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LRHS STAAR Categories 3 & 4 Checkpoint

Last updated 11 months ago

12 questions

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Question 1

1.

A new predator of rabbits has been introduced within an ecosystem. This new predator runs
faster than the native predators of rabbits.

Which statement describes what will most likely occur in the rabbit population due to the
introduction of the predator?

The rabbits will mutate their genes and express genes that increase their speed.

Slower rabbits will develop stronger legs and pass this trait to their offspring.

Rabbits will mate and produce offspring with a different species that has faster runners.

Question 2

2.

The San Marcos salamander, Eurycea nana, is a light reddish-brown translucent salamander
about 2–5 cm in length. E. nana is found only in Spring Lake and a portion of the San Marcos
River.

Which human activity would most likely decrease the ability of the salamanders to survive?

Increasing water consumption that decreases the flow of clean water from the springs that
feed the river

Public transportation that reduces the number of automobiles that contribute to pollution
runoff into the river

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Question 3

3.

A type of cellular transport is shown.

Which description best identifies this type of cellular transport?

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Question 4

4.

Mice have two unlinked allele pairs that affect fur color. The table shows how allele pairs affect fur color. The term “agouti” describes fur with pigmentation that changes in each hair
from the shaft to the tip, giving the fur a banded appearance. Mice with the aa allele pair are albino, regardless of the second allele-pair combination.

What is the probability of albinism in the offspring of a cross between two mice with AaBb alleles?

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Question 5

5.

A partial Texas food web is shown.

The populations of which organisms will most likely increase as a result of a disease that suddenly reduced the population of Texas horned lizards?

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Question 6

6.

A biomass pyramid of an ecosystem is shown.

Which statement provides the best explanation for the difference in biomass of organisms found at each trophic level?

Question 7

7.

CRISPR-Cas9 is a genetic modification technique that edits parts of the genome of an
organism. Using this technique scientists can add, remove, or modify sections of the DNA
sequence.

How can scientists use this technique to control gene expression?

By activating or deactivating specific genes

By calculating the number of genes different organisms produce

By identifying how closely related one individual is to another

Question 8

8.

During secondary succession, which of these best describes why decomposing pioneer plants
give way to larger, more complex plants species, such as hardwood trees?

Increased amounts of sunlight are able to reach the ground while the pioneer species are decomposing.

Increased soil temperatures from decomposing pioneer species help tree seeds germinate more quickly.

Increased amounts of decomposing pioneer species remove nutrients that tree seedlings need to grow and mature.

Increased amounts of soil from decomposing pioneer species allow plants with more extensive root systems to become established.

Question 9

9.

The white cattail is a hybrid species of plant that is a result of the cross between the broad-leaved cattail and the narrow-leaved cattail. Over time, the white cattail has established itself in the wetlands of Midwestern states.

Which of these explains the success of the white cattail?

Favorable genes from parental generations provide advantageous characteristics to the hybrid species. 

Hybridization produces offspring traits that allow different species to survive in extreme environments.

Inherited traits passed on from parental generations make hybrid species more susceptible to disease.

Question 10

10.

Adaptations that result from natural selection are expected to increase the fitness of an organism. In terms of natural selection, which of the following best describes fitness?

Being able to escape from predators 

Being among the strongest organisms in a population

Being able to survive, find a mate, and produce offspring

Being able to survive long enough to reach the adult stage

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Question 11

11.

The image shows part of the humerus bone in different genera of primates.

Which statement is best supported by the observable structures of the different humerus bones?

Question 12

12.

Two scientists studied patterns of evolution in the fossil record. Many species they analyzed showed periods of slow changes interrupted by a period of rapid change.

This pattern of periods of slow change interrupted by periods of rapid change with few, if any transitional fossils, best describes the theory of —

Natural selection

genetic drift

punctuated equilibrium

gene flow

Faster rabbits will survive and reproduce increasing the average speed of the rabbit
population.

Tourism that helps fund the educational programs related to river ecosystem conservation

The addition of a new food source into the river that limits competition for resources

Active transport, because energy is being used to move molecules against the concentration gradient

Facilitated diffusion, because energy is being used to move molecules with the concentration gradient

Osmosis, because energy is not being used to move molecules with the concentration gradient

Endocytosis, because energy is not being used to move molecules against the concentration gradient

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Grasses and ants

Ants and grasshoppers

Grasshoppers and Texas cottonmouths

Texas cottonmouths and red-shouldered hawks

Organisms at higher trophic levels have less energy available to them than organisms at lower trophic levels.

Organisms at higher trophic levels require smaller habitats than organisms at lower trophic levels.

Organisms at lower trophic levels provide less energy than organisms at higher trophic levels.

Organisms at lower trophic levels outcompete organisms at higher trophic levels.

By determining the number of chromosomes in an organism

Hybrid species display more adaptations due to their reduced genetic diversity.

The primates lived in similar environments. 

The primates shared a common ancestor.

The primates interbreed with similar organisms in a population.

The primates had diets that consisted of similar types of foods.