HSA Review

BIOLOGY HSA PRACTICE TEST

SKILLS & EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN PRACTICE TEST

Part A. Selected-Response Questions

_____1.Students will conduct a laboratory experiment using the following materials: a Bunsen burner, a beaker of water, glass tubing, four test tubes containing different chemicals, and rubber stoppers. Which of these steps is most critical for students to follow when using these materials in the lab?

  1. wearing eye protection at all times
  2. writing the lab procedure in a notebook
  3. washing hands before starting the experiment
  4. placing a stopper on all test tubes before heating them

The table below shows the number of species of different types of simple land plants.

_____2.According to the table, approximately what proportion of all simple plant species are bryophytes?

  1. 1/3 C. 2/3
  2. 1/2 D. 3/4

_____3.A scientist is performing an investigation funded by a company. Which of these would be least likely to produce biased data?

  1. making the results please the company paying for the research
  2. being open minded and honest throughout the research project
  3. using only the data that supports the hypothesis
  4. using personal opinions to decide the results of the research

Scientists are developing a microscopic submarine to deliver medicine to sites within the body. A biomotor that uses bacteria would move the submarine. The scientists are experimenting with several species of bacteria to find which one works best in the biomotor.

_____4.Which of these is the dependent variable in the scientists' experiment?

  1. the species of bacteria
  2. the movement of the submarine
  3. the size of the submarine
  4. the sites within the body

Use the information and the graph below to answer the next question.

A group of students studied the effect of light intensity on the rate of a cell process in Elodea plants. The students exposed Elodea plants to different light intensities. A gas was produced by the cell process. The amount of this gas was measured. The rate of the cell process was determined by the amount of gas produced. A graph of the students' measurements is shown below.

_____5.Which of these is the independent variable in this experiment?

  1. rate of cell processC. size of Elodea plant
  2. volume of gasD. intensity of light

The graph below shows the relationship between annual rainfall and plant tissue growth rates in an ecosystem.

_____6.Which of these statements describes the trend shown by the data in the graph?

  1. As rainfall increased, the amount of plant material decreased.
  2. The amount of rainfall decreased as the amount of plant material increased.
  3. As rainfall increased, the amount of plant material increased.
  4. Rainfall had no effect on the amount of plant material.

_____7.Students are conducting an experiment to determine if sugars are present in foods. They heat a test tube containing a sugar solution in a beaker of water. Which of these is an unsafe laboratory practice in this experiment?

  1. heating the sugar solution in a closed test tube
  2. rinsing hands with water after handling the materials
  3. using a test tube clamp to hold the test tube
  4. wearing safety goggles while heating the sugar solution

A scientist is comparing the bird sound patterns among three species of sparrow. He uses a machine to produce an image of their sounds. His data are shown in the figure below.

_____8.Which of these is an accurate statement about the data?

  1. The beginning and the end of the song sparrow's sound pattern are identical.
  2. The swamp sparrow's sound pattern is similar to the white-crowned sparrow's sound pattern.
  3. The end of the white-crowned sparrow's sound pattern is very different from its beginning.
  4. The end of the swamp sparrow's sound pattern is identical to the end of the song sparrow's sound pattern.

_____9.A student wants to perform an investigation to determine the heart rate of a rabbit. The teacher tells her the heart rate should be about 100 beats per minute. How could this information affect the investigation?

  1. It could introduce bias.
  2. It could remove experimental error.
  3. It could increase the accuracy of the data.
  4. It could reduce the number of measurements needed.

A student performed an experiment to determine the relationship between air temperature and growth in plants. She divided 36 seedlings into six groups and grew each group at a different temperature. She recorded the average height of the plants in each group after a four-week period. Her results are shown below.

_____10.Which of these statements best describes the results shown in the graph?

  1. As temperature increases, the average height of the plants continually increases.
  2. Temperature only affects average height between 18°C and 24°C.
  3. As temperature increases, the average height of the plants first increases and then decreases.
  4. Average height levels off at a temperature of 18°C.

Use the description of the experiment below to answer the next two questions.

A student washes her hands with antibacterial soap and water. Then she touches the agar in a petri dish with her thumb. The agar contains nutrients that support the growth of bacteria. Other students repeat the procedure after washing their hands with three different kinds of antibacterial soap. The petri dishes are kept warm overnight to allow bacteria to grow. The next day the students count the number of bacterial colonies in each dish.

_____11.Which of these questions are the students most likely trying to answer?

  1. How long does it take soap to kill bacteria?
  2. Which soap is most effective in killing bacteria?
  3. Which nutrients are necessary to grow bacteria?
  4. How many bacteria are on the average thumb?

_____12.What should be the effect of the soap in this experiment?

  1. It should be toxic to the bacteria.
  2. It should help the bacteria to grow.
  3. It should change the pH of the agar.
  4. It should destroy the nutrients in the agar.

Students collected 400 oak leaves for a research project. The graph below shows the lengths of the leaves they collected.

_____13.According to the graph, what proportion of the leaves have a length of 12 centimeters?

  1. 1/10 C. 3/10
  2. 1/5 D. 2/5

_____14.To test the effectiveness of a new medicine, a drug company performed a study. Researchers from the company gave pills that contained the new medicine to one group of patients; they gave pills that did not contain any medicine to another group of patients. Why were the patients not told which type of pill they were taking?

  1. to keep patients from becoming angry
  2. to prevent bias when collecting data
  3. to prevent errors when collecting data
  4. to keep patients from dropping out of the study

_____15.A scientist is testing milk for the presence of bacteria. Exactly 25 milliliters of a test solution must be added to each milk sample. Which of these instruments would most accurately measure the volume of the test solution?

  1. a beakerC. a measuring cup
  2. a test tubeD. a graduated cylinder

Read the conversion shown below.

_____16.A cell measures 5 micrometers in diameter. Which of these is the diameter in millimeters?

  1. 5 x 10-3 mmC. 5 x 10-6 mm
  2. 5 x 103 mmD. 5 x 106 mm

Use the information and the graph below to answer the next three questions.

Scientists wanted to study the effect of water temperature on the swimming speed of goldfish. They set up an experiment in which they raised populations of goldfish in two different aquariums. Population 1 was raised at 5°C. Population 2 was raised at 25°C. All other variables were constant in both aquariums. The results of this experiment are shown in the graph below.

_____17.If the temperature of the water increases from 5°C to 10°C, the goldfish in Population 1 would most likely

  1. produce less carbon dioxideC. use more oxygen
  2. eat less foodD. excrete more salt

_____18.According to the graph, both populations of goldfish swim at the same speed at which of these temperatures?

  1. 12°C C. 22°C
  2. 17°C D. 27°C

_____19.According to the graph, as the water temperature increases from 5°C to 25°C, the average speed of the goldfish in Population 1

  1. increases
  2. decreases
  3. first increases, then decreases
  4. first decreases, then increases

Scientists planted an equal number of plants in different soil conditions. After 7 days, they counted the number of plants still alive. The following data were collected.

_____20.What variables were tested in the experiment?

  1. soil temperature and soil moisture
  2. light exposure and soil temperature
  3. soil moisture and light exposure
  4. soil moisture and soil composition

_____21.Which of these units is best for measuring the height of a newly sprouted plant?

  1. metersC. millimeters
  2. liters D. milliliters

_____22.A company that manufactures vitamins wanted to determine whether the vitamins had side effects. The company chose 2000 individuals to take one vitamin tablet per day for six months. Representatives from the company surveyed the participants to determine whether they had experienced any side effects. Which of these is the greatest problem with the procedure?

  1. No control group was used.
  2. The study lasted only six months.
  3. The sample size was not large enough.
  4. Only one brand of vitamin was tested.

Use the description of the experiment, the diagram, and the graph to answer the next two questions.

Students in a biology class studied the effects of temperature on the production of carbon dioxide by yeast cells. They designed an investigation using materials similar to those shown below. They counted the number of carbon dioxide bubbles produced by the yeast at different temperatures. The graph below shows the results.

_____23.According to the data, which of these is the best conclusion that can be made from this study?

  1. Carbon dioxide production by yeast cells is not influenced by temperature.
  2. Yeast cells produce more carbon dioxide at lower temperatures.
  3. The higher the temperature, the greater the production of carbon dioxide by yeast cells.
  4. Carbon dioxide production by yeast cells first increases then decreases as the temperature rises.

_____24.Which of these corresponds to the amount of carbon dioxide that would most likely be produced at 30°C?

  1. 20 bubbles per minuteC. 60 bubbles per minute
  2. 40 bubbles per minuteD. 80 bubbles per minute

_____25.A laboratory procedure calls for chilling25 milliliters of a sugar solution to 5°C. Which piece of laboratory equipment will not be needed?

  1. bulb thermometerC. Bunsen burner
  2. metric rulerD. graduated cylinder

Part B. Brief Constructed Response Question

26. A student reads an advertisement from a fertilizer company. The advertisement claims their fertilizer increases the growth of tomato plants by 25 percent. The student decides to perform an experiment to test this claim. She performs the following procedure.

a)Choose three similar-sized tomato plants.

b)Plant each tomato plant in a small pot.

c)Place all three small pots into one container and place on a window sill.

d)Add fertilizer mixed with water to Plants 1 and 2.

e)Add only water to Plant 3.

f)Record the heights of the three plants after four weeks.

The student's results are shown in the table below.

Analyze the student's experiment to determine if it supports the claims made in the fertilizer company's advertisement. In your response, be sure to include

  • a description of the data needed to support the company's claim
  • an explanation of the results of the student's experiment
  • an evaluation of the student's experiment
  • a description of any changes you would make to the experiment; explain your answer.

Write your answer in the space assigned by your teacher.

27. Researchers tested a new product designed to remove mildew from household surfaces. They gave free samples of the product to 100 different households. They collected these data: 70 households reported that the product was effective in removing mildew; 30 households reported that the product was not effective in removing mildew. From these data, the researchers concluded that the product was 70% effective in removing mildew from household surfaces.

  • Why is this a misleading conclusion?
  • In your response, discuss how this experiment could be designed to give more reliable results.

Write your answer in the space assigned by your teacher.

28. Rafael was given an assignment to determine how the appearance of frog blood cells change when they are placed in distilled water. He is using an incorrect setup to perform his investigation. His laboratory setup is shown in the figure below.


Critique Rafael's setup shown in the figure. In your response, be sure to include

  • any unsafe laboratory equipment and procedures shown in the figure
  • a description of the materials and safe setup for the correct investigation
  • an explanation of why it is important to follow the correct procedures in the laboratory
  • any safety precautions you have used during an investigation in biology; provide specific details and the reasons for taking the precautions

Write your answer in the space assigned by your teacher.

28. The concentration of salt in water affects the hatching of brine shrimp eggs. A scientist wants to determine the best conditions in which to hatch the shrimp eggs. In a laboratory, brine shrimp will grow at room temperature in small glass containers of salt water.

Describe the steps of a controlled experiment that would determine the best saltwater concentration in which to hatch brine shrimp eggs. In your response, be sure to indicate

  • the materials that will be used
  • the type of data that will be collected
  • how the data will be used to answer questions about the salt requirements of brine shrimp.

Write your answer in the space assigned by your teacher.

Biology HSA Review Spring 2006

Skills & Experimental Design Practice Test 1