Bio 2 Study Guide

Ch 16
2) How do we describe transformation in bacteria?
A) the creation of a strand of DNA from an RNA molecule
B) the creation of a strand of RNA from a DNA molecule
C) the infection of cells by a phage DNA molecule
D) the type of semiconservative replication shown by DNA
E) assimilation of external DNA into a cell
Answer: E
4) In trying to determine whether DNA or protein is the genetic material, Hershey and Chase
made use of which of the following facts?
A) DNA contains sulfur, whereas protein does not.
B) DNA contains phosphorus, whereas protein does not.
C) DNA contains nitrogen, whereas protein does not.
D) DNA contains purines, whereas protein includes pyrimidines.
E) RNA includes ribose, whereas DNA includes deoxyribose sugars.
Answer: B
6) Cytosine makes up 42% of the nucleotides in a sample of DNA from an organism.
Approximately what percentage of the nucleotides in this sample will be thymine?
A) 8%
B) 16%
C) 31%
D) 42%
E) It cannot be determined from the information provided.
Answer: A
8) It became apparent to Watson and Crick after completion of their model that the DNA
molecule could carry a vast amount of hereditary information in which of the following?
A) sequence of bases
B) phosphate-sugar backbones
C) complementary pairing of bases
D) side groups of nitrogenous bases
E) different five-carbon sugars
Answer: A
Ch 17
2) Garrod hypothesized that "inborn errors of metabolism" such as alkaptonuria occur because
A) metabolic enzymes require vitamin cofactors, and affected individuals have significant
nutritional deficiencies.
B) enzymes are made of DNA, and affected individuals lack DNA polymerase.
C) many metabolic enzymes use DNA as a cofactor, and affected individuals have mutations that

prevent their enzymes from interacting efficiently with DNA.

D) certain metabolic reactions are carried out by ribozymes, and affected individuals lack key
splicing factors.
E) genes dictate the production of specific enzymes, and affected individuals have genetic
defects that cause them to lack certain enzymes.
Answer: A
4) The nitrogenous base adenine is found in all members of which group?
A) proteins, triglycerides, and testosterone
B) proteins, ATP, and DNA
C) ATP, RNA, and DNA
D) glucose, ATP, and DNA
E) proteins, carbohydrates, and ATP
Answer: C
6) The genetic code is essentially the same for all organisms. From this, one can logically assume
which of the following?
A) A gene from an organism can theoretically be expressed by any other organism.
B) All organisms have experienced convergent evolution.
C) DNA was the first genetic material.
D) The same codons in different organisms translate into the different amino acids.
E) Different organisms have different numbers of different types of amino acids.
Answer: A
8) Which of the following nucleotide triplets best represents a codon?
A) a triplet separated spatially from other triplets
B) a triplet that has no corresponding amino acid
C) a triplet at the opposite end of tRNA from the attachment site of the amino acid
D) a triplet in the same reading frame as an upstream AUG
E) a sequence in tRNA at the 3' end
Answer: D
Ch 18
2) The tryptophan operon is a repressible operon that is
A) permanently turned on.
B) turned on only when tryptophan is present in the growth medium.
C) turned off only when glucose is present in the growth medium.
D) turned on only when glucose is present in the growth medium.
E) turned off whenever tryptophan is added to the growth medium.
Answer: E
4) A lack of which molecule would result in the cell's inability to "turn off" genes?
A) operon
B) inducer
C) promoter

D) ubiquitin
E) corepressor
Answer: E
6) Most repressor proteins are allosteric. Which of the following binds with the repressor to alter
its conformation?
A) inducer
B) promoter
C) RNA polymerase
D) transcription factor
E) cAMP
Answer: A
8) The lactose operon is likely to be transcribed when
A) there is more glucose in the cell than lactose.
B) the cyclic AMP levels are low.
C) there is glucose but no lactose in the cell.
D) the cyclic AMP and lactose levels are both high within the cell.
E) the cAMP level is high and the lactose level is low.
Answer: D
Ch 19
2) Viral envelopes can best be analyzed with which of the following techniques?
A) transmission electron microscopy
B) antibodies against specific proteins not found in the host membranes
C) staining and visualization with the light microscope
D) use of plaque assays for quantitative measurement of viral titer
E) immunofluorescent tagging of capsid proteins
Answer: B
4) Most human-infecting viruses are maintained in the human population only. However, a
zoonosis is a disease that is transmitted from other vertebrates to humans, at least sporadically,
without requiring viral mutation. Which of the following is the best example of a zoonosis?
A) rabies
B) herpesvirus
C) smallpox
D) HIV
E) hepatitis virus
Answer: A
6) In many ways, the regulation of the genes of a particular group of viruses will be similar to the
regulation of the host genes. Therefore, which of the following would you expect of the genes of
the bacteriophage?
A) regulation via acetylation of histones
B) positive control mechanisms rather than negative

C) control of more than one gene in an operon

D) reliance on transcription activators
E) utilization of eukaryotic polymerases
Answer: C
8) Which of the following statements describes the lysogenic cycle of lambda () phage?
A) After infection, the viral genes immediately turn the host cell into a lambda-producing
factory, and the host cell then lyses.
B) Most of the prophage genes are activated by the product of a particular prophage gene.
C) The phage genome replicates along with the host genome.
D) Certain environmental triggers can cause the phage to exit the host genome, switching from
the lytic to the lysogenic.
E) The phage DNA is incorporated by crossing over into any nonspecific site on the host cell's
DNA.
Answer: C
Ch 20
2) How does a bacterial cell protect its own DNA from restriction enzymes?
A) by adding methyl groups to adenines and cytosines
B) by using DNA ligase to seal the bacterial DNA into a closed circle
C) by adding histones to protect the double-stranded DNA
D) by forming "sticky ends" of bacterial DNA to prevent the enzyme from attaching
E) by reinforcing the bacterial DNA structure with covalent phosphodiester bonds
Answer: A
4) A principal problem with inserting an unmodified mammalian gene into a BAC, and then
getting that gene expressed in bacteria, is that
A) prokaryotes use a different genetic code from that of eukaryotes.
B) bacteria translate polycistronic messages only.
C) bacteria cannot remove eukaryotic introns.
D) bacterial RNA polymerase cannot make RNA complementary to mammalian DNA.
E) bacterial DNA is not found in a membrane-bounded nucleus and is therefore incompatible
with mammalian DNA.
Answer: C
6) Why are yeast cells frequently used as hosts for cloning?
A) They easily form colonies.
B) They can remove exons from mRNA.
C) They do not have plasmids.
D) They are eukaryotic cells.
E) Only yeast cells allow the gene to be cloned.
Answer: D
8) Yeast artificial chromosomes contain which of the following elements?
A) centromeres only

B) telomeres only
C) origin of replication only
D) centromeres and telomeres only
E) centromeres, telomeres, and an origin of replication
Answer: E
Ch 21
2) What is the difference between a linkage map and a physical map?
A) For a linkage map, markers are spaced by recombination frequency, whereas for a physical
map they are spaced by numbers of base pairs (bp).
B) For a physical map, the ATCG order and sequence must be achieved; however, it does not for
the linkage map.
C) For a linkage map, it is shown how each gene is linked to every other gene.
D) For a physical map, the distances must be calculable in units such as nanometers.
E) There is no difference between the two except in the type of pictorial representation.
Answer: A
4) Which of the following most correctly describes a shotgun technique for sequencing a
genome?
A) genetic mapping followed immediately by sequencing
B) physical mapping followed immediately by sequencing
C) cloning large genome fragments into very large vectors such as YACs, followed by
sequencing
D) cloning several sizes of fragments into various size vectors, ordering the clones, and then
sequencing them
E) cloning the whole genome directly, from one end to the other
Answer: D
6) What is metagenomics?
A) genomics as applied to a species that most typifies the average phenotype of its genus
B) the sequence of one or two representative genes from several species
C) the sequencing of only the most highly conserved genes in a lineage
D) sequencing DNA from a group of species from the same ecosystem
E) genomics as applied to an entire phylum
Answer: D
8) What is bioinformatics?
A) a technique using 3-D images of genes in order to predict how and when they will be
expressed
B) a method that uses very large national and international databases to access and work with
sequence information
C) a software program available from NIH to design genes
D) a series of search programs that allow a student to identify who in the world is trying to
sequence a given species
E) a procedure that uses software to order DNA sequences in a variety of comparable ways

Answer: B
Ch 22
1) Which of the following statements best describes theories?
A) They are nearly the same things as hypotheses.
B) They are supported by, and make sense of, many observations.
C) They cannot be tested because the described events occurred only once.
D) They are predictions of future events.
Answer: B
3) With what other idea of his time was Cuvier's theory of catastrophism most in conflict?
A) gradualism
B) the fixity of species
C) island biogeography
D) uniformitarianism
E) the scala naturae
Answer: D
5) During a study session about evolution, one of your fellow students remarks, "The giraffe
stretched its neck while reaching for higher leaves; its offspring inherited longer necks as a
result." Which statement is most likely to be helpful in correcting this student's misconception?
A) Characteristics acquired during an organism's life are generally not passed on through genes.
B) Spontaneous mutations can result in the appearance of new traits.
C) Only favorable adaptations have survival value.
D) Disuse of an organ may lead to its eventual disappearance.
E) If the giraffes did not have to compete with each other, longer necks would not have been
passed on to the next generation.
Answer: A
7) In the mid-1900s, the Soviet geneticist Lysenko believed that his winter wheat plants, exposed
to ever-colder temperatures, would eventually give rise to ever more cold-tolerant winter wheat.
Lysenko's attempts in this regard were most in agreement with the ideas of
A) Cuvier.
B) Hutton.
C) Lamarck.
D) Darwin.
E) Lyell.
Answer: C
Ch 23
2) If, on average, 46% of the loci in a species' gene pool are heterozygous, then the average
homozygosity of the species should be
A) 23%.
B) 46%.

C) 54%.
D) There is not enough information to say.
Answer: C
4) Which statement about the beak size of finches on the island of Daphne Major during
prolonged drought is true?
A) Each bird evolved a deeper, stronger beak as the drought persisted.
B) Each bird's survival was strongly influenced by the depth and strength of its beak as the
drought persisted.
C) Each bird that survived the drought produced only offspring with deeper, stronger beaks than
seen in the previous generation.
D) The frequency of the strong-beak alleles increased in each bird as the drought persisted.
Answer: B
6) In modern terminology, diversity is understood to be a result of genetic variation. Which of
the following is a recognized source of variation for evolution?
A) mistakes in translation of structural genes
B) mistakes in protein folding
C) rampant changes to the dictionary of the genetic code
D) binary fission
E) recombination by crossing over in meiosis
Answer: E
8) The higher the proportion of loci that are "fixed" in a population, the lower is that population's
A) nucleotide variability only.
B) genetic polyploidy only.
C) average heterozygosity only.
D) nucleotide variability, average heterozygosity, and genetic polyploidy.
E) nucleotide variability and average heterozygosity only.
Answer: E
Ch 24
1) What is true of macroevolution?
A) It is the same as microevolution, but includes the origin of new species.
B) It is evolution above the species level.
C) It is defined as the evolution of microscopic organisms into organisms that can be seen with
the naked eye.
D) It is defined as a change in allele or gene frequency over the course of many generations.
E) It is the conceptual link between irritability and adaptation.
Answer: B
3) Which of the following statements about species, as defined by the biological species concept,
is (are) correct?
I. Biological species are defined by reproductive isolation.
II. Biological species are the model used for grouping extinct forms of life.

III. The biological species is the largest unit of population in which successful interbreeding is
possible.
A) I and II
B) I and III
C) II and III
D) I, II, and III
Answer: B
5) There is still some controversy among biologists about whether Neanderthals should be placed
within the same species as modern humans or into a separate species of their own. Most DNA
sequence data analyzed so far indicate that there was probably little or no gene flow between
Neanderthals and Homo sapiens. Which species concept is most applicable in this example?
A) phylogenetic
B) ecological
C) morphological
D) biological
Answer: D
7) Dog breeders maintain the purity of breeds by keeping dogs of different breeds apart when
they are fertile. This kind of isolation is most similar to which of the following reproductive
isolating mechanisms?
A) reduced hybrid fertility
B) hybrid breakdown
C) mechanical isolation
D) habitat isolation
E) gametic isolation
Answer: D
Ch 25
2) How were conditions on the early Earth of more than 3 billion years ago different from those
on today's Earth?
A) Only early Earth was intensely bombarded by large space debris.
B) Only early Earth had an oxidizing atmosphere.
C) Less ultraviolet radiation penetrated early Earth's atmosphere.
D) Early Earth's atmosphere had significant quantities of ozone.
Answer: A
6) The first genes on Earth were probably
A) DNA produced by reverse transcriptase from abiotically produced RNA.
B) DNA molecules whose information was transcribed to RNA and later translated in
polypeptides.
C) auto-catalytic RNA molecules.
D) oligopeptides located within protobionts.
Answer: C

8) Several scientific laboratories across the globe are involved in research concerning the origin
of life on Earth. Which of these questions is currently the most problematic and would have the
greatest impact on our understanding if we were able to answer it?
A) How can amino acids, simple sugars, and nucleotides be synthesized abiotically?
B) How can RNA molecules catalyze reactions?
C) How did RNA sequences come to carry the code for amino acid sequences?
D) How could polymers involving lipids and/or proteins form membranes in aqueous
environments?
E) How can RNA molecules act as templates for the synthesis of complementary RNA
molecules?
Answer: C
10) If the half-life of carbon-14 is about 5,730 years, then a fossil that has one-sixteenth the
normal proportion of carbon-14 to carbon-12 should be about how many years old?
A) 1,400
B) 2,800
C) 11,200
D) 16,800
E) 22,900
Answer: E
Ch 26
2) The various taxonomic levels (namely, genera, classes, etc.) of the hierarchical classification
system differ from each other on the basis of
A) how widely the organisms assigned to each are distributed throughout the environment.
B) their inclusiveness.
C) the relative genome sizes of the organisms assigned to each.
D) morphological characters that are applicable to all organisms.
Answer: B
4) Linnaeus was a "fixist" who believed that species remained fixed in the form in which they
had been created. Linnaeus would have been uncomfortable with
A) classifying organisms using the morphospecies concept.
B) the scientific discipline known as taxonomy.
C) phylogenies.
D) nested, ever-more inclusive categories of organisms.
E) a hierarchical classification scheme.
Answer: C
6) Which individual would make the worst systematist? One who is uncomfortable with the
A) Linnaean system of classification.
B) notion of hypothetical phylogenies.
C) PhyloCode method of classification.
D) notion of permanent polytomies.
Answer: B

8) If, someday, an archaean cell is discovered whose rRNA sequence is more similar to that of
humans than the sequence of mouse rRNA is to that of humans, the best explanation for this
apparent discrepancy would be
A) homology.
B) homoplasy.
C) common ancestry.
D) retro-evolution by humans.
E) coevolution of humans and that archaean.
Answer: B
Ch 27
2) Though plants, fungi, and prokaryotes all have cell walls, we place them in different taxa.
Which of these observations comes closest to explaining the basis for placing these organisms in
different taxa, well before relevant data from molecular systematics became available?
A) Some closely resemble animals, which lack cell walls.
B) Their cell walls are composed of very different biochemicals.
C) Some have cell walls only for support.
D) Some have cell walls only for protection from herbivores.
E) Some have cell walls only to control osmotic balance.
Answer: B
4) The predatory bacterium, Bdellovibrio bacteriophorus, drills into a prey bacterium and, once
inside, digests it. In an attack upon a gram-negative bacterium that has a slimy cell covering,
what is the correct sequence of structures penetrated by B. bacteriophorus on its way to the
prey's cytoplasm?
1. membrane composed mostly of lipopolysaccharide
2. membrane composed mostly of phospholipids
3. peptidoglycan
4. capsule
A) 2, 4, 3, 1
B) 1, 3, 4, 2
C) 1, 4, 3, 2
D) 4, 1, 3, 2
E) 4, 3, 1, 2
Answer: D
6) In a bacterium that possesses antibiotic resistance and the potential to persist through very
adverse conditions, such as freezing, drying, or high temperatures, DNA should be located
within, or be part of, which structures?
1. nucleoid region
2. endospore
3. fimbriae
4. plasmids
A) 1 only

B) 1 and 2 only
C) 1 and 4 only
D) 2 and 4 only
E) 1, 2, and 4
Answer: E
8) The typical prokaryotic flagellum features
A) an internal 9 + 2 pattern of microtubules.
B) an external covering provided by the plasma membrane.
C) a complex "motor" embedded in the cell wall and plasma membrane.
D) a basal body that is similar in structure to the cell's centrioles.
E) a membrane-enclosed organelle with motor proteins.
Answer: C
Ch 36
1) All of the following are plant adaptations to life on land except
A) tracheids and vessels.
B) root hairs.
C) cuticle.
D) the Calvin cycle of photosynthesis.
E) collenchyma.
Answer: D
3) Most angiosperms have alternate phyllotaxy. What allows each leaf to get the maximum
exposure to light and reduces shading of lower leaves?
A) a leaf area index above 8
B) self-pruning
C) one leaf only per node
D) leaf emergence at an angle of 137.5F from the site of previous leaves
E) a leaf area index above 8 and leaf emergence at an angle of 137.5F from the site of previous
leaves
Answer: D
5) If you were to prune the shoot tips of a plant, what would be the effect on the plant and the
leaf area index?
A) bushier plants; lower leaf area index
B) tall plants; lower leaf area index
C) tall plants; higher leaf area index
D) short plants; lower leaf area index
E) bushier plants; higher leaf area indexes
Answer: E
7) Which of the following would be least likely to affect osmosis in plants?
A) proton pumps in the membrane
B) a difference in solute concentrations

C) receptor proteins in the membrane

D) aquaporins
E) a difference in water potential
Answer: C
Ch 51
2) A female cat in heat urinates more often and in many places. Male cats congregate near the
urine deposits and fight with each other. Which of the following would be an ultimate cause of
the male cats' response to the female's urinating behavior?
A) The males have learned to recognize the specific odor of the urine of a female in heat.
B) When the males smelled the odor, various neurons in their brains were stimulated.
C) Responding to the odor means locating reproductively receptive females.
D) Male cats' hormones are triggered by the odor released by the female.
E) The odor serves as a releaser for the instinctive behavior of the males.
Answer: C
4) The proximate causes of behavior are interactions with the environment, but behavior is
ultimately shaped by
A) hormones.
B) evolution.
C) sexuality.
D) pheromones.
E) the nervous system.
Answer: B
6) What type of signal is long-lasting and works at night?
A) olfactory
B) visual
C) auditory
D) tactile
E) electrical
Answer: A
8) What type of signal is fast and requires daylight with no obstructions?
A) olfactory
B) visual
C) auditory
D) tactile
E) electrical
Answer: B
Ch 52
1) "How do seed-eating animals affect the distribution and abundance of the trees?" This
question

A) would require an elaborate experimental design to answer.

B) would be difficult to answer because a large experimental area would be required.
C) would be difficult to answer because a long-term experiment would be required.
D) is one that a present-day ecologist would be likely to ask.
E) All options are correct.
Answer: E
2) Which of the following levels of ecological organization is arranged in the correct sequence
from most to least inclusive?
A) community, ecosystem, individual, population
B) ecosystem, community, population, individual
C) population, ecosystem, individual, community
D) individual, population, community, ecosystem
E) individual, community, population, ecosystem
Answer: B
3) Which of the following examples of an ecological effect leading to an evolutionary effect is
most correct?
A) When seeds are not plentiful, trees produce more seeds.
B) A few organisms of a larger population survive a drought and then these survivors emigrate to
less arid environments.
C) A few individuals with denser fur survive the coldest days of an ice age, and the reproducing
survivors of the ice age all have long fur.
D) Fish that swim the fastest in running water catch the most prey and more easily escape
predation.
E) The insects that spend the most time exposed to sunlight have the most mutations.
Answer: C
4) Which of the following might be an investigation of microclimate?
A) the effect of ambient temperature on the onset of caribou migration
B) the seasonal population fluctuation of nurse sharks in coral reef communities
C) competitive interactions between various species of songbirds during spring migration
D) the effect of sunlight intensity on species composition in a decaying rat carcass
E) the effect of different nitrogen applications on corn productivity
Answer: D
Ch 53
2) A population is correctly defined as having which of the following characteristics?
I. inhabiting the same general area
II. belonging to the same species
III. possessing a constant and uniform density and dispersion
A) I only
B) III only
C) I and II only
D) II and III only

E) I, II, and III

Answer: C
4) During the spring, you are studying the mice that live in a field near your home. The
population density is high, but you realize that you rarely observe any reproductive female mice.
This most likely indicates
A) that there is selective predation on female mice.
B) that female mice die before reproducing.
C) that this habitat is a good place for mice to reproduce.
D) that you are observing immigrant mice.
E) that the breeding season is over.
Answer: D
6) Which of the following groups would be most likely to exhibit uniform dispersion?
A) red squirrels, who actively defend territories
B) cattails, which grow primarily at edges of lakes and streams
C) dwarf mistletoes, which parasitize particular species of forest tree
D) moths, in a city at night
E) lake trout, which seek out cold, deep water high in dissolved oxygen
Answer: A
8) Which of the following examples would most accurately measure the density of the
population being studied?
A) counting the number of prairie dog burrows per hectare
B) counting the number of times a 1 kilometer transect is intersected by tracks of red squirrels
after a snowfall
C) counting the number of coyote droppings per hectare
D) multiplying the number of moss plants counted in 10 quadrats of 1m2 each by 100 to
determine the density per kilometer2.
E) counting the number of zebras from airplane census observations.
Answer: E
Ch 54
2) According to the competitive exclusion principle, two species cannot continue to occupy the
same
A) habitat.
B) niche.
C) territory.
D) range.
E) biome.
Answer: B
4) As you study two closely related predatory insect species, the two-spot and the three-spot
avenger beetles, you notice that each species seeks prey at dawn in areas without the other
species. However, where their ranges overlap, the two-spot avenger beetle hunts at night and the
three-spot hunts in the morning. When you bring them into the laboratory and isolate the two

different species, you discover that the offspring of both species are found to be nocturnal. You
have discovered an example of
A) mutualism.
B) character displacement.
C) Batesian mimicry.
D) facultative commensalism.
E) resource partitioning.
Answer: E
6) Which of the following is an example of cryptic coloration?
A) bands on a coral snake
B) brown or gray color of tree bark
C) markings of a viceroy butterfly's wings
D) colors of an insect-pollinated flower's petals
E) a "walking stick" insect that resembles a twig
Answer: E
8) Which of the following is an example of Batesian mimicry?
A) an insect that resembles a twig
B) a butterfly that resembles a leaf
C) a nonvenomous snake that looks like a venomous snake
D) a fawn with fur coloring that camouflages it in the forest environment
E) a snapping turtle that uses its tongue to mimic a worm, thus attracting fish
Answer: C
Ch 55
2) In ecosystems, why is the term cycling used to describe material transfer, whereas the term
flow is used for energy exchange?
A) Materials are repeatedly used, but energy flows through and out of ecosystems.
B) Both material and energy are recycled and are then transferred to other ecosystems as in a
flow.
C) Materials are cycled into ecosystems from other ecosystems, but energy constantly flows
within the ecosystem.
D) Both material and energy flow in a never-ending stream within an ecosystem.
E) None of the choices is correct.
Answer: A
4) The law of conservation of matter states that matter cannot be created, yet matter is sometimes
gained or lost to an ecosystem. What is the reason for this seeming contradiction?
A) Chemoautotrophic organisms can convert matter to energy.
B) Matter can be moved in/out of an ecosystem from/to another ecosystem.
C) Photosynthetic organisms convert solar energy to sugars.
D) Detrivores convert matter to energy.
E) Heterotrophs convert heat to energy.
Answer: B

6) A cow's herbivorous diet indicates that it is a(n)

A) primary consumer.
B) secondary consumer.
C) decomposer.
D) autotroph.
E) producer.
Answer: A
8) Which of the following terms encompasses all of the others?
A) heterotrophs
B) herbivores
C) carnivores
D) primary consumers
E) secondary consumers
Answer: A
Ch 56
2) What is the estimated number of extant species on Earth?
A) 1,000 to 50,000
B) 50,000 to 150,000
C) 500,000 to 1,000,000
D) 10,000,000 to 100,000,000
E) 5 billion to 10 billion
Answer: D
4) Extinction is a natural phenomenon. It is estimated that 99% of all species that ever lived are
now extinct. Why then do we say that we are now experiencing an extinction (loss of
biodiversity) crisis?
A) Humans are ethically responsible for protecting endangered species.
B) Scientists have finally identified most of the species on Earth and are thus able to quantify the
number of species becoming extinct.
C) The current rate of extinction is high and human activities threaten biodiversity at all levels.
D) Humans have greater medical needs than at any other time in history, and many potential
medicinal compounds are being lost as plant species become extinct.
E) Most biodiversity hot spots have been destroyed by recent ecological disasters.
Answer: C
6) Although extinction is a natural process, current extinctions are of concern to
environmentalists because
A) more animals than ever before are going extinct.
B) most current extinctions are caused by introduced species.
C) the rate of extinction is unusually high.
D) current extinction is primarily affecting plant diversity.
E) None of the options are correct.

Answer: C
8) According to the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA), the difference between an endangered
species and a threatened one is that
A) an endangered species is closer to extinction.
B) a threatened species is closer to extinction.
C) threatened species are endangered species outside the U.S. borders.
D) endangered species are mainly tropical.
E) only endangered species are vertebrates.
Answer: A