Biology Unit

The Linnaean system of classification sorts organisms into groups using a hierarchical system of levels. Which list is in the correct order (from most general to most specific)?

• Species, Genus, Family, Order, Class, Phylum, Kingdom

• Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species

• Phylum, Family, Species, Order, Class, Genus, Kingdom

• Order, Family, Genus, Kingdom, Species, Phylum, Class

A __________ consists of organisms of the same type that are able to breed and produce young of the same type

• species

• family

• kingdom

• genus

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

The study of how organisms are classified is known as _________________.

• taxonomy

• ecology

• investigation

• zoology

A group of scientists discovered three fossils with very similar characteristics. The fossils are from a species that lived between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago. The scientists want to determine the precise age of these three fossils to determine how the species changed over time.

Which method should the scientists use to determine the precise age of these fossils?

• compare their homologous structures

• compare them to similar living species

• embryology

• carbon dating

A scientist is analyzing tissue samples from an Asian Elephant and an extinct Woolly Mammoth. When he sequences their DNA, he finds the genetic information of these animals to be about 99% identical, but not exactly the same. Can this information be used as evidence for evolution?

• Yes, but only because the elephants and mammoths look similar.

• Yes, genetic information can be a source of evidence for evolution.

• No, the DNA sequences of the samples were not exactly the same.

• No, genetic information is never a source of evidence for evolution.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

Which of these might be used to determine the common ancestry of two different species of plants?

• Fossil evidence

• The size of the population

• Similar ecological niches

• Similar habitats

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-3

An organism's scientific name is a combination of its

• kingdom name and phylum name

• order name and species name

• genus name and class name

• genus name and species name

Black squirrels are the same species as gray squirrels. A single littler of squirrels can have both black and gray squirrels.

Over the past century, the percent of squirrels in the vicinity of Washington DC that are black instead of the more common gray has been continually increasing. Which of the following statements best explains why this is happening?

• Black squirrels have a survival advantage over gray squirrels.

• Black squirrels are more popular with tourists than gray squirrels.

• Black squirrels are more visible against tree trucks than gray squirrels

• Gray squirrels are more comfortable with humans than black squirrels.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Some organisms have favorable traits that are well-suited to their environments. Organisms with this advantage are more likely to thrive, reproduce, and pass their traits to future generations than organisms without favorable traits.

This process is known as:

• genetic engineering

• artificial selection

• natural selection

• selective breeding

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Which of the following best describes how a species changes over time?

• Members of a species with unfavorable traits produce offspring with similar characteristics, while members best adapted to survive do not reproduce.

• Members of a species that are best adapted to survive and members with unfavorable traits both produce the same number of offspring.

• Members of a species that are best adapted to survive produce offspring with similar characteristics, while members with unfavorable traits do not survive.

• Diversity among members of the species causes all members to stop producing offspring.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-1