Regents Living Environment Test Preparation Practice

    Evolution

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    Base your answers to questions 11 on the passage below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Inherited instructions control the color patterns of snakes. Some snakes that are not poisonous have colors that resemble the patterns on poisonous snakes. Predators avoid eating harmless snakes that have color patterns similar to those of the poisonous snakes. The results of a recent study indicate that predators in areas that have only harmless snakes do not avoid attacking snakes that have color patterns similar to poisonous snakes.

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    Base your answers to questions 12 on the information and chart below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Scientists studied the distribution of a species of pocket mouse that lived in the sandy desert regions of the southwestern United States. They are eaten by a variety of predators. Pocket mice are active at night, and feed on seeds and grasses. A single female mouse can reproduce several times each year, producing a litter of 3 to 13 offspring each time. Each new litter is considered a generation.

    A volcanic eruption that resulted in lava flows changed the color of the area that the mice inhabit from light brown to black. Data from the scientist’s research of the population are shown in the chart below.

    evolution, altered genes and new inheritable characteristics, evolution, altered genes and new inheritable characteristics fig: lenv62016-examw_g24.png

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    Base your answers to questions 13 on the illustration and information below and on your knowledge of biology.

    evolution, naturel selection fig: lenv62019-examw_g27.png

    The illustration is of a species commonly called the little brown bat. It has 38 teeth and usually lives near bodies of water. The animal is considered beneficial by many people because it eats mosquitoes and many types of garden pests. They feed at night, detecting their prey by echolocation—a form of sonar similar to what is used on ships. They can determine the location and size of their prey by listening to the return echo.

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    Base your answers to questions 14 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Guppies are small, tropical freshwater fish that display wide variation in coloration. Some have bright splotches of blue, red, and orange, while others are quite drab and dull. Research has shown that females prefer to mate with brightly colored males; however, this trait makes them more likely to be seen. Guppies, like all species, must be able to both sur- vive and reproduce in order to avoid extinction.

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    Base your answers to questions 15 on the information below and on your knowledge of biology.

    Female mosquitoes need a meal of blood from a person or other animal in order to produce eggs. It has been discovered that mosquitoes have cells on their antennae that can detect the insect repellent known as DEET. The repellent is not harmful to mosquitoes, but when mosquitoes detect DEET, they will not land on the surface where the DEET has been applied. This protects people from being bitten by mosquitoes.

    Recently, scientists found some mosquitoes that are resistant to DEET because they do not detect its presence. They bred these mosquitoes and eventually produced a population consisting of about 50% DEET-resistant insects.

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