Reference no: EM132731847

1) A graduate student injects 8 rats with a chemical compound commonly found in the enviornment and finds that all the rats die within a few days. Eager to publish her results, the student comes to you, her adviser. What would you suggest the student do before publishing his results? Help her design a controlled experiment. State a good hypothesis, describe the experiment, identity the control group, indpendent, dependent and controlled variables.

2) Lithops are succulent plants that resemble stones. Describe four of the charactersitics of life that distinguish these plants from the dead stones they mimic.

3) In early spring, Dr. Tom Wilson notices that there is an equal distribution of long and short stemmed buttercups in the vacant lot across the street from his house as well as in his own backward. In late summer he notes that there are mostly long stemmed buttercups in the lot, but mostly short stemmed buttercups in his yard. These observations are examples of what biological principle? Develop a hypothesis to explain Dr. Wilson's observations.

4) Draw a water molecule and indicate the areas of positive and negative charges. Then briefly explain how plants are able to draw sufficient enough water for their needs, from their roots to their leaves.

5) Describe and explain the molecular differences with one example each for a structural protein and an enzyme.

6) Plants require water, carbon dioxide and sunlight to perform photosynthesis. Briefly describe and explain for which specific processes these items are needed. How will a plant react, if no water is available, which specific process(es) would be interrupted and why?

7) Before recombinant products were available, humans who needed hormones or other biological products such as insulin, had to use products that were harvested from other humans and non-human animals. Can you think of specific health risks that might be associated with products that were not made with genetically engineered bacteria? Any from the GM products?

8) A population of pygmy-deer become re-established on an island after having been absent for a very long time. They are given "protective status", and flourish in numbers. Then an unusally long and harsh winter happens. The deer are seen eating bark, raiding bird feeders, and some die. Describe the density-dependent and density independent factors at work here and explain what might be happening to this population.

9) List two environmental problems that you feel are the most urgent worldwide. Describe each of these problems. Which areas worldwide are suffering the most from these problems and why?