xviii. biology, high school - fall river public · pdf file265 high school biology test the...

XVIII. Biology, High School

265

High School Biology TestThe spring 2009 high school MCAS Biology test was based on learning standards in the Biology content strand of the Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework (2006). These learning standards appear on pages 54–58 of the Framework.

The Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework is available on the Department website at www.doe.mass.edu/frameworks/current.html.

In test item analysis reports and on the Subject Area Subscore pages of the MCAS School Reports and District Reports, Biology test results are reported under the following five MCAS reporting categories:

■ Biochemistry and Cell Biology

■ Genetics

■ Anatomy and Physiology

■ Ecology

■ Evolution and Biodiversity

Test Sessions

The MCAS high school Biology test included two separate test sessions, which were administered on consecutive days. Each session included multiple-choice and open-response questions.

Reference Materials and Tools

The high school Biology test was designed to be taken without the aid of a calculator. Students were allowed to have calculators with them during testing, but calculators were not needed to answer questions.

The use of bilingual word-to-word dictionaries was allowed for current and former limited English proficient students only, during both Biology test sessions. No other reference tools or materials were allowed.

Cross-Reference Information

The table at the conclusion of this chapter indicates each item’s reporting category and the Framework learning standard it assesses. The correct answers for multiple-choice questions are also displayed in the table.

266

DIRECTIONSThis session contains twenty-one multiple-choice questions and two open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet. You may work out solutions to multiple-choice questions in the test booklet.

ID:208042 C Common EQ

●1 If an animal cell is placed in distilled water, it will swell and burst. The bursting of the cell is a result of which biological process?

A. active transport

B. enzyme activity

C. osmosis

D. respiration

ID:208113 A Common EQ

●2 Which of the following lists identifies organisms that are producers in food webs?

A. algae, ferns, sunflowers

B. mushrooms, bacteria, earthworms

C. termites, red foxes, shrews

D. woodpeckers, cardinals, grasshoppers

ID:235175 D Common EQ

●3 In which of the following ways does a bacterial cell differ from an animal cell?

A. A bacterial cell is much larger than an animal cell.

B. A bacterial cell has more mitochondria than an animal cell.

C. A bacterial cell has RNA for its genetic material, whereas an animal cell does not.

D. A bacterial cell does not have membrane-bound organelles, whereas an animal cell does.


●4 Which of the following best explains why enzymes are necessary for many cellular reactions?

A. Enzymes supply the oxygen necessary for the reactions.

B. Enzymes change reactants from solid to liquid during the reactions.

C. The reactions take up too much space in the cell if enzymes are missing.

D. The reactions are too slow to meet the needs of the cell if enzymes are missing.

BiologySeSSion 1

267

Biology Session 1

ID:248893 happyfacespiders.eps D Common EQ

●5 Hawaiian happy face spiders from the island of Maui can have different markings, as shown below. A single gene determines the markings on the spiders.

Plain Spider Patterned Spider

A plain spider is crossed with a patterned spider. The patterned spider is homozygous. The pattern allele is dominant to the plain allele.

What percentage of the offspring from this cross are expected to be patterned instead of plain?

A. 0%B. 25%C. 50%D. 100%

ID:243372 B Common EQ

●6 Nerve cells use which of the following to communicate with each other?

A. antibodies

B. electrochemical signals

C. enzymes

D. simple sugars

ID:209032 cell_options.eps [opt_a01 C Common EQ

●7 Scientists believe that the first organisms that appeared on Earth were prokaryotic. Which of the following best represents what the cell structure of these organisms may have looked like?

A.

Contractile vacuole

B.

Chloroplast

C.

DNA

D.

Nucleus

268

Biology Session 1

ID:219811 Map_Madagascar.eps, lemur Common EQ

Madagascar is an island located off the east coast of Africa, as shown on the map below.

Africa

MozambiqueChannel

Madagascar

N

Madagascar has a unique animal community. Lemurs are one of the animal groups that have diversified extensively on Madagascar. Lemurs are primates, which is an order of mammals that also includes monkeys and apes. Lemur species vary widely in habitat, diet, size, and color. Lemurs only live on the island of Madagascar. However, fossil evidence shows that lemur ancestors existed on Africa’s mainland. Scientists hypothesize that lemur ancestors reached Madagascar by floating across the Mozambique Channel on matted clumps of vegetation.

The following section focuses on different lemur species of Madagascar.

Read the information below and use it to answer the four multiple-choice questions and one open-response question that follow.

269

Biology Session 1

Four different lemur species are shown in figures 1–4 below.

Figure 3. Ring-tailed lemurLength: 38 cm–46 cmHabitat: Deciduous forest and scrub forest

Figure 4. Red-bellied lemurLength: 36 cm–54 cmHabitat: Rain forest

Figure 1. Mouse lemurLength: 12.5 cmHabitat: Rain forest and deciduous forest

Figure 2. Verreaux’s sifakaLength: 45 cm–55 cmHabitat: Spiny deciduous forest and evergreen forest

Copyright © Konrad Wothe/Minden Pictures Copyright © Frans Lanting/Minden Pictures

Copyright © Gerry Ellis/Minden Pictures Copyright © Frans Lanting/Minden Pictures

270

Biology Session 1

Mark your answers to multiple-choice questions 8 through 11 in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet. Do not write your answers in this test booklet, but you may work out solutions to multiple-choice questions in the test booklet.

ID:219826 Map_Madagascar.eps, lemur C Common EQ

●10 There are at least 88 species of lemurs in existence today. Which of the following conditions most likely existed and made it possible for Madagascar’s original lemur ancestors to evolve into many species on the island?

A. presence of a deadly virus that infected only lemurs

B. complete isolation from other small mammal species

C. new niches to adapt to in the absence of a large number of competitors

D. climatic conditions that were very different from those on mainland Africa

ID:219827 Map_Madagascar.eps, lemur A Common EQ

●11 Which of the following lemurs would be classified as a secondary consumer?

A. a mouse lemur eating insects

B. a Verreaux’s sifaka eating leaves

C. a ring-tailed lemur eating fruits

D. a red-bellied lemur eating flowers

ID:219822 Map_Madagascar.eps, lemur A Common EQ

●8 Lemurs’ bodies are adapted to efficiently store energy for times when food is scarce. This adaptation may help to explain how lemur ancestors survived the trip across the Mozambique Channel from mainland Africa to Madagascar.

Which of the following types of molecules are primarily used for long-term energy storage in the lemur?

A. lipids

B. monosaccharides

C. nucleic acids

D. proteins

ID:219815 Map_Madagascar.eps, lemur C Common EQ

●9 Lemur body types can vary widely. In addition to fossils and comparative anatomy, which of the following types of evidence can scientists reliably use to study the evolution of the variety of lemur body types?

A. lifespan

B. population sizes

C. DNA sequences

D. male-to-female ratio

271

Biology Session 1

ID:219830 Map_Madagascar.eps, lemur Common EQ

●12 The lemurs shown in figures 1–4 all have prominent body features, such as eyes, fingers, legs, tails, and coats.

a. Choose three of the lemurs in the figures.

b. Using the figures, identify one prominent, visible feature for each of the lemur species you chose. Then describe a likely scenario in which natural selection favored the evolution of this feature. Be sure to discuss a different feature for each lemur.

Question 12 is an open-response question.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF THE QUESTION.• Show all your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.

Write your answer to question 12 in the space provided in your Student Answer Booklet.

272

Biology Session 1


●13 A builder is proposing a new housing development in an area of western Massachusetts. Construction of the housing development will destroy the wetland habitat in the area.

Which of the following would be the most likely consequence of the wetland’s destruction?

A. The wetland plant species would disperse to adjacent meadow habitats.

B. The populations of wetland animals would be unable to survive in that area.

C. The wetland animal species would survive by interbreeding with non-wetland species.

D. The populations of wetland plants would evolve to disperse seeds by wind rather than water.


●14 Mallory has four aquatic plants of the same size and species. She submerges each plant in a separate beaker filled with 200 mL of water. She then sets each beaker under a different intensity of light. Mallory observes that, of the four plants, the plant in the beaker under the most intense light gives off the most gas bubbles in a 20 min period.

Which of the following statements best explains Mallory’s observations?

A. Cells decompose most quickly under the most intense light.

B. Water evaporates from plants fastest under the most intense light.

C. Photosynthesis occurs at the highest rate under the most intense light.

D. Gases in the leaves of plants expand most under the most intense light.


273

Biology Session 1


●15 During DNA replication, the wrong nucleotide was inserted in the DNA sequence. Which of the following terms describes this situation?

A. mutation

B. regeneration

C. transcription

D. translation


●16 In the human body, fibrinogen is necessary for sealing cuts and stopping the loss of blood. Since fibrinogen is made of chains of amino acids, it is an example of which type of organic molecule?

A. carbohydrate

B. protein

C. fatty acid

D. nucleic acid

ID:261181 RB07_Psquare.eps D Common EQ

●17 A partial Punnett square is shown below.

AA AA

Aa Aa

Which of the following statements describes the parental genotypes that would result in this Punnett square?

A. Both parents are heterozygous.

B. Both parents are homozygous dominant.

C. One parent is homozygous recessive and the other parent is heterozygous.

D. One parent is homozygous dominant and the other parent is heterozygous.

D:261414 D Common EQ

●18 Which of the following relationships is an example of mutualism?

A. A lion eats a gazelle.

B. A virus uses both a bird and a horse as hosts.

C. A bacterium breaks down dead plant materials.

D. A bird eats food particles from a crocodile’s teeth.

274

Biology Session 1

IID:208214 D Common EQ

●19 According to Mendel’s law of segregation, which of the following statements describes what happens to the alleles of a gene pair?

A. The alleles are moved to different chromosomes.

B. The alleles are mutated in the process of mitosis.

C. The alleles are separated during fertilization.

D. The alleles are separated during gamete formation.


●20 All organisms have ways to produce ATP. Which of the following statements describes why ATP is a critical compound for all cells?

A. It causes mitosis to begin.

B. It is an energy-transfer molecule.

C. It is a major component of cell membranes.

D. It carries information from DNA to the ribosomes.


●21 Lobsters and spiders are both classified in the phylum Arthropoda. Lobsters and spiders are therefore also classified in the same

A. class.

B. family.

C. genus.

D. kingdom.


●22 Which of the following features of DNA is most important in determining the phenotype of an organism?

A. the direction of the helical twist

B. the number of deoxyribose sugars

C. the sequence of nitrogenous bases

D. the strength of the hydrogen bonds

275

Biology Session 1

ID:256965 bdrate_graph.eps Common EQ

●23 The graph below shows changes in the birthrate and death rate for a large population of deer over a 20-year study period.

0

10%

20%

30%

40%

2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20

Year

Rat

e

Changes in Deer Birthrate andDeath Rate over Time

Key

Death rate

Birthrate

a. Describe and explain two factors that can affect the birthrate in the deer population.

b. Describe and explain two factors that can affect the death rate in the deer population.

c. Identify one time period on the graph during which the deer population was increasing. Explain your answer.




276


●24 A portion of one strand of a DNA molecule has the sequence shown below.

ACCTGAAGG

Assuming there are no mutations in this portion of the DNA, what is the corresponding sequence on the complementary DNA strand?

A. ACCTGAAGG

B. GTTCAGGAA

C. TGGACTTCC

D. UGGACUUCC


●25 Which of the following human activities reduces biodiversity?

A. prohibiting hunting in wildlife preserves

B. taking tissue samples from members of endangered species

C. planting only native grass species to prevent erosion beside highways

D. planting only red pine trees to replace native hardwood forests cut for lumber

DIRECTIONSThis session contains nineteen multiple-choice questions and three open-response questions. Mark your answers to these questions in the spaces provided in your Student Answer Booklet. You may work out solutions to multiple-choice questions in the test booklet.


●26 The rock pipit and the water pipit are two types of birds found in the United Kingdom and other areas of Europe. The rock pipit and the water pipit have similar appearances and their habitat ranges overlap.

Which of the following observations most likely caused scientists to classify the birds as separate species?

A. The rock pipit is not able to produce fertile offspring with the water pipit.

B. The rock pipit population in the United Kingdom is larger than the water pipit population.

C. The rock pipit eats insects, fish, and seeds, but the water pipit eats only insects and larvae.

D. The rock pipit remains in the United Kingdom year-round, but the water pipit only overwinters there.

BiologySeSSion 2

277

Biology Session 2


●27 A scientist is analyzing a sample of tissue from a plant. Which of the following elements will be most abundant in the sample?

A. zinc and copper

B. sodium and chlorine

C. carbon and hydrogen

D. magnesium and calcium


●28 Fireflies produce light inside their bodies. The enzyme luciferase is involved in the reaction that produces the light. Scientists have isolated the luciferase gene.

A scientist inserts the luciferase gene into the DNA of cells from another organism. If these cells produce light, the scientist knows that which of the following occurred?

A. The luciferase gene mutated inside the cells.

B. The luciferase gene was transcribed and translated.

C. The luciferase gene destroyed the original genes of the cells.

D. The luciferase gene moved from the nucleus to the endoplasmic reticulum.

ID:209050 Clover_leaves1.eps [stem_ C Common EQ

●29 Leaves from two white clover plants, each with a different pattern, are shown below.

Plant 2Oval pattern

Plant 1Chevron pattern

The leaf patterns are genetically determined by alleles of a single gene. Plant 1 is homozygous for the chevron allele. Plant 2 is homozygous for the oval allele. The chevron and oval alleles are codominant.

If plant 1 and plant 2 are crossed, the codominance of the alleles will most likely result in which of the following leaf patterns on the offspring plants?

A.

B.

C.

D.

278

Biology Session 2


●30 Which of the following statements best compares sensory neuron function and motor neuron function in the human body?

A. Sensory neurons are voluntarily controlled, whereas motor neurons are involuntarily controlled.

B. Sensory neurons respond to light and sound stimuli, whereas motor neurons respond to touch stimuli.

C. Sensory neurons send signals to motor neurons, whereas motor neurons send signals to the central nervous system.

D. Sensory neurons send signals to the central nervous system, whereas motor neurons receive signals from the central nervous system.


●31 Which of the following statements explains why viruses are able to reproduce only inside host cells instead of being able to reproduce on their own?

A. Viruses cannot function at temperatures other than 98.6°F.

B. Viruses lack spindle fibers that correctly align chromosomes for division.

C. Viruses are too small to effectively make copies of themselves on their own.

D. Viruses lack the cellular machinery needed to make copies of their genetic material.

279

Biology Session 2

ID:261241 worm_digestive.eps Common EQ

●32 The diagram below shows the digestive system of an earthworm.

Pharynx

Mouth Esophagus Gizzard

Crop Intestine

a. Identify three digestive organs in the earthworm that are also found in the human body.

b. Describe the function that each organ you identified in part (a) has in the human body.




280

Biology Session 2



●33 Scientists have concluded that snakes evolved from an ancestor with legs. Which of the following statements provides the best evidence for this conclusion?

A. Most species of snakes live on land.

B. Snakes move extremely fast to catch their prey.

C. Snakes have a well-developed backbone and muscular system.

D. Some species of snakes have limb buds during their embryonic development.


●34 Baby food manufacturers sometimes use proteases in their products. Proteases catalyze the breakdown of the proteins in these foods, making digestion easier for infants.

Proteases are which of the following types of molecules?

A. enzymes

B. fatty acids

C. hormones

D. monosaccharides


●35 Shelly and Jason are siblings, but Shelly looks like their father while Jason looks like their mother. Which of the following statements best explains the difference in Shelly’s and Jason’s features?

A. Shelly inherited a greater number of chromosomes from their father than Jason did.

B. Shelly inherited a smaller number of X chromosomes from their mother than Jason did.

C. Shelly and Jason had different mutations occur in the 46 chromosomes they inherited from their mother and father.

D. Shelly and Jason inherited different combinations of 23 chromosomes from their mother and 23 chromosomes from their father.

281

Biology Session 2

ID:261335 Kaksha21_pH.eps C Common EQ

●36 The graph below shows the levels of acidity that different kinds of freshwater fish can tolerate. Low pH values mean the water is more acidic.

7.0 6.5 6.0 5.5 5.0 4.5 4.0

pH

pH Tolerance of Freshwater Fish

Yellow perch

Fathead minnow

Pumpkinseed

Smallmouth bass

Rainbow trout

Brown trout

Based on the data, which of the following fish would most likely experience the largest population declines due to acid rain pollution?

A. brown trout

B. smallmouth bass

C. fathead minnow

D. yellow perch


●37 High levels of carbon dioxide in the blood trigger which of the following responses in the body?

A. an increase in the rate of digestion

B. an increase in the rate of breathing

C. a decrease in the speed of the pulse

D. a decrease in the production of sweat


●38 In July, a student tested the soil in two plots and calculated the concentration of nitrogen compounds present in each plot. The student then planted 20 seedlings in the first plot and allowed them to grow. Nothing was planted in the second plot. The student tested the soil in both plots again after one month. The concentration of nitrogen compounds had decreased in the first plot but had remained the same in the second plot.

Which of the following best explains the decrease in nitrogen compounds in the first plot?

A. The nitrogen compounds had broken down into elements.

B. The nitrogen compounds were absorbed by the seedlings for their growth.

C. The nitrogen compounds escaped through air pockets created by the seedlings’ roots.

D. The nitrogen compounds had evaporated because of the warm summer temperatures.

282

Biology Session 2


●39 In a population of moths, wing color became darker over time. Which of the following is the best evidence that the change in wing color was an evolutionary change?

A. The size of the moth population changed.

B. The average length of the moths’ dark wings increased.

C. The number of eggs that females laid during each breeding season increased.

D. The frequencies of the alleles for dark wing color in the moth population changed.


●40 Leaves fall from deciduous trees in autumn. The carbon in these leaves is returned to the atmosphere through which of the following processes?

A. condensation

B. decomposition

C. photosynthesis

D. transpiration


●41 Which of the following statements best explains why geographic isolation can lead to speciation?

A. Physical separation of populations reduces competition for each group.

B. Physical separation of populations prevents interbreeding and mixing of gene pools.

C. Physical separation of populations provides more space for each group’s size to increase.

D. Physical separation of populations stresses the organisms and causes mutations in their genetic code.


●42 Emphysema is a severe respiratory system disease. The disease causes damage that directly prevents the transfer of oxygen to the bloodstream.

Which part of the respiratory system does emphysema damage?

A. alveoli

B. bronchi

C. larynx

D. trachea

283

Biology Session 2

ID:273815 3254080_edited.eps [stem_ C Common EQ

●43 A marine food web is shown below.

Green algae Phytoplankton

Lobsters

Whelks

CrabsGulls

Limpets Mussels Zooplankton

Which of the following diagrams correctly represents an energy pyramid from this web?

A. Lobsters

Green algae

Whelks

Phytoplankton

B. Whelks

Mussels

Crabs

Gulls

C. Gulls

Crabs

Limpets

Green algae

D. Phytoplankton

Zooplankton

Lobsters

Mussels

284

Biology Session 2

ID:241739 3188246.eps Common EQ

●44 The illustration below represents a cell that is entering mitosis.

a. Identify one function of mitosis.

The cell shown in the illustration has recently completed the synthesis phase (S phase) of the cell cycle and is in prophase of mitosis.

b. What happened in this cell during the S phase in preparation for division? Describe the evidence that supports your answer.

c. In your Student Answer Booklet, draw the end products that will be formed when this cell completes mitosis.

Questions 44 and 45 are open-response questions.

• BE SURE TO ANSWER AND LABEL ALL PARTS OF EACH QUESTION.• Show all your work (diagrams, tables, or computations) in your Student Answer Booklet.• If you do the work in your head, explain in writing how you did the work.


285

Biology Session 2

ID:248970 3213386_AR1_revised.eps, Common EQ

●45 People who are tune deaf are unable to follow a rhythm. Scientists have evidence that tune deafness can be genetic. The pedigree below traces the inheritance of tune deafness in a family. Individuals in the pedigree are numbered.

Generation

II

I

III

4

2

6

8

5

9

3

10 11 12

7

1

13

Tunedeaf

Male

Female

Normal tuneperception

Key

Scientists have analyzed the inheritance patterns for tune deafness and have concluded that tune deafness is caused by an autosomal dominant allele, T.

a. Provide evidence from the pedigree that conclusively shows that the tune deafness allele is autosomal dominant, not autosomal recessive. Explain your reasoning.

b. Identify the genotypes of individuals 5 and 6, and then draw the Punnett square for the cross of these two individuals.

c. Compare the expected percentage of each phenotype of the offspring from the cross in part (b) with the actual percentage of each phenotype observed in the children of individuals 5 and 6.


286

High School Biology Spring 2009 Released Items:

Reporting Categories, Standards, and Correct Answers*

Item No. Page No. Reporting Category StandardCorrect Answer

(MC)*

1 266 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 2.1 C

2 266 Ecology 6.3 A

3 266 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 2.3 D


5 267 Genetics 3.6 D

6 267 Anatomy and Physiology 4.7 B


8 270 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 1.2 A

9 270 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.1 C

10 270 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.3 C

11 270 Ecology 6.3 A

12 271 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.3

13 272 Ecology 6.2 B


15 273 Genetics 3.3 A

16 273 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 1.2 B


18 273 Ecology 6.3 D


20 274 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 2.5 B

21 274 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.2 D

22 274 Genetics 3.1 C

23 275 Ecology 6.1


25 276 Ecology 6.2 D

26 276 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.2 A


28 277 Genetics 3.2 B


30 278 Anatomy and Physiology 4.4 D


32 279 Anatomy and Physiology 4.1


34 280 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 1.3 A

35 280 Anatomy and Physiology 4.6 D

36 281 Ecology 6.2 C

37 281 Anatomy and Physiology 4.8 B




41 282 Evolution and Biodiversity 5.2 B

42 282 Anatomy and Physiology 4.3 A

287

Item No. Page No. Reporting Category StandardCorrect Answer

(MC)*

43 283 Ecology 6.3 C

44 284 Biochemistry and Cell Biology 2.6

45 285 Genetics 3.4

* Answers are provided here for multiple-choice items only. Sample responses and scoring guidelines for open-response items, which are indicated by shaded cells, will be posted to the Department’s website later this year.

xviii. biology, high school - fall river public · pdf file265 high school biology test the...

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