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AP Biology Core Vocabulary Quiz

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AP Biology Vocabulary

Core Vocabulary
Unit 1 Vocabulary
Unit 2 Vocabulary
Unit 3 Vocabulary
Unit 4 Vocabulary

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AP Biology Core Vocabulary: Science Skills

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Question 1 of 20

1. Question

A researcher notices that plants exposed to blue light appear taller than those exposed to green light. She proposes that blue light increases photosynthetic efficiency, leading to greater stem elongation. Which term best categorizes this proposed testable explanation?

Theory
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Hypothesis
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Prediction
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Controlled Experiment
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Question 2 of 20

2. Question

Before running an experiment, a researcher states: ‘If plants are grown under blue light, then they will gain more biomass over 30 days than plants grown under green light.’ What component of the scientific method does this statement represent?

Prediction
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Independent variable
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Null hypothesis
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Theory
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Question 3 of 20

3. Question

A study is designed to test the effect of a specific enzyme inhibitor on cellular respiration rates. All test tubes are kept at 25°C and pH 7.0, with identical substrate concentrations, changing only the presence of the inhibitor. What type of scientific investigation is this?

Controlled experiment
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Observational study
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Chi square hypothesis test
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Descriptive study
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Question 4 of 20

4. Question

In an experiment measuring the impact of a novel antibiotic on bacterial growth, one set of Petri dishes receives no antibiotic treatment while maintaining identical nutrient agar, temperature, and light conditions. What does this untreated set represent?

Dependent variable
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Positive control
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Control group
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Experimental group
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Question 5 of 20

5. Question

Researchers test three different concentrations of a synthetic auxin on stem elongation rates. The seedling batches that receive the auxin solutions represent which component of the experiment?

Negative control group
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Control group
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Null hypothesis
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Experimental group
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Question 6 of 20

6. Question

An investigation measures the rate of oxygen gas production in Elodea plants subjected to varying light intensities (10, 20, 30, and 40 W/m²). In this experiment, what does light intensity represent?

Independent variable
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Dependent variable
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Standard error of the mean
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Negative control group
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Question 7 of 20

7. Question

In an experiment examining how temperature affects amylase activity, scientists record the mass of maltose generated per minute. What does the mass of maltose generated represent?

Independent variable
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Null hypothesis
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Dependent variable
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Positive control group
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Question 8 of 20

8. Question

A scientist sets up an assay to test if a new compound inhibits enzyme activity. One tube contains enzyme, substrate, and buffer, but replaces the drug compound with solvent alone to ensure no background inhibition occurs. What is this tube?

Dependent variable
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Experimental group
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Negative control group
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Positive control group
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Question 9 of 20

9. Question

To verify that a PCR setup is capable of amplifying target DNA, a researcher includes a sample containing a known template DNA sequence known to produce a distinct 500 bp band. What does this sample represent?

Positive control group
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Dependent variable
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Null hypothesis
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Negative control group
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Question 10 of 20

10. Question

A researcher designs an experiment to evaluate whether a new fertilizer treatment alters tomato plant growth rates. Which statement represents a properly framed null hypothesis (H₀) for this experiment?

The fertilizer treatment accelerates cell division in stem tissue
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The fertilizer treatment has no effect on plant growth rate.
Correct Incorrect Correct answer

The fertilizer treatment significantly decreases plant growth rate.
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The fertilizer treatment significantly increases plant growth rate.
Correct Incorrect Correct answer

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Question 11 of 20

11. Question

Which term describes a broad, highly reliable explanatory framework supported by extensive empirical evidence, such as natural selection explaining the mechanisms of biological evolution?

Prediction
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Evaluate
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Hypothesis
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Theory
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Question 12 of 20

12. Question

A student measures five leaves from an oak tree and records lengths of 12cm, 14cm, 15cm, 15cm, and 19cm. Which measure of central tendency is calculated by dividing the sum of these values (75cm) by 5?

Standard error of the mean
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Chi square hypothesis test
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Mean
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Percentage change
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Question 13 of 20

13. Question

A cell culture density increases from an initial value of 200 cells/mL to 500 cells/mL following a 24-hour growth period. Which calculation is used to quantify the relative magnitude of this population increase relative to the starting density?

Mean
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Chi square hypothesis test
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Percent change
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Standard error of the mean
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Question 14 of 20

14. Question

A genetic cross between two heterozygous fruit flies produces 180 wild-type flies and 20 vestigial-winged flies. Which statistical test should be performed to determine if these results deviate significantly from a expected 3:1 Mendelian ratio?

Percent change
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Standard error of the mean
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Mean
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Chi square hypothesis test
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Question 15 of 20

15. Question

An AP Biology free-response question asks a student to analyze a point mutation in an enzyme and ‘provide reasoning for how altering the active site structure reduces reaction rate.’ Which AP Biology task verb corresponds to this biological requirement?

Evaluate
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Explain
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Hypothesis
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Describe
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Question 16 of 20

16. Question

An AP Biology exam question asks a student to ‘provide relevant characteristics of the selective permeability of a biological membrane.’ Which task verb requires stating essential features without explaining causal biological mechanisms?

Describe
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Null hypothesis
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Explain
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Evaluate
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Question 17 of 20

17. Question

A student is presented with a dataset showing hormone levels in diabetic mice and asked to ‘judge the credibility of the researchers’ conclusions using statistical evidence.’ Which AP Biology task verb is being tested?

Describe
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Evaluate
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Mean
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Explain
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Question 18 of 20

18. Question

Which statistical measure quantifies how accurately a sample mean estimates the population mean?

Percent change
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Standard error of the mean
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Mean
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Chi square hypothesis test
Correct Incorrect Correct answer

Correct

Incorrect
Question 19 of 20

19. Question

A bar graph plots sample means for two plant treatment groups with \(\pm 2\text{SE}_{\bar{x}}\) vertical brackets surrounding each bar top. What feature allows a reader to visually assess whether the treatment means are statistically significantly different?

Controlled experiment
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Chi square hypothesis test
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Standard error of the mean error bars
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Percent change
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Correct

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Question 20 of 20

20. Question

A student designs an experiment to measure the rate of catalase activity at four different temperatures (10°C, 20°C, 30°C, and 40°C ). In every trial, she maintains identical enzyme concentration, substrate volume, and reaction “pH” . Which component of experimental design do these unchanged conditions represent?

Controlled variables
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Negative controls
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Independent variables
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Dependent variables
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Correct

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Next: AP Biology Unit 1 Vocabulary

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