2026 (Jun.): NY Regents - Life Science: Biology

The muscles of the muscular system must be provided with more CO₂ by the lungs of the respiratory system to increase movement and prevent clot formation.

The blood transported by the circulatory system must have an increased number of platelets, produced by the bones of the skeletal system, to prevent clots from forming.

The bone marrow of the skeletal system decreases the production of platelets being released into the circulatory system, preventing clots from disrupting blood flow.

The nervous system increases body temperature, causing the amount of O₂ taken in by the lungs of the respiratory system to decrease, preventing the formation of blood clots.

When animals hibernate, white blood cell production increases, which uses more energy to maintain homeostasis.

White blood cell production decreases in the hibernating animals, which allows for the conservation of energy.

During hibernation, white blood cell production in animals decreases, which increases their ability to fight off disease.

When animals hibernate, white blood cell production is not affected and their ability to fight off diseases decreases.

The algae population exposed to 36 mg/L of nitrogen showed the most growth over the 13 days.

The algae population exposed to a pH of 8 reached the greatest density before seven days.

The algae population exposed to 144 mg/L of nitrogen reached the greatest density at 13 days.

The algae population exposed to a pH of 7 steadily increased after seven days.

Producers would increase, resulting in a greater amount of energy available for the rest of the food web, increasing their carrying capacities.

Algae populations would have a decreased carrying capacity, resulting in aquatic plants having more energy available, and increasing carrying capacity for the plants and consumers.

The carrying capacity of every organism in the food web will decrease, with the exception of producers, due to the increased algae populations taking in all of the energy available.

There will be an increase in the carrying capacity of the predators because algae is a major component of a predator’s diet.

Require farmers to use agricultural practices that minimize runoff into bodies of fresh water.

Add non-native species that consume algae to the water to keep algae populations under control.

Add additional chemicals to bodies of water that will eliminate the effects of nitrogen in the water.

Construct concrete barriers around all bodies of fresh water to prevent any nutrient runoff from entering the waterways.

Why does the DNA in frog skin cells have a different sequence than the DNA in other body cells that don’t produce pigment?

How do all frogs of the same species receive identical pigment proteins from their parents?

How does the combination of pigment-producing alleles the frog received from its parents determine frog skin color?

Why do different-colored tree frogs receive different amounts of DNA from their parents?

Green pigments absorbed sunlight better than black pigment and kept the frogs warmer.

Black frogs were more effective at avoiding predators than green frogs were.

Green coloration allowed the frogs to better camouflage themselves in the trees.

Black coloration allowed the frogs to attract more mates and produce more offspring.

Frogs exposed to high radiation had greater luminance and the lightest green coloration.

Frogs closest to the nuclear reactor had the lowest luminance and the highest levels of melanin.

Frogs exposed to lower radiation had higher skin luminance and higher levels of melanin.

Frogs farthest from the nuclear reactor had the lowest luminance and the darkest coloration.

The wild boars were the last to rebound because they were in competition with the roe deer for food.

The elk were always outcompeted for habitat by the roe deer because they live in the same general area.

All the species were initially impacted, and none of them were able to find ways to successfully compete in the new environment.

All the species were initially impacted, and all three species were able to find ways to obtain food and live within the same habitat.

Patients with PCOS do not experience the peak in FSH production that women without PCOS do, disrupting their menstrual cycle.

Patients with PCOS have a lower level of LH, so ovulation does not occur.

Progesterone and LH levels in women with PCOS remain elevated after day 14, resulting in irregularities in the menstrual cycle.

The levels of estrogen and FSH in women with PCOS are elevated, resulting in the overdevelopment of follicles present.

The ER stimulates the production of signal molecules, which causes a series of changes that allows the sperm to bind to the egg and form a zygote.

The signal molecules react with a sperm cell, stimulating the ER to release enzymes that are required to form an impenetrable membrane around the egg that prevents multiple sperm from entering it.

The receptor within the membrane of the egg binds with the sperm cell, causing a series of reactions that stimulate the ER to release signals, which leads to the formation of an impenetrable membrane.

The sperm cell membrane has a receptor that attaches to the egg cell, causing the release of enzymes within the sperm that can be used to prevent additional sperm from attaching to the egg.

The fossil record indicates that chimps and humans evolved 63 mya from a group of extinct primates that had tails.

Chimps share more DNA bases with humans than any other primate and had the most recent common ancestor.

Both chimps and humans lack a tail and are unable to produce any transcription factors during embryonic development.

Chimps and humans are physically the most similar and are adapted to the same habitat.

If coding region 6 of the $TBXT$ gene is expressed, the mRNA has the code necessary to produce the protein for the tailless trait in animal embryos.

The $TBXT$ gene is transcribed during embryonic development by both tailed and tailless animals.

Animal embryos will only produce a full-length tail when the coding region 6 of the $TBXT$ gene is expressed.

Another coding region in the $TBXT$ gene will take the place of coding region 6 if it is not transcribed because its role is critical for animal embryos to develop a tail.

Why do humans and chimps contain different variations of the $TBXT$ gene that result in the tailless trait in both species?

How does comparing the embryonic developmental sequence of hominoids with and without a $TBXT$ gene identify the cause for why non-hominoids don’t have tails?

How do the base sequences of the $TBXT$ gene in hominoids compare with the sequence of the $TBXT$ gene in other primates?

Which genes other than the $TBXT$ gene can be altered without producing the tailless trait in primates?

Photosynthesis stores solar energy in the roots of plants in the atmosphere, which eventually is returned to the environment when fossil fuels are formed in the biosphere.

Fossil fuels are formed when carbon from the biosphere is transferred to the geosphere after microbes partially decompose plants.

The carbon dioxide taken in by plants from the atmosphere is cycled back to the geosphere during the process of cellular respiration to form fossil fuels.

Water absorbed from the atmosphere is converted by cellular respiration into the carbon-containing matter in the geosphere, which is transformed into fossil fuels.

As plants died and decomposed, they provided more fossil fuels, which allowed even more plants to grow.

The increase in plant life released more water from photosynthesis, which allowed for the development of land animals.

As less carbon was captured by plants, animals began to develop due to less competition for atmospheric carbon.

Plants were releasing more gases through photosynthesis, which allowed for the development of more complex animal life.

The solution must meet the criteria of reducing the amount of carbon entering the atmosphere in order to address the need for improving air quality.

The size of all EVs must meet the criteria of being able to seat six adults and also limit the amount of carbon the vehicle releases into Earth’s atmosphere.

The constraint of the cost of electric vehicles must be higher than those powered by fossil fuels to encourage people to use public transportation.

The constraint of number of vehicle styles and colors must be comparable to those currently available to maintain consumer choice when purchasing an EV.

Plants use Process A to convert sunlight into stored energy within the leaves, which is used as a food source for honeybees.

Honeybees use Process B to transfer pollen, which allows the plant to produce fruit that is used as a food source for other organisms.

Plants use Process B to convert pollen into fruit within the flowers, which is used as a food source for honeybees.

Honeybees use Process A to convert sunlight into stored energy, which is used as a food source for other organisms.

Workers release pheromones to alert other workers, helping the colony defend itself from intruders.

Honeybees rely on instincts for survival, with each bee foraging, gathering pollen, and defending itself.

Drones contribute to defending the hive until they mate with the queen and are no longer useful, and then they are expelled.

Honeybees take on different roles as they age, allowing each bee to be able to complete all the necessary tasks themselves.

As honeybees were introduced into North America and experienced a variety of environmental changes, their population and genetic diversity increased.

When parasitic mites were introduced to honeybee colonies, their population size increased and genetic diversity decreased.

As honeybee breeders join colonies together, neither honeybee beehive size nor diversity is impacted.

As the honeybees experienced many changes over time, their genetic diversity and population size decreased.

Reintroducing tapirs was not successful because the population declined within 10 years after each reintroduction.

Reintroducing tapirs was successful because the tapir population size increased and then remained stable when reintroductions occurred.

Supplemental feeding did not successfully increase the tapir population because the population declined even when additional food was provided.

Supplemental feeding was successful because once food was provided the population remained stable for the remainder of the study.

Jaguars eat more caiman than Baird’s tapirs because caiman contain more available energy than Baird’s tapirs.

Jaguars are at a higher trophic level than the Baird’s tapir, therefore they have a greater percentage of energy available to support their population.

The Baird’s tapirs have fewer energy sources available to them at their trophic level than jaguars do at their level.

Baird’s tapirs are at a lower trophic level than jaguars, so they have more energy available that can be used to support a larger population.

The tapir uses the process of photosynthesis to transfer energy throughout the ecosystem.

Energy is captured by the jicaro trees in the process of photosynthesis and then transferred throughout the ecosystem.

Energy is transformed by the jaguar in the process of cellular respiration and then transferred throughout the ecosystem.

Mushrooms capture the Sun’s energy during the process of cellular respiration, which then flows throughout the ecosystem.

Caffeine enters the digestive system through the intestines and is then delivered directly to the nervous system to release energy.

Caffeine is absorbed into the blood vessels of the circulatory system from the intestines of the digestive system for use in the body.

The caffeine enters through the air sacs of the lungs in the respiratory system and then diffuses into the capillaries of the circulatory system for use in the body.

The caffeine enters through the muscles of the muscular system, which delivers it to the digestive system to release energy.

Environmental factors interacted with the DNA of a parent’s body cells to change the base sequence of the $ADORA2A$ gene.

A new genetic combination occurred in the $ADORA2A$ gene during mitosis in the neurons of a parent.

An error occurred in the $ADORA2A$ gene during DNA replication that was passed on in the gametes of at least one parent.

Continued exposure to caffeine caused a change in the expression of the $ADORA2A$ gene of a parent.

If heat damages the CYP1A2 enzyme in the parents, does that affect how their child will digest caffeine?

Can variations in the gene that codes for the CYP1A2 enzyme be passed from parents to offspring?

If offspring are exposed to caffeine during development, does that affect how they will digest caffeine?

Can the gene that codes for the CYP1A2 enzyme be in a noncoding region of DNA and be passed from parents to offspring?

The bilby shares a more recent common ancestor with the marsupial mole than the Tasmanian wolf because multiple gene insertions separate the Tasmanian wolf and bilby.

The wallaby and the Tasmanian devil share a more recent common ancestor because they have many of the same gene insertions.

The Tasmanian wolf and the numbat share a more recent common ancestor because they have no gene insertions.

The phascogale and the dunnart are less closely related than the dunnart and Tasmanian devil because the dunnart and Tasmanian devil have more gene insertions.

The separation of Australia from other continents made more habitats available to a greater diversity of marsupials.

Marsupial mammals did not have the genetic variations that they needed to survive in the new environment after the mass extinction.

The isolation of Australia resulted in bilbies, marsupial moles, and wallabies going extinct, which left many niches available for placental mammals to fill.

The genetic variations that led to placental mammals did not occur within isolated marsupial populations in Australia.

Parrots have decreased their beak size to reduce heat loss when the parrot is eating.

An increase in global surface temperatures has caused a decrease in gene frequencies for traits that help regulate body temperature.

An increase in global surface temperature has caused an increase in gene frequencies for traits that help regulate body temperature.

Bat wings have increased in length because longer wings increase body temperature when the bat is at rest.

Installing electric pumps to reverse the direction of groundwater seepage out of the lake and into the surrounding soil.

Requiring factories to chemically convert the mercury waste into solid compounds that can be filtered out before wastewater is added to the lake.

Add more chemical fertilizers to the agricultural farms near the lake to decrease food production.

Add more non-native fish species to the lake to increase gas exchange with the atmosphere.

As smaller fish are consumed by larger fish, the mercury within their tissues is passed on to the consumer, causing predators to contain levels of mercury that are ten times higher than their prey.

As smaller fish are consumed, the mercury within their tissues is removed from the environment, causing the ecosystem to recover at a rate ten times faster.

Organisms at lower trophic levels consume levels of mercury 100 times higher than their own as they feed on producers.

Organisms at the higher trophic levels live longer lives compared to other fish and take in ten times more mercury from the water over time.