Theorists and Evidence

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AP Biology › Theorists and Evidence

Questions 1 - 10
1

Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.

The sun emits thermal neutrons that can cause __________ to deprotonate into the radioactive isotope __________.

nitrogen-14 . . . carbon-14

carbon-14 . . . carbon-13

uranium-237 . . . lead-207

uranium-237 . . . uranium-236

hydrogen-1 . . . hydride

Explanation

When a thermal neutron collides with a nitrogen atom in the atmosphere, it causes a proton to fly off from the atom, reducing the atom from nitrogen to carbon while keeping the same number of neutrons, 14. Because the amount of matter in the universe is believed to be constant, we can measure the amount of carbon-14 left in a dead specimen to determine its age within approximately 50,000 years.

2

Fill in the blanks with the correct answers.

The sun emits thermal neutrons that can cause __________ to deprotonate into the radioactive isotope __________.

nitrogen-14 . . . carbon-14

carbon-14 . . . carbon-13

uranium-237 . . . lead-207

uranium-237 . . . uranium-236

hydrogen-1 . . . hydride

Explanation

When a thermal neutron collides with a nitrogen atom in the atmosphere, it causes a proton to fly off from the atom, reducing the atom from nitrogen to carbon while keeping the same number of neutrons, 14. Because the amount of matter in the universe is believed to be constant, we can measure the amount of carbon-14 left in a dead specimen to determine its age within approximately 50,000 years.

3

Which of the following concepts was not discovered by the scientist Gregor Mendel?

The likelihood of alleles for different traits being inherited together is based on how close together those alleles are on the chromosome.

Organisms have two alleles for each trait, one allele from each parent.

The traits of organisms are determined by factors inherited from their parents.

Alleles for different traits are passed down from parents to offspring independently from each other.

The effects of recessive alleles are masked by the presence of dominant alleles.

Explanation

The overall idea that Mendel was studying was that organisms have two alleles per trait, and that each parent passes down one allele. The other answers refer to Mendel’s laws: the Law of Segregation, the Law of Independent Assortment, and the Law of Dominance. Mendel was unaware of genetic linkage, which is an exception to the Law of Independent Assortment. We know this to be true because chromosomes and DNA had not yet been discovered in his time.

4

The sum of all genetic alleles in a population is the __________.

gene pool

gene frequency

gene supply

gene resources

gene stock

Explanation

A population is composed of numerous individuals, each carrying a common set of genes with a unique combination of genetic alleles. The gene pool is the sum of all of these alleles.

5

The sum of all genetic alleles in a population is the __________.

gene pool

gene frequency

gene supply

gene resources

gene stock

Explanation

A population is composed of numerous individuals, each carrying a common set of genes with a unique combination of genetic alleles. The gene pool is the sum of all of these alleles.

6

Which of the following concepts was not discovered by the scientist Gregor Mendel?

The likelihood of alleles for different traits being inherited together is based on how close together those alleles are on the chromosome.

Organisms have two alleles for each trait, one allele from each parent.

The traits of organisms are determined by factors inherited from their parents.

Alleles for different traits are passed down from parents to offspring independently from each other.

The effects of recessive alleles are masked by the presence of dominant alleles.

Explanation

The overall idea that Mendel was studying was that organisms have two alleles per trait, and that each parent passes down one allele. The other answers refer to Mendel’s laws: the Law of Segregation, the Law of Independent Assortment, and the Law of Dominance. Mendel was unaware of genetic linkage, which is an exception to the Law of Independent Assortment. We know this to be true because chromosomes and DNA had not yet been discovered in his time.

7

If two heterozygous yellow plants are mated with one another, what percent of the offspring will be green?

Explanation

Heterozygous organisms carry one dominant allele and one recessive allele. The dominant allele is expressed over the recessive allele, giving the organism the dominant phenotype. If the heterozygous plants in the question are yellow, then we can conclude that yellow is dominant to green.

The cross for these two plants would be:

Parents: Yy x Yy

Offspring: YY (yellow), Yy (yellow), Yy (yellow), yy (green)

Of four possible offspring, one will be green, leading to the answer: 25%.

8

Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian friar, studied genetics through what types of experiments?

Crossbreeding pea plants

Studying finches

Studying museum specimens

Calculated economic impact of population growth

Explanation

Gregor Mendel studied genetics through the crossbreeding of pea plants. Through his studies, he proposed laws of heredity (the law of segregation, the law of independent assortment, and the law of dominance), that are now called the laws of Mendelian inheritance. Darwin famously studied finches on the Galapagos Islands.

9

If two heterozygous yellow plants are mated with one another, what percent of the offspring will be green?

Explanation

Heterozygous organisms carry one dominant allele and one recessive allele. The dominant allele is expressed over the recessive allele, giving the organism the dominant phenotype. If the heterozygous plants in the question are yellow, then we can conclude that yellow is dominant to green.

The cross for these two plants would be:

Parents: Yy x Yy

Offspring: YY (yellow), Yy (yellow), Yy (yellow), yy (green)

Of four possible offspring, one will be green, leading to the answer: 25%.

10

Gregor Mendel, an Augustinian friar, studied genetics through what types of experiments?

Crossbreeding pea plants

Studying finches

Studying museum specimens

Calculated economic impact of population growth

Explanation

Gregor Mendel studied genetics through the crossbreeding of pea plants. Through his studies, he proposed laws of heredity (the law of segregation, the law of independent assortment, and the law of dominance), that are now called the laws of Mendelian inheritance. Darwin famously studied finches on the Galapagos Islands.

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