a characteristic of most living organisms?
• Regulation of internal environment
• One or more cells
• Ability to produce biological molecules
• Ability to extract energy from the environment
• Ability to change traits according to need

ANSWER: e

• Cells are the basic structural and physiological units of living organisms. Based on this, there is some

controversy over whether we can call _______ living organisms.

• bacteria
• viruses
• archaea
• fungi
• seeds

ANSWER: b

• In the course of evolution, fatty acids were the critical ingredient in the enclosure of biological molecules in

membranous films because these molecules

• are not soluble in water.
• would have been readily available dissolved in the ancient seas. 2 / 4

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• are more abundant on land than in water.
• were the first biological molecules to have formed.
• are acidic.

ANSWER: a

• The two membrane-enclosed compartments within cells that are thought to have arisen from prokaryotes

engulfing other prokaryotes are

• Chlorella and chloroplasts.
• mitochondria and bacteria.
• Golgi and nuclei.
• bacteria and archaea.
• chloroplasts and mitochondria.

ANSWER: e

• Single-celled organisms that lack discrete intracellular compartments belong to which groups?
• Protists and Bacteria
• Bacteria and Archaea
• Fungi and Archaea
• Microbial eukaryotes and Prokaryotes
• Fungi and Protists

ANSWER: b

• In contrast to eukaryotic cells, prokaryotes lack intracellular membrane-bound structures, such as
• RNA.
• DNA.
• nuclei.
• amino acids.
• proteins.

ANSWER: c

• Earth is approximately _______ years old.
• 5.5 million
• 40–50 million
• 4.5 billion
• 5 trillion
• 40 trillion

ANSWER: c

• There has been life on Earth for approximately _______ years.
• 10,000
• 4 million 3 / 4

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• 100 million
• 1 billion
• 4 billion

ANSWER: e

• The oldest rocks on Earth are approximately _______ years old.
• 4,000‒5,000
• 400,000‒500,000
• 2–3 million
• 4–4.5 billion
• 8 billion

ANSWER: d

• The critical step for the evolution of life was the
• formation of fatty acids.
• formation of simple molecules.
• appearance of proteins that could replicate themselves.
• appearance of nucleic acids that could replicate themselves.
• synthesis of proteins.

ANSWER: d

• Cells are characterized by
• an aggregation of proteins.
• the synthesis of proteins with stable shapes.
• the enclosure of biological molecules by a membrane.
• complex proteins being dissolved in water.
• the formation of reactants and products.

ANSWER: c

• Refer to the figure showing life’s “timeline.”
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