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Middle School Life Science
FGCU STEM Competition
March 2012
Please note that for all questions NOTA means, “none of the above answers is correct.”
1.) The advantage of light microscopy over electron microscopy is that
A.) light microscopy provides for higher magnification than electron microscopy.
B.) light microscopy allows one to view dynamic processes in living cells.
C.) light microscopy provides for higher resolving power than electron microscopy.
D.) A and B
E.) NOTA
2.) Life is diverse. How many species are estimated to be presently on the earth?
A.) 1,800
B.) 18,000,000
C.) 1,800,000
D.) 180,000
E.) NOTA
3.) A covalent chemical bond is one in which
A.) outer-shell electrons of one atom are transferred to the inner electron shells of another atom.
B.) the inner-shell electrons of one atom are transferred to the outer shell of another atom.
C.) protons and neutrons are shared by two atoms so as to satisfy the requirements of both
atoms.
D.) outer-shell electrons of two atoms are shared so as to satisfactorily fill the outer electron
shells of both atoms.
E.) NOTA
4.) Foods eaten by animals are most often composed largely of macromolecules. This requires the
animals to have methods for which of the following?
A.) demineralization
B.) dehydration synthesis
C.) enzymatic hydrolysis
D.) elimination
E.) NOTA
5.) While snorkeling, a student observes an active marine animal that has a series of muscular
tentacles bearing suckers associated with its head. Segmentation is not observed, but a pair of
large, well-developed eyes is evident. The student is observing an animal belonging to which class?
A.) bivalves
B.) chitons
C.) cephalopods
D.) gastropods
E.) NOTA
6.) Which part of a plant absorbs most of the water and minerals taken up from the soil?
A.) storage roots
B.) sections of the root that have secondary xylem
C.) taproots
D.) root hairs
E.) NOTA
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Middle School Life Science
FGCU STEM Competition
March 2012
7.) The snowball Earth hypothesis provides a possible explanation for the
A.) existence of prokaryotes around hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor.
B.) colonization of land by plants and fungi.
C.) oxygenation of Earth's seas and atmosphere.
D.) diversification of animals during the late Proterozoic.
E.) NOTA
8.) Which of the following people used this apparatus to study formation of organic compounds?
A.)
B.)
C.)
D.)
E.)
Jakob Berzelius
Hermann Kolbe
Stanley Miller
August Kekulé
NOTA
9.) Corals are most closely related to which group?
A.) sea anemones
B.) barnacles
C.) freshwater hydras
D.) jellies
E.) NOTA
10.) A controlled experiment is one in which
A.) there are at least two groups, one differing from the other by two or more variables.
B.) the experiment is repeated many times to ensure that the results are accurate.
C.) there is one group for which the scientist controls all variables.
D.) there are at least two groups, one of which does not receive the experimental treatment.
E.) NOTA
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Middle School Life Science
FGCU STEM Competition
March 2012
11.) Which of the following are sugar-transporting cells in angiosperms?
A.) sclerenchyma cells
B.) tracheids and vessel elements
C.) sieve-tube elements
D.) collenchyma cells
E.) NOTA
12.) The vascular bundle in the shape of a single central cylinder in a root is called the
A.) cortex.
B.) pith.
C.) periderm.
D.) stele.
E.) NOTA
13.) An animal that migrates great distances would obtain the greatest benefit from storing its energy
as
A.) proteins.
B.) minerals.
C.) amino acids.
D.) fats.
E.) NOTA
14.) Early 19th-century scientists believed that living organisms differed from nonliving things as a
result of possessing a "life force" that could create organic molecules from inorganic matter. The
term given to this belief is
A.) organic evolution.
B.) organic synthesis.
C.) inorganic synthesis.
D.) vitalism.
E.) NOTA
15.) When two atoms are equally electronegative, they will interact to form
A.) equal numbers of isotopes.
B.) ionic bonds.
C.) nonpolar covalent bonds.
D.) ions.
E.) NOTA
16.) Which of the following is the correct sequence of these events in the origin of life?
I.
formation of protobionts
II.
synthesis of organic monomers
III.
synthesis of organic polymers
IV.
formation of DNA-based genetic systems
A.) I, III, II, IV
B.) II, III, I, IV
C.) IV, III, I, II
D.) I, II, III, IV
E.) NOTA
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Middle School Life Science
FGCU STEM Competition
March 2012
17.) Which of the following is a fat-soluble vitamin?
A.) vitamin A
B.) calcium
C.) iodine
D.) vitamin C
E.) NOTA
18.) Organic chemistry is a science based on the study of
A.) vital forces interacting with matter.
B.) inorganic compounds.
C.) water and its interaction with other kinds of molecules.
D.) carbon compounds.
E.) NOTA
19.) After ingestion, the first type of macromolecule to be worked on by enzymes in the human
digestive system is
A.) nucleic acid.
B.) protein.
C.) glucose.
D.) carbohydrate.
E.) NOTA
20.) What do craniates have that earlier chordates did not have?
A.) partial or complete skull
B.) brain
C.) bone
D.) vertebrae
E.) NOTA
21.) Which of the following is reflective of the phrase "the whole is greater than the sum of its parts"?
A.) emergent properties
B.) natural selection
C.) feedback regulations
D.) reductionism
E.) NOTA
22.) Organisms interact with their environments, exchanging matter and energy. For example, plant
chloroplasts convert the energy of sunlight into
A.) the potential energy of chemical bonds.
B.) oxygen.
C.) carbon dioxide and water.
D.) the energy of motion.
E.) NOTA
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Middle School Life Science
FGCU STEM Competition
March 2012
23.) Which of these is reflective of the hierarchical organization of life from most to least inclusive?
A.) phylum, class, order, kingdom, family, genus, species
B.) class, order, kingdom, phylum, family, genus, species
C.) genus, species, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family
D.) kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species
E.) NOTA
24.) The method of scientific inquiry that describes natural structures and processes as accurately as
possible through careful observation and the analysis of data is known as
A.) hypothesis-based science.
B.) experimental science.
C.) qualitative science.
D.) discovery science.
E.) NOTA
25.) A localized group of organisms that belong to the same species is called a
A.) population.
B.) family.
C.) ecosystem.
D.) community.
E.) NOTA
26.) The body is capable of catabolizing many substances as sources of energy. Which of the following
would be used as an energy source only after the depletion of other sources?
A.) glucose in the blood
B.) protein in muscle cells
C.) glycogen in muscle cells
D.) calcium phosphate in bone
E.) NOTA
27.) You are studying a plant from the arid southwestern United States. Which of the following
adaptations is least likely to have evolved in response to water shortages?
A.) formation of a fibrous root system spread over a large area
B.) a thick waxy cuticle on the epidermis
C.) development of large leaf surfaces to absorb water
D.) closing the stomata during the hottest time of the day
E.) NOTA
28.) The main source of energy for producers in an ecosystem is
A.) kinetic energy.
B.) ATP.
C.) light energy.
D.) thermal energy.
E.) NOTA
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Middle School Life Science
FGCU STEM Competition
29.) The endoskeletons of most vertebrates are composed of calcified
A.) dentin
B.) silica.
C.) enamel.
D.) cartilage.
E.) NOTA
30.) What is one characteristic that separates chordates from all other animals?
A.) blastopore, which becomes the anus
B.) true coelom
C.) segmentation
D.) post-anal tail
E.) NOTA
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March 2012