Answer Key for AP Biology

Practice Exam, Section I

Question 1: C Question 19: C Question 37: C

Question 2: B Question 20: C Question 38: C
Question 3: A Question 21: A Question 39: B
Question 4: A Question 22: B Question 40: C
Question 5: D Question 23: A Question 41: A
Question 6: D Question 24: A Question 42: B
Question 7: A Question 25: B Question 43: C
Question 8: A Question 26: C Question 44: A
Question 9: B Question 27: A Question 45: D
Question 10: D Question 28: D Question 46: C
Question 11: D Question 29: C Question 47: B
Question 12: C Question 30: C Question 48: B
Question 13: A Question 31: D Question 49: B
Question 14: C Question 32: B Question 50: C
Question 15: B Question 33: B Question 51: C
Question 16: A Question 34: C Question 52: D
Question 17: A Question 35: A Question 53: A
Question 18: A Question 36: D
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Question 1
In an investigation of the effect of a particular insecticide on plant growth and development,
researchers established 20 test plots containing mature Haplopappus squarrosus shrubs. H. squarrosus
is pollinated by certain species of insects and is eaten by other species of insects. Ten test plots were
sprayed with the water-soluble insecticide, and ten test plots were sprayed with water only. The
researchers recorded the numbers of plants or plant parts at different life stages in each test plot. The
results of the investigation are shown in the table.
EFFECT OF INSECTICIDE TREATMENT ON PLANT GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
Treatment
Water Spray Insecticide Spray
Mean Density ±2 SE X
Plant Life Stage Plant or Plant Part P-values*
(number/m2)

Flowering Flowers 8,220 ±360 9,490±1900 ≥0.05

Seed Formation Immature Seeds 2,440±78 3,100±480 ≥0.05

Seed Maturation Mature seeds 60±44 1,200±1020 ≤0.001

Seedling Development Seedlings 1.4±0.4 33.1±15 ≤0.01

*based on an analysis of variance (ANOVA) test

Figure 1. Student-constructed graph of data with a plotting error

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Question 1 (continued)

(a) Identify the control treatment in the original experiment. Provide reasoning to support the
researcher’s decision to not use a set of unsprayed plants as a control. (2 points)

Identification (1 point)
• The water-only treatment

Reasoning (1 point)
• Unsprayed plot would not distinguish between effect of insecticide vs. effect of water
• Water only treatment attributes the effect of the insecticide treatment to the insecticide
and not the water

(b) A student incorrectly plotted one value from the table on a graph (Figure 1). Identify the error in the
student-constructed graph. Provide reasoning to support the student’s choice of a logarithmic
scale on the Y axis. (2 points)

Identify (1 point)
• The seed formation stage/immature seeds data point from the water only treatment

Reasoning (1 point)
• The data span several orders of magnitude
• Enables display of all data on one graph
• Couldn’t visually distinguish differences in smaller values if they were plotted on a linear
scale

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Question 1 (continued)

(c) Using the template provided, calculate the percent of plants or plant parts remaining from one life
stage to the next life stage. Round your answer to one decimal place. Based on your calculations,
identify the plant life stage at which the insects have the greatest impact on the life cycle of the
plant. Justify your answer. Describe the most likely interaction between the insects and the plants.
(4 points)

Calculation (1 point)
Percent Insecticide
Plant Life Stage Water Spray Percent Remaining
Remaining Spray
Flowering 8220 9490
Seed Formation 2440 29.7 3100 32.7
Seed Maturation 60 2.5 1200 38.7
Seedling development 1.4 2.3 33.1 2.8

Identification (1 point)
• Seed maturation
• Between immature seeds and mature seeds

Justification (1 point)
• Seed maturation time point is the only one with large difference in the percent remaining
between treatment groups
• Number of mature seeds remaining in water only treatment is much less than number of
mature seeds remaining in insecticide spray
• Seed maturation is the first stage where there is a significant difference in numbers of
plants/plant parts between the treatment groups

Description (1 point)
• Insects must be eating/hurting the developing seeds

(d) In a second experiment, researchers used a different insecticide that affects a different group of
insects. In this treatment, the number of seeds formed was greatly reduced compared to the control.
Based on this observation, describe the most likely interaction between the affected insects and the
plants in this experiment. Justify your response. (2 points)

Description (1 point) Justification (1 point)

Insects must be pollinating flowers When pollination is prevented, seeds do not
develop
Specific example of a positive/beneficial impact Supports how cooperative interaction between
to the plants during seed formation (e.g., remove insect and plant promotes seed formation
parasite/herbivore)
*Points can only be earned in one row of the table.

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Question 2

Figure 1. Diagram of the choice Figure 2. Mean host preference index ±1SE X of forest
chamber used to measure host and domestic forms of mosquitoes. A positive value
preference of mosquitoes indicates preference for a human host, and a negative
value indicates preference for a guinea pig host.

The yellow-fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) is a major vector of human disease. In a particular location
in Africa, there are two forms of the mosquito. The forest form of the mosquito is black and often lays
its eggs in tree holes and pools of water in the forest. The domestic form of the mosquito is brown and
prefers to lay its eggs in rainwater collected near human dwellings.

Researchers used a choice chamber (Figure 1) to investigate the host preference of A. aegypti. The
researchers recorded the number of forest-form and domestic-form mosquitoes that bit human or
guinea pig hosts during several ten-minute trials. The researchers used these data to calculate a host-
preference index for each form, as shown in Figure 2. Researchers also identified a gene in the
mosquitoes, OR4, that encodes an olfactory receptor. A volatile odorant, sulcatone, binds to the OR4
receptor. Humans produce higher levels of sulcatone than do guinea pigs.

(a) Based on an analysis of the data, identify the preferred host of the forest form and of the domestic
form of the mosquito. (2 points)

Identification (2 points)
• Forest mosquitoes prefer guinea pig
• Domestic mosquitoes prefer human hosts

(b) Propose a refinement to the initial experimental design that will rule out the possibility that
preference is based on a visual cue. Propose a different refinement to the initial experiment to test
whether sulcatone is the attractant for the human-preferring form. (2 points)

Refinement: visual (1 point)

• Use a dark/no light box
• Cover the guinea pig/hand
• Use guinea pig/hand models
• Stop movement of guinea pig/hand
• Blind mosquitoes

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Question 2 (continued)

Refinement: sulcatone (1 point)

• Use cotton ball/guinea pig/guinea-pig model soaked in sulcatone vs. control without
sulcatone
• Use gloved/covered human hand that prevents odorant molecules from being
released
• Remove or alter the OR4 gene in mosquitoes

(c) Predict how each of the following mutations in the OR4 gene would most likely affect the
sensitivity of mosquitoes to sulcatone. Justify each prediction. (4 points)
• A mutation that results in the removal of the intracellular domain of the receptor protein
• A mutation that results in the substitution of a small hydrophobic amino acid for
another small hydrophobic amino acid in the ligand-binding site of the receptor protein

Prediction Justification
(1 point each mutation; (1 point each mutation; 2 points total)
2 points total)
Removal of Decreased Unable to initiate intracellular signal/cascade
intracellular sensitivity/insensitive
domain
No change (in sensitivity) • Ligand can still bind to receptor
Substitution • Conformation/shape of ligand-binding domain
in ligand- does not change
binding site Ligand can still bind to A similar amino acid leads to no/limited change
receptor to the structure of the protein

*other predictions may earn credit when appropriately justified

(d) A researcher proposes that the two forms of mosquitoes are evolving into two different species.
Identify ONE potential postzygotic isolating mechanism, and describe how the isolating
mechanism would result in the evolution of the two forms into different species. (2 points)

Identification (1 point)
• Hybrid inviability
• Hybrid sterility
• Reduced hybrid fitness/hybrid breakdown

Description (1 point)
• Maintains reproductive isolation
• Prevents gene flow

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Question 3

Figure 1. Mean angle of the shift in turtle embryo position following exposure to
a directional heat source. The error bars represent ±2 SE X .
A certain species of turtle (Pelodiscus sinensis) lays its eggs in nests that are buried in the sand. The
turtle then leaves the eggs to develop. A researcher claims that turtle embryos are able to shift within
their eggs in response to directional thermal cues in the environment. To test the claim, the researcher
incubated turtle eggs in containers and used heating pads to deliver heat either to the top of the
container (dorsal heating) or to one side of the container (lateral heating). The position of the lateral
heat source was switched from one side to the other on day 15. The researcher recorded the shifts in
embryo position relative to the initial embryo position in the egg. The results are shown in Figure 1.
(a) Indicate whether the researcher’s claim that turtle embryos within their eggs respond to thermal
cues is supported or not supported. Using the data, justify your response. (2 points)

Indication (1 point)
• The researcher’s claim is supported/embryos adjust their position in response to thermal
cues

Justification (1 point)
• The change in angle following the shift in lateral heat source is statistically significant in
the experimental treatment/lateral heating but not in the control treatment/dorsal heating
• Shift in lateral heat source causes a statistically significant shift in the angle of the laterally
heated/experimental embryos compared to the shift in the dorsally heated/control embryos
• The mean angle ±2SE X prior to the shift in lateral heat source does not overlap with mean
angle ±2 SE X after the shift in lateral heat source but the means ±2 SE X do overlap in the
control

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Question 3 (continued)

(b) The researcher used the dorsal heat treatment as the control. Propose a different treatment that
would have been another valid control. (1 point)

Proposed control (1 point)

• No heat source
• Uniform heat source
• Ventral heat source
• Lateral heat source that does not shift

(c) The researcher hypothesizes that when turtle embryos respond to thermal cues they develop more
rapidly than do turtle embryos that do not respond to thermal cues. Describe ONE potential
advantage for turtles having a shorter embryonic period. (1 point)

Description (1 point)
• Decrease vulnerability to predation
• Decrease exposure to parasitic infections
• Better chance of obtaining resources than nest mates/other species

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Question 4

Figure 1. Simplified diagram of cellular structures of Plasmodium falciparum

The eukaryotic protozoan parasite P. falciparum is the causative agent of malaria. P. falciparum cells
contain an organelle called the apicoplast (see Figure 1). Apicoplasts synthesize precursors of
biomolecules that are required for growth and reproduction of the parasite.
(a) Based on Figure 1, describe TWO pieces of evidence a researcher could use to support the claim
that apicoplasts evolved from free-living, prokaryotic organisms. (2 points)

Description (2 points maximum)

• Possesses a double membrane
• Possesses DNA

(b) Doxycycline is a drug used to treat malaria and some bacterial infections. Doxycycline binds to the
prokaryotic 30S ribosomal subunit and inhibits its function. Explain how doxycycline can be an
effective treatment for a P. falciparum infection in humans. (2 points)

Explanation (2 points maximum)

• Apicoplasts possess 30S/prokaryotic ribosomes
• Prokaryotic/apicoplast proteins are not synthesized (in presence of doxycycline)

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Question 5
The pTET-KAN plasmid carries an origin of replication (ori) and genes conferring resistance to the
antibiotics tetracycline (tet) and kanamycin (kan) as represented in the figure. Cultures of E. coli
bacteria were transformed with the plasmid. To determine the success of the transformation
experiment, the bacterial cells were cultured in the presence or absence of tetracycline overnight.
(a) Predict the most likely outcome of culturing transformed E. coli in the presence of tetracycline.
Justify your prediction. (2 points)
Prediction (1 point)
• Cells will reproduce/grow
• Cultures will grow
• Bacterial population will increase in size
• Untransformed cells will not reproduce/grow
Justification (1 point)
• Expression of the tet-resistance gene
• Synthesis of tet-resistance protein
(b) Researchers inserted a small fragment of human DNA into the pTET-KAN plasmid. Cultures of
E. coli were transformed with the modified plasmid. The transformed bacterial cells were able to
survive in the presence of tetracycline but were unable to
survive in the presence of kanamycin. Draw an X on the
plasmid template provided below to indicate where the
human DNA fragment was most likely inserted. Justify
your placement of the inserted human DNA. (2 points)
Identification (1 point)
• make an X in the area within the kan gene or
kan promoter
Justification (1 point)
• They must not have had an intact kan

X
gene/promoter
• The human DNA disrupted the kan gene/promoter
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Question 6
NUMBER OF DIFFERENCES IN THE FIRST 60 AMINO ACIDS OF THE
NEUROMODULIN PROTEIN ISOLATED FROM FIVE SPECIES
Finch Gecko Turtle Frog Zebra fish
Finch 0 2 2 6 10
Gecko 0 1 7 11
Turtle 0 7 11
Frog 0 13
Zebra fish 0

Neuromodulin is an essential protein that is highly conserved among vertebrates. Researchers

compared the first 60 amino acids of the neuromodulin protein from each of five different species. The
results are shown in the table above.
Based on the data in the table, construct a cladogram on the template provided to represent the
evolutionary relatedness of the five species. Using the data, justify the placement of the zebra fish on
the cladogram. On the cladogram, circle the position of the most recent common ancestor of the two
most closely related species. (3 points)
Construction/Circle (2 points)
zebrafish

frog

finch

turtle

gecko

• Correct placement of organisms on the tree: zebrafish, frog, finch, turtle, gecko (from top to
bottom; turtle and gecko can be reversed)
• Circle the node that appears furthest to the right
Justification (1 point)
• The zebrafish has the greatest number of differences (in neuromodulin sequence) compared to
the other organisms

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Question 7

Figure 1. Simplified starch biosynthesis pathway in plants

A rice grain is a fruit that encloses a seed. Most of the dry mass of a rice grain is starch. In rice plants,
starch is produced by hydrolyzing sucrose and then linking the released glucose molecules together
into starch (Figure 1). The optimal temperature range for starch synthase activity in a particular strain
of rice is 27°C–30°C. The optimal temperature range for sucrose synthase in the strain is 30°C–35°C.

Describe how temperatures above 35°C most likely affect the structure and function of the starch
synthase in the particular strain. Using the information provided, predict the most likely
consequences to starch content in mature rice grains if the rice is grown in an area where the average
temperature during the growing season is 33°C. (3 points)

Description (2 points; 1 point per row)

Structure • Starch synthase conformation/shape will change
• Enzyme will become (partially) denatured
Function The activity of the enzyme will decrease

Prediction (1 point)
• Starch content will be less than it would be at optimal temperatures

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Question 8

Figure 1. A single cell from the epithelial layer lining the intestine illustrating movement
of glucose and Na+ from the intestinal lumen to the blood

Glucose and sodium move from the lumen of the small intestine into the blood via transport proteins in
the epithelial cells lining the small intestine (Figure 1). Based on Figure 1, describe the direct source of
energy used to move glucose into the epithelial cell from the intestinal lumen. Explain how this
system maximizes glucose absorption from the intestinal lumen into the epithelial cells and from the
epithelial cells into the blood. (3 points)
Description (1 point)
• Energy from the sodium gradient

Explanation (2 points maximum)

• The Na+/K+ pump maintains the sodium concentration gradient and allows for the
cotransport of glucose
• The symport/inflow of glucose maintains a glucose concentration gradient between
the epithelial cells and the blood and allows for (facilitated) diffusion of glucose
• The microvilli/folds on the lumen side of the epithelial cell provide more surface area
for uptake of glucose into the epithelial cell

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