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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,) (Test Bank, 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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