Not sure?  Look it up! EEB/MCB 182: Spring 2007.
Lectures by W. M. Schaffer.

Practice Questions: Lectures IX-XII.

Here are some practice questions on the material covered in Lectures IX - XI. You should also be prepared to label diagrams similar to Figures 2-4 (Lecture IX) and Figures 2-8 (Lecture X).

Caveat. My best efforts notwithstanding, this document almost certainly contains mistakes, typos, etc. Your calling these to my attention will be greatly appreciated.


  1. Which of the following characters distinguish echinoderms from chordates?
    1. Exoskeleton vs. endoskeleton.
    2. Filter feeding vs. active pursuit of prey.
    3. Pentameral vs. bilateral symmetry in adults.
    4. Sessile vs. active life style.
    5. All of the above.

  2. Sea stars have
    1. a water vascular system which they use for locomotion and gas exchange.
    2. an eversible stomach which can be inserted between the valves of their molluscan prey, the soft parts of which are then digested in situ.
    3. ciliated larvae that are bilaterally symmetric.
    4. a. and b.
    5. a., b. and c.

  3. Echinoderms are divided into two principal groups (subphyla). Of these, the ______________ are mostly extinct, being represented by living crinoids (sea lilies and feather stars). The _______________ include sea urchins, sand dollars, sea cucumbers, sea stars and brittle stars.

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  4. The hemichordate character suggesting chordate affinities is _____________ that facillitate _____________.

    5.  
  5. Vertebrate trunk muscles are arranged in ">-"shaped bundles called myomeres that attach to sheets of connective tissue, called myocommata. The latter, in turn, are anchored to the _______________.
    1. dorsal nerve cord
    2. neural arches of the vertebral centra
    3. notochord
    4. spinal cord
    5. vertebral column

  6. Label the organs marked a. - f. in accompanying figure of an archetypal vertebrate.
     

    7.  
  7. Which of the following statements regarding vertebrate gills are correct?
    1. Filter feeding came first; repiratory function, later.
    2. Never used in feeding - that's seen only in lower, i.e., pre-vertebrate, chordates.
    3. Respiratory function came first; filter feeding, later.
    4. a. and b.
    5. b. and c.

  8. The vertebrate jaw evolved from
    1. bony structures surrounding the mouths of primitive chordates.
    2. the gill arches of primitive chordates.
    3. the proboscis of hemichordates (acorn worms).
    4. the tunicate endostyle.
    5. the cephalochordate hypopharynx.

  9. What is the modern day version of Haeckel's Ontogenetic Law? What was the original form?

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  10. Give two examples from vertebrate evolution that illustrate the modern day version of Haeckel's Ontogenetic Law.

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  11. What is the neotenic theory of chordate origins?

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  12. What is the evidence for the neotenic theory of chordate origins?

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  13. An important theme in early vertebrate evolution was progressive
    1. enlargement of the higher centers of the brain.
    2. integration of the visceral and somatic parts of the body.
    3. integration of the voluntary and autonomic nervous systems.
    4. reduction of the anal and caudal fins.
    5. reduction of the gills.

  14. Which of the following statements applies to the class Agnatha?
    1. Are also called ray-finned fish.
    2. Included fearsome predators called arthrodires.
    3. Include sharks and rays.
    4. Included species with labyrinthodont teeth.
    5. Lacked jaws.

  15. Most classes of vertebrates are characterized by paired appendages. Which is not? _____________________

    16.  
  16. Which of the following statements applies to Placoderms?
    1. Are are also called ray-finned fish.
    2. Included fearsome predators called arthrodires.
    3. Include sharks and rays.
    4. Included species with labyrinthodont teeth.
    5. Lacked jaws.

  17. Which of the folling statements applies to Chondrichthyes?
    1. Are are also called ray-finned fish.
    2. Included fearsome predators called arthrodires.
    3. Include sharks and rays.
    4. Included species with labyrinthodont teeth.
    5. Lacked jaws.

  18. Which of the folling statements applies to Actinopterygians?
    1. Are are also called ray-finned fish.
    2. Included fearsome predators called arthrodires.
    3. Include sharks and rays.
    4. Included species with labyrinthodont teeth.
    5. Lacked jaws.

  19. Which of the folling statements applies to Crossopterygian fishes?
    1. Are are also called ray-finned fish.
    2. Included fearsome predators called arthrodires.
    3. Include sharks and rays.
    4. Included species with labyrinthodont teeth.
    5. Lacked jaws.

  20. The accompanying diagram is a drawing of the crossopterygian shoulder girdle. The names of the some of the bones have been replaced with the letters a. - e. .
    21. Associate each letter with one of the following bones: clavicle; humerus; radius; scapula; supracleithrum, ulna.
     
  21. One of the following characters does not point to sarcopterygians as the ancestors of tetrapods. Which one? Why not?
    1. Hinged braincase.
    2. Labyrinthodont teeth.
    3. Paired fins.
    4. Presence of a pineal "eye."
    5. Structure of the pectoral and pelvic girdles.

  22. Which of the following statements regarding lungs and air bladders is not true?
    1. Air bladders of extant freshwater holostean fishes, Lepidosteus (gar pike) and Amia (bowfin) have a folded inner surface and are capable of some gas exchange.
    2. In advanced actinopterygians, the bladder is closed and contains specialized areas for gas production and resorption.
    3. Polypterus, the so-called "bichir" of central Africa, has paired, ventral lungs and is probably representative of the primitive state that was antecedent to all other lung and bladder types.
    4. Primitively, the air bladder of actinopterygians is connected to the pharynx by a pneumatic duct, a condition which allows the animal to and gulp or discharge air, thereby adjusting its density.
    5. The first fishes had a dorsal bladder unconnected to the gut. In Devonian times, this structure migrated ventrally and became connected to the gut making possible the evolution of the first lungs.

  23. The evolution of the amniote egg freed early reptiles from the necessity of reproducing in water. Amniote eggs contain four extraembryonic membranes. Match each of the membranes to the corresponding function in the list below.

    24. 1. Allantois 1. encloses the embryo's food supply.
    2. Amnion 2. is a repository for dissolved embryonic wastes.
    3. Chorioallantoic (formed from parts of the chorion and the allantois) 3. serves as an embryonic lung.
    4. Chorion 4. surrounds the amnion and the allantois.
    5. Yolk sac 5. surrounds the embryo with a "bag of waters."

  24. Fick's Law holds that the rate at which gas diffuses across a membrane
    1. is proportional to the difference in gas concentration on either side of the membrane.
    2. is proportional to the thickness of the membrane
    3. varies inversely with the cross-sectional area over which the substance must diffuse.
    4. varies inversely with the diffusion coefficient of the substance in question.
    5. None of the above.

  25. In which of the following groups goes the oxygen-bearing medium pass unidirectionally over the gas exchange surfaces?
    1. Amphibia that breathe with lungs.
    2. Birds.
    3. Crocadillians
    4. Lizards.
    5. Mammals.

  26. Counter-current systems are commonly used by vertebrates and other animals to maximize the exchange of substances across membranes, conserve heat, etc. With regard to heat conservation, give three examples.

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  27. With regard to the concentration of oxygen, blood flow through the lamellae of fish gills is counter-current to the flow of water over the lamellae. What is the functional significance of this arrangement?

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  28. Compare the flow of blood and the acquisition of oxygen in fish and insects.

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  29. Discuss the transport of CO2 by mammalian erythrocytes.
     
  30. Red blood cells are produced in the
    1. Alveoli of the lungs.
    2. Bone marrow.
    3. Kidney.
    4. Pancreas.
    5. Spleen.

  31. Erithropoietin is produced in the
    1. Alveoli of the lungs.
    2. Bone marrow.
    3. Kidney.
    4. Pancreas.
    5. Spleen.

  32. The three principal mammalian blood cell types are ___________, ______________, and ____________.

    33.  
  33. CO2-sensitive chemoreceptors are located in the
    1. Medulla.
    2. Pancreas.
    3. Pons.
    4. Spinal cord.
    5. Spleen.

  34. CO2 is transported principally
    1. As CaCO3 by leukocytes.
    2. As CaCO3 by red blood cells.
    3. As HCO3- by leukocytes.
    4. As HCO3- by red blood cells.
    5. None of the above.

  35. The left-shifted oxygen dissociation curve of fetal hemoglobin reflects the fact that
    1. Fetal hemoglobin is a monomer.
    2. Fetal hemoglobin has greater affinity for carbonic anhydrase than adult hemoglobin.
    3. Fetal hemoglobin has less affinity for carbonic anhydrase than adult hemoglobin.
    4. Fetal hemoglobin has greater affinity for DPG than adult hemoglobin.
    5. Fetal hemoglobin has less affinity for DPG than adult hemoglobin.

  36. Among mammals, oxygen dissociation curves
    1. Are progressively shifted to the left as one goes from large species to small. This probably reflects the fact that per gram metabolic rates decrease with decreasing body size.
    2. Are progressively shifted to the left as one goes from large species to small. This probably reflects the fact that per gram metabolic rates increase with decreasing body size.
    3. Are progressively shifted to the right as one goes from large species to small. This probably reflects the fact that per gram metabolic rates decrease with decreasing body size.
    4. Are progressively shifted to the right as one goes from large species to small. This probably reflects the fact that per gram metabolic rates increase with decreasing body size.

  37. Cheyne-Stokes respiration illustrates the general principle that
    1. Feedback conntrol loops destabilize the internal environment.
    2. Feedback control loops stabilize the internal environment.
    3. Introduction of time delays in feedback control loops can be destabilizing.
    4. Introduction of time delays in feedback control loops can be stabilizing.

  38. The maintainance of an internal environment consistent with proper physiological function is called ______________.

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  39. The brine shrimp, Artemia is able to tolerate a wide range of environmental conditions ranging from dilute sea water to the hypersaline conditions of the Great Salt Lake. It does so by being
    1. An osmoconformer.
    2. An osmoregulator.
    3. Both an osmoconformer and an osmoregulator, depending on environmental conditions.

  40. In addition to exchanging CO2 for oxygen, the gills of freshwater fish exchange ____________ for _____________.

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  41. Nitrogenous wastes, ammonia, urea and uric acid, are the breakdown products of metabolizing proteins and nucleic acids. Energetically, the cheapest to manufacture is ammonia, and most bony fish lose this compound in the form of NH4+. By way of contrast, terrestrial animals principally excrete urea or uric acid, even though these compounds are more expensive to manufacture. The reason for this is that
    1. Enzymes that catalyze the production of ammonia were lost in the transition from water to land.
    2. Terrestrial organisms have more energy "to burn" inasmuch as they live in more productive environments.
    3. The diets of terrestrial organisms contain less nitrogen than the diets of fishes.
    4. Urea and uric acid are less toxic and can be concentrated to a greater extent before elimination thereby conserving water.
    5. a. and b.

  42. The vertebrate kidney is composed of ___________. The proximal ___________ filters the blood. The resulting filtrate, which lacks cells and large molecules, is concentrated in the distal ______________.
    43.

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