How to find synthesis of data in biology - ACT Science

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Question

Sleep plays a vital role in defining the daily activities of virtually all animals. During periods of sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system becomes active and induces a relaxed state in response to increased levels of the hormone melatonin. Yet, despite its ubiquity in the animal kingdom, the purpose of sleep and its role in our daily lives has been disputed by scientists. Two scientists discuss their theories about the purpose of sleep.

Scientist 1

During periods of sleep, animals are able to conserve energy that they would otherwise be spending on unnecessary activity. If an animal’s primary food source is most abundant during daylight, it is a waste of precious energy to be moving about at night. For example, many herbivores, such as squirrels, are diurnal (sleep during the night) because their food source is available during the day, while many insectivores, such as bats, are nocturnal (sleep during the day) because their food source is available during the night. Food sources, as an animal’s most valuable resource, dictate their sleep cycles. Many animal traits observable today evolved as a result of the supply and demand of food in their natural habitat.

Scientist 2

During waking hours, it is true that the body utilizes large amounts of energy. However, the role of sleep is to restore biological products that were utilized during periods of wakefulness, rather than simply avoid utilizing energy in the first place. Many types of biological molecules, such as hormones, are released throughout the body while an animal is active. Sleep serves as a period of inactivity during which the body can manufacture and store a supply of these molecules for future use during the next period of activity. Furthermore, sleep allows the body to repair cellular damages that has accumulated during waking hours. Experimental evidence shows that when animals are deprived of sleep, their immune system quickly weakens and death rates increase. Sleep is necessary for animals to prevent accumulation of damage and to regenerate crucial biomolecules for daily life.

Both scientists give evidence to support their theories. The evidence given by Scientist 1 can best be described as __________.

Answer

Scientist 1 gives two examples of animals that appear to follow the trends of his theory. "For example, many herbivores, such as squirrels, are diurnal . . . while many insectivores, such as bats, are nocturnal"

This evidence is strictly observational. There is no experimental set-up, quantitative or empirical data. Though the evidence is observation of animals in their natural state, observational is a commonly used classification of evidence, while natural is not, making observational the best answer choice.

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Question

Sleep plays a vital role in defining the daily activities of virtually all animals. During periods of sleep, the parasympathetic nervous system becomes active and induces a relaxed state in response to increased levels of the hormone melatonin. Yet, despite its ubiquity in the animal kingdom, the purpose of sleep and its role in our daily lives has been disputed by scientists. Two scientists discuss their theories about the purpose of sleep.

Scientist 1

During periods of sleep, animals are able to conserve energy that they would otherwise be spending on unnecessary activity. If an animal’s primary food source is most abundant during daylight, it is a waste of precious energy to be moving about at night. For example, many herbivores, such as squirrels, are diurnal (sleep during the night) because their food source is available during the day, while many insectivores, such as bats, are nocturnal (sleep during the day) because their food source is available during the night. Food sources, as an animal’s most valuable resource, dictate their sleep cycles. Many animal traits observable today evolved as a result of the supply and demand of food in their natural habitat.

Scientist 2

During waking hours, it is true that the body utilizes large amounts of energy. However, the role of sleep is to restore biological products that were utilized during periods of wakefulness, rather than simply avoid utilizing energy in the first place. Many types of biological molecules, such as hormones, are released throughout the body while an animal is active. Sleep serves as a period of inactivity during which the body can manufacture and store a supply of these molecules for future use during the next period of activity. Furthermore, sleep allows the body to repair cellular damages that has accumulated during waking hours. Experimental evidence shows that when animals are deprived of sleep, their immune system quickly weakens and death rates increase. Sleep is necessary for animals to prevent accumulation of damage and to regenerate crucial biomolecules for daily life.

Both scientists give evidence to support their theories. The evidence given by Scientist 2 can best be described as __________.

Answer

The evidence given by Scientist 2 is labeled within the passage. "Experimental evidence shows that when animals are deprived of sleep, their immune system quickly weakens and death rates increase"

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Question

Dominant alleles (D) produce dominant characteristics; recessive alleles (d) produce recessive characteristics. Dominant alleles are expressed whenever present (DD, Dd) but recessive alleles are expressed only when the dominant allele is absent (dd)

A study was done in which the visual traits of two plants and their offspring was tested. In this study, Plant A, a Tall Purple plant, was mated with Plant B, a Tall Pink plant. In previous generations Plant A’s parents were always tall but were sometimes pink. Plant B’s parents were sometimes tall or short and sometimes were pink or purple. It has been determined that the dominant trait for height is tall (H) and the dominant trait for color is purple (P).

Breeding both plants will result in offspring that have recessive and dominant traits. The chart below contains all the possibilities for their offspring.

Figure 1.

Parent AParent B
Tall (HH)Tall (Hh)
Purple (Pp)Pink (pp)

Figure 2. HH Pp x Hh pp Offspring

| | HP | HP | Hp | Hp | | | --------- | ------ | ------ | ------ | ---- | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp |

What traits would an offspring have with hh PP alleles?

Answer

The plant will be short and purple. Since hh are both recessive, there are no dominant genes to make the plant tall; thus the plant will be short. Since P is dominant, the plant must be purple since it has both dominant genes.

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Question

Dominant alleles (D) produce dominant characteristics; recessive alleles (d) produce recessive characteristics. Dominant alleles are expressed whenever present (DD, Dd) but recessive alleles are expressed only when the dominant allele is absent (dd)

A study was done in which the visual traits of two plants and their offspring was tested. In this study, Plant A, a Tall Purple plant, was mated with Plant B, a Tall Pink plant. In previous generations Plant A’s parents were always tall but were sometimes pink. Plant B’s parents were sometimes tall or short and sometimes were pink or purple. It has been determined that the dominant trait for height is tall (H) and the dominant trait for color is purple (P).

Breeding both plants will result in offspring that have recessive and dominant traits. The chart below contains all the possibilities for their offspring.

Figure 1.

Parent AParent B
Tall (HH)Tall (Hh)
Purple (Pp)Pink (pp)

Figure 2. HH Pp x Hh pp Offspring

| | HP | HP | Hp | Hp | | | --------- | ------ | ------ | ------ | ---- | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp |

What is the probability that the offspring in Figure 2 will be tall and purple?

Answer

The sets of alleles that are labeled HHPp or HhPp are the only possibilities to have a plant that is tall and purple. Since 8 out of the 16 possibilities are of such, there is a 50% probability.

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Question

Dominant alleles (D) produce dominant characteristics; recessive alleles (d) produce recessive characteristics. Dominant alleles are expressed whenever present (DD, Dd) but recessive alleles are expressed only when the dominant allele is absent (dd)

A study was done in which the visual traits of two plants and their offspring was tested. In this study, Plant A, a Tall Purple plant, was mated with Plant B, a Tall Pink plant. In previous generations Plant A’s parents were always tall but were sometimes pink. Plant B’s parents were sometimes tall or short and sometimes were pink or purple. It has been determined that the dominant trait for height is tall (H) and the dominant trait for color is purple (P).

Breeding both plants will result in offspring that have recessive and dominant traits. The chart below contains all the possibilities for their offspring.

Figure 1.

Parent AParent B
Tall (HH)Tall (Hh)
Purple (Pp)Pink (pp)

Figure 2. HH Pp x Hh pp Offspring

| | HP | HP | Hp | Hp | | | --------- | ------ | ------ | ------ | ---- | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp |

What is the ratio of pink plants to purple plants?

Answer

The ratio of pink to purple is 1 : 1. There are just as many pink (8pp) to purple (8Pp). Thus when reduced, 8 : 8 turns to 1 : 1.

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Question

Dominant alleles (D) produce dominant characteristics; recessive alleles (d) produce recessive characteristics. Dominant alleles are expressed whenever present (DD, Dd) but recessive alleles are expressed only when the dominant allele is absent (dd)

A study was done in which the visual traits of two plants and their offspring was tested. In this study, Plant A, a Tall Purple plant, was mated with Plant B, a Tall Pink plant. It has been determined that the dominant trait for height is tall (H) and the dominant trait for color is purple (P).

Breeding both plants will result in offspring that have recessive and dominant traits. The chart below contains all the possibilities for their offspring.

Figure 1.

Parent AParent B
Tall (HH)Tall (Hh)
Purple (Pp)Pink (pp)

Figure 2. HH Pp x Hh pp Offspring

| | HP | HP | Hp | Hp | | | --------- | ------ | ------ | ------ | ---- | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | Hp | HHPp | HHPp | HHpp | HHpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp | | hp | HhPp | HhPp | Hhpp | Hhpp |

Why are there no short offspring?

Answer

The answer is Parent A has two dominant genes, it can only pass down dominant genes to its offspring. No matter what parent A can do, it can only give a dominant allele that makes the offspring shows a tall trait.

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Question

A group of scientists wanted to test the effects of Nitra-Grow, a chemical additive that can be given to plants to help them grow. 3 test groups of plants were given all the same time of sunlight, the same type of soil, and the same amount of water. Plant A was given no extra chemicals. Plant B was given 5g of Nitra-Grow. Plant C was given 5g of Ammonia to see if Nitra-Grow worked any better than a basic nitrogen-based household product. The plants are then measured on 5 consecutive days to find their average height (in cm).

DAYHeight Plant A (cm)Height Plant B (cm)Height Plant C (cm)
11.21.21.2
21.41.41.2
31.61.81.3
41.82.41.3
52.02.61.4

Suppose on day 6, here are the results of each of the 3 plants.

Plant APlant BPlant C
2.21.51.4

What could you say about the effectiveness of Nitra-Grow?

Answer

The answer is Nitro-Grow is not effective. Even though the plants increased in height until day 5, there was a drastic decrease on day 6. The chemical is NOT effective because day 6 shows that Plant B has wilted away and is decreasing in size.

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Question

A group of scientists wanted to test the effects of Nitra-Grow, a chemical additive that can be given to plants to help them grow. 3 test groups of plants were given all the same time of sunlight, the same type of soil, and the same amount of water. Plant A was given no extra chemicals. Plant B was given 5g of Nitra-Grow. Plant C was given 5g of Ammonia to see if Nitra-Grow worked any better than a basic nitrogen-based household product. The plants are then measured on 5 consecutive days to find their average height (in cm).

DAYHeight Plant A (cm)Height Plant B (cm)Height Plant C (cm)
11.21.21.2
21.41.41.2
31.61.81.3
41.82.41.3
52.02.61.4

Suppose that the scientists repeated the experiment with Plant D. Plant D was given 15g of Nitro-Grow and 15g of Ammonia. What would be the expected results?

Answer

There is not enough information. You cannot assume it will perform the best because ultimately, negative effects were proven for Ammonia. There is no study on the combination of effects for both chemicals.

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Question

A group of scientists wanted to test the effects of Nitra-Grow, a chemical additive that can be given to plants to help them grow. 3 test groups of plants were given all the same time of sunlight, the same type of soil, and the same amount of water. Plant A was given no extra chemicals. Plant B was given 5g of Nitra-Grow. Plant C was given 5g of Ammonia to see if Nitra-Grow worked any better than a basic nitrogen-based household product. The plants are then measured on 5 consecutive days to find their average height (in cm).

DAYHeight Plant A (cm)Height Plant B (cm)Height Plant C (cm)
11.21.21.2
21.41.41.2
31.61.81.3
41.82.41.3
52.02.61.4

What is the general relationship between plant height and the amount of days?

Answer

As time increases, the heights of all plants increase (except for plant B on day 6). The day doesn't change just because the plants grow.

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Question

Varsitytutor

The chart above shows the height growth of three different plant species after a period of 2 weeks. Each plant species was grown in 4 different soil mediums. All the plants were grown in the same environment with equal amounts of light, water, and oxygen.

Based on the chart above, which plant species was consistently taller than the other plant species regardless of soil medium?

Answer

After reading the chart, it is clear that Plant 3 was taller than Plant 1 and Plant 2 at every measurement point.

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Question

Varsitytutor

The chart above shows the height growth of three different plant species after a period of 2 weeks. Each plant species was grown in 4 different soil mediums. All the plants were grown in the same environment with equal amounts of light, water, and oxygen.

Which soil medium provides the tallest plant growth?

Answer

The medium providing the tallest plant growth would be medium D, because in all three plants reached their greatest height using medium D.

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Question

The significant increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide since pre-industrial levels can be seen in the world’s oceans which absorb the CO2 and in turn undergo changes in chemistry. The consequences of increased CO2 include acidification of seawater and a decrease in carbonate ion (CO32-) concentration.

Changes in seawater chemistry affect marine organisms. The early life stages of invertebrates, such as squid, may be particularly vulnerable to changes in carbon dioxide levels. Acting as both predator and prey, squid are a significant component of marine ecosystems. For example, fish and sea birds, such as tuna and albatross, are dependent on squid as a source of prey. Furthermore, the fishing industry is impacted by the health of squid populations. California fisheries produce the majority of market squid.

In order to determine how increased levels of carbon dioxide affect the development of squid, eggs were hatched in two different conditions: normal (380 µatm) and elevated (2100 µatm) levels of CO2. The time to hatch and the size of the larval mantle (the anatomical feature that includes the body wall and fins) were measured and recorded. Two trials were conducted for each carbon dioxide concentration.

Charts
Graphs

According to the passage, which of these are most directly affected by changes in marine carbon dioxide levels?

Answer

Although the passage indicates that humans, fish and seabirds are all impacted by the health of squid populations, the squid themselves are directly impacted by marine carbon dioxide levels: "The early life stages of invertebrates, such as squid, may be particularly vulnerable to changes in carbon dioxide levels."

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Question

The significant increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide since pre-industrial levels can be seen in the world’s oceans which absorb the CO2 and in turn undergo changes in chemistry. The consequences of increased CO2 include acidification of seawater and a decrease in carbonate ion (CO32-) concentration.

Changes in seawater chemistry affect marine organisms. The early life stages of invertebrates, such as squid, may be particularly vulnerable to changes in carbon dioxide levels. Acting as both predator and prey, squid are a significant component of marine ecosystems. For example, fish and sea birds, such as tuna and albatross, are dependent on squid as a source of prey. Furthermore, the fishing industry is impacted by the health of squid populations. California fisheries produce the majority of market squid.

In order to determine how increased levels of carbon dioxide affect the development of squid, eggs were hatched in two different conditions: normal (380 µatm) and elevated (2100 µatm) levels of CO2. The time to hatch and the size of the larval mantle (the anatomical feature that includes the body wall and fins) were measured and recorded. Two trials were conducted for each carbon dioxide concentration.

Charts
Graphs

In this experiment, which of the following most likely affects squid-egg hatching?

Answer

The data shows that carbon dioxide concentration affects egg hatching. The task is to identify which variable correlates with carbon dioxide concentration. Looking at the water chemistry table, it is clear that pH is the only measurement that varies between CO2 concentrations. (Salinity and temperature are similar, and the amount of water is not mentioned.)

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Question

Genes are hereditary units that are responsible for the phenotypes of an organism. Genes are the directions for the body. Genetic change exists when genes are altered from their previous form. Genes are made up of DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid. DNA is made up of four bases- adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine. Genetic change can result from a variety of factors. Both scientists mentioned below agree on this basic information about genes. However, the scientists do not agree on the primary driving force behind genetic change.

Scientist 1

A mutation is a permanent change in the sequence of the DNA of a gene. There are several types of mutations—point mutations, silent mutations, frame mutations, and nonsense mutations. Mutations are very important because proteins are synthesized by reading the DNA sequence. If the DNA sequence is changed, the proteins transcribed from the DNA will be different proteins. Mutations directly and substantially change the genes by changing the sequence of the four bases. Therefore, mutations are the main factor when looking at genetic change.

Scientist 2

Sexual reproduction is the biggest contributor to genetic change. New combinations of genes are created with every random union of a sperm and egg. During division of the sex cells, or meiosis, crossing over can occur. Crossing over describes the situation when the genes from one parent’s chromosome are traded with genes from the other parent’s chromosome. This results in new combinations of genes. Lastly, a phenomenon called independent assortment results from sexual reproduction. Independent assortment is the random assortment of chromosomes during reproduction. Therefore, by its random nature, sexual reproduction is the largest contributor to genetic change.

When Scientist 1 states that mutations "change the genes by changing the sequence of the four bases," the word "bases" is referring to what?

Answer

Paragraph one lists the four bases as adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine.

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Question

Use the following diagram to answer questions 8–12:

Enzyme_activity_chart

What are the optimal conditions (temperature and pH) for enzyme A?

Answer

The vertex for Enzyme A occurs at 45 degrees C and pH 5 indicated these are the optimal conditions for the enzyme to function.

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Question

Use the following diagram to answer questions 8–12:

Enzyme_activity_chart

What conditions (temperature and pH) are optimal for Enzyme B to function?

Answer

The vertices for the graphs of Enzyme B occur at 60C and pH 9, indicating the optimal conditions.

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Question

Use the following diagram to answer questions 8–12:Enzyme_activity_chart

Which enzyme is more likely to function within the body?

Answer

The temperature of the human body is approximately 37C. At this temperature, Enzyme A has an activity of 0.6 (or 60%) while Enzyme B's activity is appproximately 0. Enzyme A works at a slightly acidic pH, suggesting that the enzyme would function in the esophagus or intestines.

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Question

Use the following diagram to answer questions 8–12:

Enzyme_activity_chart

An experiment requires that both Ezyme A and Enzyme B are used simultaneously. What conditions should be used?

Answer

Because there is little overlap in the pH in which the enzymes function, it would be nearly impossible to use both enzymes simultaneously. While there is a non-zero enzyme activity for both enzymes at pH6, the activity is so low that any reaction would be too inefficient for functional use.

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Question

Use the following diagram to answer questions 8–12:

Enzyme_activity_chart

Which enzyme works most efficiently under basic conditions?

Answer

Basic conditions indicate that the optimal pH is greater than 7 (acidic conditions are less than 7). Enzyme B is most functional at pH 9, suggesting it works most efficienty in basic conditions.

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Question

Mitochondria make 90% of the energy needed by the body to sustain life. The Mitochondrial Free Radical Theory of Aging (MFRTA) theorizes that individuals who live longest produce fewer mitochondrial oxygen reactive species than individuals that have a shorter life span. Therefore, lifespan will increase if fewer mtROS are produced, and lifespan will decrease if more mtROS are produced. An experiment was done to test this theory, and the results are shown in the chart below. Four test groups of flies were involved, two groups consisted of females, and two groups consisted of males.

| | Test group 1 | Test group 2 | Test group 3 | Test group 4 | | | ------------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ---------------- | ------- | | # of mtROS | 3.9 | 2.5 | 3.2 | 2.7 | | Lifespan | 110 days | 120 days | 95 days | 89 days |

An independent experiment concluded that mtROS amount had a less significant effect in male test groups than in female test groups. Assuming these results were accurate and test group 1 was a male test group, which other test group is also a male test group?

Answer

The second male test group would have to show that mtROS amount did not drastically change the lifespan. Test group 4 (2.7) has a lifespan of 89 days, which is a lower mtROS's amount than test group 1, but also a shorter lifespan. This would show that the mtROS amount had less of an impact. Further, assuming test group 1 and test group 4 were the two male groups, it would leave group 2 and group 3 to be female groups. Comparing group 2 and group 3, the data suggests that mtROS amount does have an impact on lifespan. This is because test group 2 has fewer mtROS's and a longer lifespan, while group 3 has more mtROS's and a shorter lifespan.

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