Biology 6– to 12

Test Format and Sample Questions

The Biology 6– to 12 subject area test consists of approximately 80 multiple-choice questions. You will have two and one-half hours to complete the test.

Each of the questions will contain four response options. You will choose the best response out of the available options, and indicate A, B, C, or D.

The table below presents types of questions on the exam and directs you to examples of these formats among the sample items that follow.

Table of Question Formats

Type of Question	Sample Question
Command Select the best response option.	Question 2
Scenario Examine a situation, problem, or case study. Then answer a question, make a diagnosis, or recommend a course of action by selecting the best response option.	Question 6
Sentence Completion Select the response option that best completes the sentence.	Question 15
Direct Question Choose the response option that best answers the question.	Question 29

Sample Questions

The following questions represent both the form and content of questions on the examination. These questions will acquaint you with the general format of the examination; however, these sample questions do not cover all of the competencies and skills that are tested and will only approximate the degree of examination difficulty.

---

Competency 1—Knowledge of the investigative processes of science

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which sequence of events best describes a common scientific research methodology?

Choose an answer

1. hypothesize, experiment, observe, analyze
2. observe, hypothesize, experiment, analyze
3. hypothesize, observe, analyze, experiment
4. observe, experiment, hypothesize, analyze

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

---

Competency 1—Knowledge of the investigative processes of science

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Biology students performed an experiment to determine the effect of temperature on heart rate in the crustacean Daphnia. Each group of students exposed Daphnia to varying temperatures from 0 °C to 30 °C and measured the number of heartbeats per minute for three Daphnia after 1 minute of exposure to each temperature. An average was taken for the three Daphnia at each temperature. Identify the independent variable for this experiment.

Choose an answer

1. heart rate
2. temperature
3. number of crustaceans
4. length of exposure

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

---

Competency 1—Knowledge of the investigative processes of science

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

To be effective, a simple experiment must

Choose an answer

1. occur in a research laboratory.
2. stand alone without replication.
3. manipulate one variable at a time.
4. validate the hypothesis being tested.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

---

Competency 1—Knowledge of the investigative processes of science

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following types of data is considered quantitative?

Choose an answer

1. plant height
2. flower color
3. bird species
4. fish gender

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

---

Competency 2—Knowledge of the interactions between science, technology, and society

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Farmers currently use genetically enhanced varieties of seed because these varieties

Choose an answer

1. provide greater resistance to disease and pests.
2. yield crops that require less labor to harvest.
3. reduce soil loss on erosion-prone land.
4. increase biodiversity in native populations.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

---

Competency 2—Knowledge of the interactions between science, technology, and society

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

A student finds a bat sleeping on the ground outside the school and asks to bring it inside to show the class. The teacher should deny this request and caution everyone to stay away from the bat because bats are

Choose an answer

1. very aggressive and are likely to attack anyone who comes close.
2. colonial animals and are likely to kill any bat that has a human scent on it.
3. highly excitable and are likely to die if they are handled by humans.
4. often carriers of rabies and are likely to bite if they are infected with this disease.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 3—Knowledge of the chemical processes of living things

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following participants in chemical reactions are most likely to be regenerated and not appear in the net reactions?

Choose an answer

1. reactants
2. intermediates
3. products
4. catalysts

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 3—Knowledge of the chemical processes of living things

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

NAD⁺ functions in the citric acid cycle as a(an)

Choose an answer

1. enzyme.
2. hydrogen acceptor.
3. cytochrome.
4. supplier of energy.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

---

Competency 3—Knowledge of the chemical processes of living things

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

What is the most likely effect on plant tissue of an excess of sodium chloride in soil?

Choose an answer

1. depletion of oxygen
2. denaturation of enzymes
3. alteration of lipid structures
4. creation of water deficit

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 3—Knowledge of the chemical processes of living things

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Chemosynthetic microbes provide the foundation for biological colonization of

Choose an answer

1. deep-sea vents.
2. coral reefs.
3. tidal pools.
4. mud flats.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

---

Competency 4—Knowledge of the interactions between cell structure and cell function

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

White blood cells that engulf and destroy bacteria in the human body have structures containing hydrolytic enzymes that digest the bacteria. These structures are called

Choose an answer

1. microtubules.
2. lysosomes.
3. vacuoles.
4. plastids.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

---

Competency 4—Knowledge of the interactions between cell structure and cell function

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following activities occurs during cytokinesis?

Choose an answer

1. The cell plate divides an animal cell into two cells.
2. The cleavage furrow divides a plant cell into two cells.
3. The cleavage furrow divides a bacterium into two cells.
4. The cell plate divides a plant cell into two cells.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 4—Knowledge of the interactions between cell structure and cell function

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Nutrient ions are present in the groundwater in lower concentrations than they are in cells of plant root hairs. What process is responsible for moving the ions across the cell membrane?

Choose an answer

1. cytoplasmic streaming
2. diffusion
3. osmosis
4. active transport

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 5—Knowledge of genetic principles, processes, and applications

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

In human blood types, a person with both the A allele and the B allele will have type AB blood that has antibodies reflecting the presence of both alleles; therefore, the A and B alleles show

Choose an answer

1. codominance.
2. incomplete dominance.
3. a pleiotropic effect.
4. a polygenic effect.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

---

Competency 5—Knowledge of genetic principles, processes, and applications

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

A genetic disorder caused by the movement of a segment of chromosome 22 to chromosome 9 is an example of a(an)

Choose an answer

1. duplication.
2. inversion.
3. translocation.
4. deletion.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

---

Competency 6—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of viruses and prokaryotic organisms

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

The characteristic unique to a virus when compared to a bacterium is that the virus

Choose an answer

1. transfers genetic material through conjugation.
2. contains a circular chromosome of DNA.
3. changes its genotype through transformation.
4. requires a host cell for reproduction.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 6—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of viruses and prokaryotic organisms

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following infections is caused by a retrovirus?

Choose an answer

1. hepatitis B
2. smallpox
3. HIV/AIDS
4. herpes simplex

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

---

Competency 6—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of viruses and prokaryotic organisms

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

The introduction of genetic material by an infectious bacteriophage is called

Choose an answer

1. conjugation.
2. conduction.
3. transduction.
4. transformation.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

---

Competency 7—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of protists, fungi, and plants

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Dormancy in seeds is likely to be advantageous for which of the following reasons?

Choose an answer

1. It allows the embryo more time to absorb food stored in the seed.
2. It allows the seed to pass through animal digestive systems unharmed.
3. It increases the chances that water can be absorbed by the seed over a longer period of time.
4. It increases the chances that the seed will germinate under conditions favorable for the growth of the seedling.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 7—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of protists, fungi, and plants

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Plants with thick cuticles and sunken stomata are most likely to occur in environments characterized by a(an)

Choose an answer

1. shortage of sunlight.
2. shortage of water.
3. abundance of herbivores.
4. abundance of soil organisms.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

---

Competency 7—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of protists, fungi, and plants

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Fruits contribute to the success of angiosperms by

Choose an answer

1. nourishing developing embryos.
2. facilitating dispersal of seeds.
3. attracting insects as pollinators.
4. protecting sperm and eggs.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

---

Competency 8—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of animals

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following glands is both endocrine and exocrine?

Choose an answer

1. thyroid
2. pancreas
3. pituitary
4. adrenal

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: B.

---

Competency 8—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of animals

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following vitamins helps regulate the blood calcium level?

Choose an answer

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 8—Knowledge of the structural and functional diversity of animals

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Exaggerated and stylized grooming, preening, and food-gathering behaviors of birds are elaborate communications related to

Choose an answer

1. selecting a nest.
2. preparing for migration.
3. fledging young.
4. courting a mate.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: D.

---

Competency 9—Knowledge of ecological principles and processes

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Within which level of organization can gene flow occur?

Choose an answer

1. community
2. phylum
3. species
4. ecosystem

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

---

Competency 9—Knowledge of ecological principles and processes

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following groups consists entirely of ways that carbon is released into the atmosphere?

Choose an answer

1. forest fires, transpiration, cellular respiration
2. photosynthesis, nitrogen fixation, organic decomposition
3. forest fires, cellular respiration, volcanic eruptions
4. photosynthesis, nitrification, burning of fossil fuels

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

---

Competency 9—Knowledge of ecological principles and processes

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which of the following associations of a plant with its habitat is an example of secondary succession?

Choose an answer

1. lichen . . . bare rock
2. liverwort . . . glacial morraine
3. weed . . . abandoned field
4. moss . . . volcanic debris

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: C.

---

Competency 9—Knowledge of ecological principles and processes

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Florida's cypress forests are being depleted mainly due to

Choose an answer

1. logging for the production of mulch for landscaping.
2. water diversion projects for floodwater management.
3. mining phosphate for the production of commercial fertilizer.
4. nature-based tourism for increased revenue.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

---

Competency 10—Knowledge of evolutionary mechanisms

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Which example best illustrates a mechanism consistent with the process of punctuated equilibrium?

Choose an answer

1. Formation of a polyploid generation leads to a rapid increase of the flower size and seed numbers of a particular species of dandelion.
2. Slow climatic change causes cold-adapted species to die off as other warm-adapted species migrate into new areas.
3. Fire kills off most plants in an area and they slowly recolonize the area through succession.
4. Cyclical drought causes the average leaf size of a species of plant to become smaller for several generations.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

---

Competency 10—Knowledge of evolutionary mechanisms

DIRECTIONS: Read the question and select the best response.

Stanley Miller and Harold Urey's classic experiments showed that

Choose an answer

1. simple organic compounds could have been produced by lightning and early atmospheric gases.
2. simple organic compounds could have been formed by the oxidation of inorganic compounds.
3. complex organic compounds could have been brought to Earth by meteorites.
4. complex organic compounds could have been formed by submerged volcanoes and deep-sea vents.

AnswerEnter to expand or collapse answer.Answer expanded

Correct Response: A.

---

Copyright © 2020 by the State of Florida, Department of State