U of T National Biology Competition / 2

1. Which of the following processes absorb free energy (i.e., are endergonic)?
i. Nitrogen fixation
ii. Respiration
iii. Photosynthesis
iv. Maintenance of homeostasis
a. i only
b. i and ii
c. i, iii, and iv
d. ii and iv
e. iii and iv

2. What would result from a mutation that results in two purines to pair with each other (or two
pyrimidines to pair with each other)?
a. The DNA molecule could no longer form a double helix.
b. The DNA helix would no longer have a constant diameter.
c. Replication of DNA would stop because a 3' hydroxyl group would no longer be available.
d. Ligase could no longer fulfill its function.
e. Ribose would replace deoxyribose in the DNA’s backbone.

3. Which statement about taxonomic relationships is CORRECT?

a. A class can contain more than one phylum.
b. A genus can contain more than one order.
c. A family can contain more than one class.
d. An order can contain more than one family.
e. A genus can contain more than one family.

4. A naturalist studying competitive interactions between flower-visiting animals in a meadow observes

that hummingbirds always prevent butterflies from feeding on blue flowers. What would most likely
occur upon removal of hummingbirds from the meadow?
a. An increase in the fundamental niche of butterflies.
b. A decrease in the realized niche of butterflies.
c. No change in the niche breadth of butterflies.
d. A decrease in the fundamental niche of butterflies.
e. An increase in the realized niche of butterflies.

5. Which statement best describes why DNA replication is referred to as “semi-conservative”?

a. At each replication, each DNA molecule retains one strand intact and synthesizes the other strand
from new material.
b. After one round of replication, half of the DNA contains the original material and half is made up
of new material.
c. After two rounds of replication, all of the DNA contains a mixture of original and new material.
d. Within each strand, the number of purines equals the number of pyrimidines.
e. During replication, one strand acts as “leading” and the other as “lagging.”

© 2007 University of Toronto

6. Which of the following pairs does NOT match?
a. Tropical rainforest – high species diversity
b. Ozone shield depletion – increased radiation reaching the surface of Earth
c. Greenhouse effect – rise in atmospheric CO2
d. Eutrophication – decreased net primary productivity
e. Acid rain – rain with pH < 5.0

7. Which of the following represents an important evolutionary adaptation that allowed angiosperms to
predominate as the most abundant terrestrial plants on Earth?
a. Triploid endosperm
b. Archegonia
c. Diploid gametophyte
d. Motile female gametes
e. Antheridia

8. Which statement about genetic disorders in humans is FALSE?

a. The frequency of the allele for sickle cell anaemia is higher in native populations of wet, tropical
countries because carriers have a better chance of surviving malaria.
b. Colour blindness is rare in females because the condition is recessively inherited and the gene is
sex linked.
c. Down syndrome occurs when three copies of chromosome 21 are present.
d. Aneuploidies, such as Down syndrome, results from errors in DNA replication during the S
phase.
e. Sperm containing a Y chromosome fertilizing an ovum (egg) that contains no sex chromosome
results in a spontaneous abortion.

9. Which of the following is a characteristic of an open circulatory system?

i. Heart
ii. Arteries
iii. Capillaries
iv. Veins
a. i only
b. i, ii, and iv
c. i and iii
d. i, ii, iii, and iv
e. ii and iv

10. Which metabolic pathway occurs in both fermentation and cellular respiration?
a. Calvin (Calvin-Benson) cycle
b. Citric acid (Krebs) cycle
c. Glycolysis
d. Electron transport chain
e. Synthesis of water

© 2007 University of Toronto

 U of T National Biology Competition / 4

11. As part of a science competition, a student is asked to identify an unknown molecule as either DNA
or RNA. Which of the following characteristics would be the strongest evidence that the unknown
molecule is DNA?
a. The presence of phosphate and sugar.
b. The absence of uracil.
c. The presence of thymine.
d. The presence of adenine, guanine, and cytosine.
e. The absence of a hydroxyl group on carbon 2 of the sugar molecule.

12. Which of the following signal transduction molecules is NOT bound to the plasma membrane?
a. Cyclic AMP (cAMP)
b. Peptide hormone receptors
c. G proteins
d. Adenylyl cyclase
e. Phospholipase C

13. Which statement about cell division is FALSE?

a. Mitosis can only occur after DNA has replicated in the S phase.
b. The amount of DNA in a nucleus at the end of mitosis is half the quantity of DNA in the
preceding G2 phase.
c. The number of sister chromatids determines how the number of homologous sets of chromosomes
in a cell changes during mitosis.
d. Spermatozoa are permanently arrested in the G1 phase and do not undergo mitosis.
e. Independent assortment takes place during metaphase I of meiosis.

14. A population of mountain goats originally inhabited the foothills of a mountain range. Over many
thousands of years, increased competition by a lowland population of yaks drove the goat population
to higher altitudes in the mountains. What change in haemoglobin is most likely to be associated
with the goat population being physiologically adapted to higher altitudes?
a. An increase in the number of heme groups.
b. Higher percentage of O2 saturation for a given O2 partial pressure.
c. Lower affinity for O2.
d. Insensitivity to changes in blood pH levels.
e. Greater O2 unloading at the tissues during strenuous activity.

15. A man and a woman have blood types A and B, respectively. Their first child had blood type AB,
and the second child had blood type O. What correct prediction can be made about the blood types
of subsequent children?
a. Half will have blood type AB and half will have blood type O.
b. They will have blood type A and B only.
c. Each child has an equal chance of having blood type A, B, AB, or O.
d. Any blood type is possible, but A and B are much more likely.
e. None of the children will have blood type A.

© 2007 University of Toronto

16. In pheasant, males are larger and have more colourful plumage than females. Which of the following
is most likely to account for these differences between males and females?
a. Natural selection
b. Risk of predation
c. Mimicry
d. Sexual selection
e. Niche differences between the sexes

17. In the mammalian kidney, what causes water to be reabsorbed in the descending limb of the loop of
Henle?
a. Active transport of salt out of the tubule.
b. An increase in the osmolarity of the nephron fluid (filtrate).
c. Diffusion of salt out of the tubule.
d. High blood pressure.
e. Secretion of hydrogen ions from the renal medulla into the tubule.

18. Which of the following best describes the “flippers” found in seals, sharks, and penguins?
a. Homologous structures resulting from divergent evolution.
b. Analogous structures resulting from divergent evolution.
c. Homologous structures resulting from convergent evolution.
d. Analogous structures resulting from convergent evolution.
e. Homologous structures representing a monophyletic grouping.

19. In frogs, only a few molecules of melanocyte-stimulating hormone (MSH) are required to trigger
large changes in melanocytes (specialized skin cells that contain the dark brown pigment melanin).
Which of the following provides the best explanation for this observation?
a. The hormone amplifies the production of second messengers within the melanocyte.
b. The hormone is lipid soluble and readily penetrates the membranes of the melanocytes.
c. The hormone molecules persist for years and can repeatedly activate the same melanocyte.
d. The hormone is rapidly replicated within each melanocyte.
e. The hormone is specific to melanocytes.

20. Which of the following is a defining characteristic of chordates (although in most species, these
characteristics can often only be seen in the embryonic or larval stage)?
i. Pharyngeal slits
ii. Digestive tract along entire length of body
iii. Notochord
iv. Post anal tail
a. i, ii, and iv
b. i and iii
c. i, iii, and iv
d. ii and iii
e. ii and iv

© 2007 University of Toronto

 U of T National Biology Competition / 6

21. Which term best describes the relationship between the chemical reactions illustrated below?
ATP + H2O ÿ ADP + Pi + energy
Glucose + Pi + energy ÿ Glucose-6-phosphate + H2O
a. Coupled redox reactions
b. Chemiosmotic synthesis of ATP
c. Coupled electron transport reactions
d. Reversible reactions
e. Coupled phosphate transfer reactions

22. In carnations, genes that code for flower colour show an incomplete dominance relationship. Red
flowers crossed with white flowers yield pink flowers. What is the expected distribution of progeny
from a cross between a pink-flowered parent and a red-flowered parent?
a. 1:1 ratio of red to pink
b. All red
c. All pink
d. 1:1 ratio of red to white
e. 1:2:1 ratio of red to pink to white

23. A drug company developed a new insecticide that is highly poisonous to mosquitoes carrying West
Nile virus. Mass spraying of the insecticide over a 10 year period resulted in a significant reduction
in mosquito populations over the first five years, and a gradual increase in mosquito populations over
the next five years. What is the most reasonable explanation for the observed effect of the insecticide
on mosquito populations?
a. The insecticide caused favourable mutations in the mosquitoes that led to resistance.
b. Genetic variants of mosquitoes resistant to the insecticide survived and transmitted their
resistance to their offspring.
c. Mosquitoes from other populations in other areas moved in and replaced the mosquitoes killed by
the insecticide.
d. The insecticide induced antibodies to the insecticide in some mosquitoes and these antibodies
were then transmitted to offspring.
e. The drug company reduced the amount of insecticide sprayed in the environment.

24. If you leave most foods outside of the refrigerator, they will rapidly become spoiled with growths of
bacteria and fungi. However, most microorganisms will not grow on the surface of honey. What is
the best reason for this?
a. The sugars in honey are toxic to most microorganisms.
b. Microorganisms do not use sugars as an energy source.
c. Honey is hypotonic to the cells of the microorganisms, causing them to take up water and burst.
d. The sugars in the honey enter the microorganisms via passive diffusion and disrupt metabolic
processes.
e. Honey is hypertonic to the cells of the microorganisms, causing them to lose water and
plasmolyse (shrink).

© 2007 University of Toronto

25. Match the component or process in the left column with the proper compartment or membrane in the
right column (e.g., the citric acid cycle occurs within the ).

i. Citric acid (Krebs) cycle p. Stroma of chloroplast

ii. RuBP carboxylase/oxygenase (Rubisco) q. Matrix of mitochondrion
iii. Glycolysis r. Thylakoid membrane
iv. Photosystem II s. Cytoplasm

a. i-q, ii-p, iii-s, iv-r

b. i-q, ii-s, iii-r, iv-p
c. i-r, ii-s, iii-p, iv-q
d. i-q, ii-p, iii-r, iv-s
e. i-p, ii-s, iii-q, iv-r

© 2007 University of Toronto