GED Life Science Practice Questions, Set 2

1.White blood cells swallow bacteria and break them down using digestive enzymes stored in small sacs inside the cell. Which cell structures hold these enzymes?

1. A.Chloroplasts
2. B.Ribosomes
3. C.Cell walls
4. D.Lysosomes

2.On a cold morning, a person’s fingers turn pale because blood vessels in the skin narrow. How does this response help the body?

1. A.It sends extra blood to the fingers to warm them up
2. B.It keeps warm blood near the core and cuts heat loss
3. C.It makes the heart beat slower so it uses less energy
4. D.It lets cold air flow into the blood to cool the core

3.After a long shift in a hot warehouse without drinking water, a worker notices that their urine is dark and small in amount. What are the kidneys doing?

1. A.Saving water by making less, more concentrated urine
2. B.Removing extra water because the body has too much
3. C.Stopping all filtering of wastes until water returns
4. D.Turning stored fat into water to refill the blood

4.A local health department investigates a stomach illness at a restaurant. Every sick person ate the same potato salad, and none of the people who skipped it got sick. What is the most likely way this illness spread?

1. A.Through the air from coughs
2. B.Through mosquito bites outside
3. C.Through germs in shared food
4. D.Through genes passed in families

5.A science class compares the equations for photosynthesis and cellular respiration. Which statement correctly compares the two processes?

1. A.Both processes take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide
2. B.The products of one are the starting materials of the other
3. C.Both processes happen only in plant cells during the day
4. D.Photosynthesis releases energy that respiration then stores

6.The leaves of a houseplant kept far from any window turn yellow, while a matching plant by a sunny window stays green. Which explanation is best supported?

1. A.The far plant made extra chlorophyll from the dim light
2. B.The window plant took in more water through its leaves
3. C.Yellow leaves capture more light than green leaves do
4. D.With too little light, the far plant made less food

7.Barnacles attach to a whale’s skin. They get a free ride to food-rich water, and the whale is neither helped nor harmed. This relationship is an example of

1. A.mutualism
2. B.parasitism
3. C.commensalism
4. D.competition

8.A woman with type AB blood and a man with type O blood have children. The A and B alleles are codominant, and the O allele is recessive. Which blood types are possible for their children?

1. A.Type A or type B only
2. B.Type AB or type O only
3. C.Type O only
4. D.Types A, B, AB or O

9.Scientists compare DNA from humans, chimpanzees and mice. Human DNA is far more similar to chimpanzee DNA than to mouse DNA. What does this evidence best support?

1. A.Humans evolved directly from modern chimpanzees
2. B.Humans and chimps share a more recent ancestor
3. C.Mice and humans have no ancestors in common
4. D.DNA changes too fast to show relationships

10.A doctor compares two ways the body sends messages. One works in a fraction of a second through electrical signals. The other works more slowly through chemicals carried in the blood. Which systems are being described, in order?

1. A.Digestive system, then circulatory system
2. B.Endocrine system, then nervous system
3. C.Skeletal system, then muscular system
4. D.Nervous system, then endocrine system

11.Cane toads were brought to Australia to eat beetles in sugar cane fields. The toads had few predators there, and their numbers grew rapidly across the country. Which factor most helped the toad population grow so fast?

1. A.The toads were brought in to eat beetles
2. B.Australia has cane fields in the north
3. C.Beetles in the fields were very large
4. D.Few predators were eating the toads

12.Researchers catch and tag 50 fish in a pond, then release them. A week later, they catch 40 fish, and 10 of those have tags. About how many fish live in the pond?

1. A.100
2. B.90
3. C.200
4. D.500

13.A disease is killing rabbits in a region. Tests show that no rabbit in the population has a gene that resists the disease. Which event could make it possible for the population to evolve resistance?

1. A.Rabbits build up resistance by trying hard to survive
2. B.The disease causes rabbits to rewrite their own DNA
3. C.A random mutation produces an allele that resists it
4. D.Sick rabbits move away to a region with no disease

14.Early embryos of fish, chickens and humans look very much alike. Each has a tail and a row of pouches in the neck area, though adult humans have neither gills nor a tail. What do these similarities best support?

1. A.These animals descended from a shared ancestor
2. B.Human embryos breathe through gills before birth
3. C.These animals all live in the same kind of habitat
4. D.Animals with similar embryos eat the same foods

15.A dam blocks the streams where a river’s salmon lay their eggs. For three years, surveys find almost no young salmon in the river, though many adult salmon remain. What is the most likely trend in the adult population over the next several years?

1. A.It will grow because adults no longer compete with young
2. B.It will stay steady because many adults are still alive
3. C.It will rise as adults spend less energy on breeding
4. D.It will decline as old adults die without replacement

16.A world population chart shows slow growth for centuries, then very rapid growth after about 1900. During this time, clean water, vaccines and better farming spread to many countries. Which statement best explains the rapid growth?

1. A.Birth rates fell sharply while death rates stayed the same
2. B.Death rates fell while birth rates stayed high for a time
3. C.People began moving from one country to another
4. D.The Earth’s carrying capacity for humans fell sharply

17.In the 1800s, many people believed living things could arise from nonliving matter. In one test, boiled broth was kept in a flask with a long curved neck that let in air but trapped dust and microbes. The broth stayed clear for months. When the neck was broken off, the broth soon filled with microbes. Which idea does this experiment best support?

1. A.Living cells come only from other living cells
2. B.Boiling broth adds new nutrients for microbes
3. C.Air alone is enough to create living microbes
4. D.Microbes cannot grow in broth exposed to air

18.A medical brochure explains that a tumor forms when a group of cells keeps dividing even though the body does not need new cells. Which normal process has gone out of control in these cells?

1. A.The making of egg and sperm cells
2. B.The release of energy in mitochondria
3. C.The cell cycle of growth and mitosis
4. D.The movement of water by osmosis

19.Identical twins share the same DNA. One pair of twins was raised apart. As adults, one twin is 5 cm taller than the other. The taller twin had more food and better health care as a child. Which statement best explains the difference?

1. A.The twins must not share the same DNA after all
2. B.Height depends on both genes and the environment
3. C.Height is set by the environment and not by genes
4. D.The shorter twin inherited a recessive height gene

20.Deer ticks attach to deer and feed on their blood for several days. The deer loses blood and can catch diseases from the ticks. Which term best describes this relationship?

1. A.Mutualism, because the tick and the deer both gain something
2. B.Commensalism, because the deer is not affected
3. C.Predation, because the tick kills and eats the deer
4. D.Parasitism, because the tick gains and the deer is harmed

21.Two farms are hit by the same plant disease. Farm A planted one variety of wheat across every field. Farm B planted five different varieties. Farm A lost most of its crop, while Farm B lost only one variety. What does this example best show?

1. A.Planting one variety protects a crop from disease
2. B.Farm B must have gotten more rain than Farm A that season
3. C.Genetic variety helps a population survive new threats
4. D.Disease spreads only among plants on one farm

22.During spring, a person’s eyes itch and their nose runs whenever pollen counts are high. A doctor explains that pollen is harmless but the person’s immune system treats it as a threat. What is this condition called?

1. A.An allergy
2. B.An infection
3. C.A vaccine
4. D.A mutation

23.A nursing home started a strict handwashing rule for all staff. Monthly infections before the rule: 30 Monthly infections after the rule: 12 Which explanation for the drop is best supported?

1. A.Handwashing strengthened the residents’ immune systems
2. B.Residents received more antibiotics after the new rule
3. C.The staff spent much less time near the residents each day
4. D.Fewer germs were carried from person to person on hands

24.Bones store most of the body’s calcium. When a person’s diet lacks calcium for many years, the body keeps the calcium level in the blood steady by taking calcium out of the bones. What is the most likely long-term result?

1. A.Muscles can no longer move the bones
2. B.Bones become weaker and break more easily
3. C.Blood calcium rises far above normal
4. D.Bones grow longer so they can hold more calcium

25.Patients with large burns are kept in very clean hospital rooms. Doctors worry most about infection, even after the pain is under control. Why are burn patients at high risk of infection?

1. A.Damaged skin no longer blocks germs from entering
2. B.Burns cause the body to make its own bacteria
3. C.Heat from the burn spreads germs through the blood
4. D.Skin cells absorb germs from the hospital air

26.A student says, “Plants make their own food, so they do not need mitochondria.” A biology teacher explains that plant cells have mitochondria too. Why do plant cells need mitochondria?

1. A.To capture light when the chloroplasts are full
2. B.To make carbon dioxide for photosynthesis only
3. C.To release energy from the sugar the plant made
4. D.To store water for use during dry weather

27.An ocean food chain starts with 50,000 kcal of energy stored in algae. About 10% of the energy at each level passes to the next level. Algae → krill → small fish → seal About how much of the algae’s energy reaches the seal?

1. A.5,000 kcal
2. B.500 kcal
3. C.50 kcal
4. D.5 kcal