Question: Ted had two garden plots. The Eastern plot had very healthy plants and good soil. The Western plot was problematic, the plants were attacked by parasitic fungi. Given the paragraph above, please answer correctly the following question: Which plot had fewer fungi affect the sexual reproduction of the plants? Hint: Fungi not only evolve to avoid the defenses of the plants, but they also attempt to prevent the plant from enacting the mechanisms to improve its defenses. Anything the fungi can do to slow the evolution process of the host plants will improve the fitness of future generations because the plant will not be able to keep up with the evolutionary changes of the parasite. One of the main processes by which plants quickly evolve in response to the environment is sexual reproduction. Without sexual reproduction, advantageous traits could not be spread through the plant population as quickly allowing the fungi to gain a competitive advantage. For this reason, the sexual reproductive organs of plants are targets for attacks by fungi. Studies have shown that many different current types of obligate parasitic plant fungi have developed mechanisms to disable or otherwise affect the sexual reproduction of the plants. If successful, the sexual reproduction process slows for the plant, thus slowing down evolutionary change or in extreme cases, the fungi can render the plant sterile creating an advantage for the pathogens. It is unknown exactly how this adaptive trait developed in fungi, but it is clear that the relationship to the plant forced the development of the process.Some researchers are also studying how a range of factors affect the rate of evolutionary change and the outcomes of change in different environments. For example, as with most evolution, increases in heritability in a population allow for a greater evolutionary response in the presence of selective pressure. For traits specific to the plant-fungi coevolution, researchers have studied how the virulence of the invading pathogen affects the coevolution. Studies involving Mycosphaerella graminicola have consistently showed that virulence of a pathogen does not have a significant impact on the evolutionary track of the host plant.There can be other factors in that can affect the process of coevolution. For example, in small populations, selection is a...
Answer: Eastern

Question: Two friends read about respiratory systems. Paul read more about the lungs of mammals, while Pete read more about the lungs of frogs. Given the paragraph above, please answer correctly the following question: Which student read less about the total surface area for gas exchange? Hint: The lungs of mammals are unique in having alveoli . These are tiny, sac-like structures. Each alveolus is surrounded by a network of very small blood vessels (see Figure below ). Because there are millions of alveoli in each lung, they greatly increase the surface area for gas exchange between the lungs and bloodstream. Human lungs, for example, contain about 300 million alveoli. They give the lungs a total surface area for gas exchange of up to 90 square meters (968 square feet). That's about as much surface area as one side of a volleyball court!
Answer: Pete

Question: Space explorers, that launched from Earth, just encountered a new planet several light years away. This planet is almost an exact copy of Earth, but it is currently uninhabited by intelligent life. Upon landing, the explorers name the planet Caprica and begin learning as much as they can. They discover that the species on this Caprica are nearly all the same as on Earth, and even most of the topography looks the same. However, the main difference is that humans never evolved here. For this reason, there are no cities or cars or factories to burn up fossil fuels. Given the paragraph above, please answer correctly the following question: Does Earth or Caprica allow more heat to escape the atmosphere? Hint: When humans dig up and use fossil fuels, we have an impact on the carbon cycle ( Figure below ). This carbon is not recycled until it is used by humans. The burning of fossil fuels releases more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than is used by photosynthesis. So, there is more carbon dioxide entering the atmosphere than is coming out of it. Carbon dioxide is known as a greenhouse gas , since it lets in light energy but does not let heat escape, much like the panes of a greenhouse. The increase of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere is contributing to a global rise in Earth's temperature, known as global warming or global climate change.
Answer:
Caprica