Download Loomis EOC Practice part 2 EOCpracticePart2

Included here are the remaining questions from previous Biology EOCs.
They have been “retired” for use as sample “practice” questions.
It is important to keep in mind this is NOT about memorizing
the answers to these questions (wouldn’t do you any good if
you did since they’re retired) but rather…
--get a “feel” for the format
--consider the topics (what biological concepts are
they addressing?)
--for the extended-response questions, it often isn’t
as much biological concept as it may be a
scientific approach to problem solving
Hope you find this useful…(feedback is welcome!!)
Hint…use the up/down arrow keys to navigate this power pt.
None of these multiple choice questions require knowledge of the scenario. They are
simply items designed to measure your grasp of biology concepts. Take a look at #7…
…if you recall your concepts from CH 8 (transcription & translation), this should an easy
one. DNARNAamino acidsPROTEIN!! “How do plants…?” Actually, how does
ANY living thing…?
B is bogus as the primary thing plants get from soil is WATER (not proteins!)
C sounds like something from a Harry Potter novel, “MAGIC THAT IS!!”
D …there ARE proteins in seeds but not enough to grow an entire plant! It
would be a violation of the conservation of matter, for Pete’s sake!
EDITORIAL COMMENT: I can see why this one was retired…it’s vague, at best. But you can
still learn something from it…
PURPOSE: To increase the garden’s food mass
Applying logic to the biology…
Choice A : Even if you discovered the answer, how would you be able to use the
knowledge to increase food mass? Force-feed the plants more carbon???
Choice C : The purpose wasn’t to grow high-protein plants but simply more mass
Choice D : Large seeds do NOT mean more plant mass
Choice B : This knowledge could be applied to the entire garden and in most cases
result in better crop yields (it’s WHY we “fertilize” our gardens)
After everything you learned in CH 11, this one’s a breeze…
Choices A, B, and D are all part of the PHOTOSYNTHETIC process…NOT respiration
If you weren’t aware, “ATP” or *AdenosineTriPhosphate, is the primary “ENERGY
molecule” employed by living things…produced in the MITOCHONDRIA of cells,
the same way CHLOROPLASTS of plant cells are in charge of photosynthesis
Another (2-pt) extended response item…which seems to focus on RELIABILITY
RELIABLE means REPEATED TRIALS…a REPEATED trial only counts as truly REPEATED if…
…EVERYTHING REMAINS THE SAME as it is run again. What aspects of a greenhouse
make it UNRELIABLE?
Let’s try the skip-ahead-and-read-the-questions technique
…here, read these, THEN look at the scenario on the
next slide (which, in the test format, came BEFORE
the questions)
At first this seems like a question you’d see on a READING HSPE…yet it involves concepts
you learned in CH 6 (natural selection/evolution).
After reading the scenario you learned 84% of the finches died because their
beaks were unable to access the remaining food following the 1977 drought.
Only finches with bigger beaks (16%) survived…eventually dominating the finch
population (“medium ground finch”, that is).
It had nothing to do with lack of water (A) or emigration (C) and Choice B…
…as we’ve learned, SPECIES DON’T EVOLVE…survival-of-the-fittest means
POPULATIONS EVOLVE!!!
Frankly, this question can be answered WITHOUT READING THE SCENARIO. It is
simply a species-interaction question (CH 14).
There are errors here… “a new bird species” ? We know nothing about it. If anything
the word “would” should be changed to COULD…
D : predation by the new bird is a possibility but it would DECREASE the finch pop
A : if finches reproduce they wouldn’t DEcline, if a new bird occupies finch breeding
grounds, finches WOULD decline (vague choice)
B : also vague…with a new bird on the island the finch might have an adaptation that
allows it to survive better than the new bird but why wait for a new bird?
…ummmmm….a math question? OK….whatever….
720 finches / 80 acres =
NINE
Skip-ahead-and-read-the-questions technique again…
…here, read these, THEN look at the scenario on the
next slide (which, in the test format, came BEFORE
the questions)
Again, scenario-not-required…this one’s from the concepts in CH 7 (genetics)
Choosing between A and B, B might be correct IF you were talking about GAMETES
…but you’re not.
So glad I read the scenario because THIS question…oh, wait…never mind.
Cell’s liquid environment
Builds proteins/hormones/enzymes out of amino acids
Contains DNA
This question covers CELL STRUCTURE & FUNCTION…an area THS Inquiry is weak on.
Technically, it is part of the 9th grade Inquiry program but memories get fuzzy…
Mitochondria are the energy-producers of cells, “burning” glucose (by respiration) to
build ATP molecules…producing carbon dioxide in the process. Plants complete the
Carbon Cycle with the chloroplast, using the CO2 + water to produce oxygen + glucose
which is what the mitochondria use, the oxygen to burn the glucose…and so on…
FINALLY…a scenario-based quest---NOT….oh well…
Carbon Labs, CH 11, Station 6: Plants
“What are plants made of?”
“THIN AIR!!!!”
2 PT
question
ZERO PTS
ONE PT
TWO PTS
Let’s take a look at that “Salmonberry Scenario” (remember from Part 1?)
Remember
this one?
Glucose & oxygen are
bear INPUTS
water’s an OUTPUT but not
needed-for-respiration
A scenario-independent question… (as in, “who cares about the scenario?”)
After all, what do think plants make all that
Bear “output”?? Oh. On a molecular level.
glucose out of in the first place!?
Being heterotrophic, bears only undergo cellular respiration (unlike plants which,
being autotrophic, BOTH respire AND photosynthesize)…so…
(BEAR) RESPIRATION:
INPUTS
OUTPUTS
glucose + oxygen  carbon dioxide + water
(SALMONBERRY)
PHOTOSYNTHESIS:
INPUTS (used)
OUTPUTS
carbon dioxide + water  glucose + oxygen
Think about your scientific reasons…
…connect DATA from the table
to each reason…
…then advance to the next slide…
A 2-pt response addresses BOTH habitats,
a 1-pt response only answers for one
REMEMBER THE BULLETS: you need BOTH
a logical reason AND DATA!!!!!!!!
Two more examples
Above, another scenario-independent item, this one is straight out of CH 14…COMPETITION
LIMITS the size of populations!! (going after the same resources)…besides, A, B, and C are,
well, LOL choices! Below, choices B, C, and D are all EPIC shifts in the ecosystem. Only A
represents an event of “balance”…the coming-and-going of life (aka equilibrium).
Think about 2 possible “problems”
(constraints or limitations)
…and HOW each has its limitations…
…then advance to the next slide…
Here are some examples…
Excellent example of a question of Cellular Processes content
D is the answer….IF IT WERE WATER, and it were moving in
the opposite direction. And since OSMOSIS is a form of B
that’s out too. Diffusion does not involve crossing a
membrane (it’s just stuff spreading out) so that leaves C… to
move (non-water) molecules ACROSS membranes, often
AGAINST a gradient (low to high) is ACTIVE transport
I don’t know about you, but I kinda like A the best…ask me why…
LAST QUESTION!!
On a piece of scratch paper, write out your procedure,
Then double-check it against the bulleted list
Then check out the remaining slides…
An example of a POOR answer…
An example of an excellent answer.
Why?
Check out the rubric on the next slide…
Well, that’s it for practice questions.
Obviously, the actual EOC will contain assessment items on additional topics as
well as additional topics on the same concepts.
Looking back, you saw questions from CH 6, 7, 8, 11, and 14. Undoubtedly, there
will be more questions centered around Biology’s Grand Unifying Theory
(evolution), more genetics questions, and more cell structure & function. There
will be more question about species interactions (symbiosis, etc) as well as
food webs, bioamplification, and energy pyramids. There should be questions from
CH 15 (resources) and CH 16 (engineering design process) and of course, complex
systems. Bottom line, pay attention to BULLETS in extended response questions,
use the process-of-elimination in multiple choice, use your knowledge gained
combined with logic and in almost every case, go with your first inclination…it is
usually right! GOOD LUCK TAHOMIE!!