NMAT BIOLOGY
DIRECTIONS: Select the best answer to each of the
following questions and blacken the appropriate space on
your answer sheet.
1. Which of the following are important biotic factors that
can affect the structure and organization of biological
communities?
a. Nutrient availability, soil pH, light intensity
b. Precipitation, wind, temperature
c. Predation, competition, disease
d. all of the above
2. Which of the following statements about the vascular
cambium is TRUE?
a. the vascular cambium is responsible for production of
branch roots
b. the vascular cambium is only found in dicots
c. the vascular cambium produces phloem to the inside
and xylem to the outside
d. All of the above statements are FALSE
3. The prayer plant, Maranta leuconeura, folds up its
leaves each night in accordance with a circadian rhythm.
If we were to ship this plant halfway around the world to
a location where it is daytime there when it is night here,
the plant will
a. slowly adjust to synchronize with the new day-night
cycle.
b. immediately switch to a new cycle and begin to open
leaves in day and close them at night.
c. detect the change but remain on its original cycle and
therefore still fold leaves in day and open them at night.
d. not detect the change and therefore remain on its
original cycle.
4. Which of the following would be most likely to exhibit
uniform dispersion?
a. Cattails, which grow primarily at the edges of lakes and
streams
b. dwarf mistletoes, which parasitize particular species of
forest trees
c. Tassel-eared squirrels, which are non-territorial
d. Red squirrels, which hide food and actively defend
territories
5. Population density is described as population size per
unit area/volume. In population density, two kinds of
factors are being considered: dependent and independent
factors. Which of the following is not a density
independent factor?
a. diseases c. hurricane
b. forest fires d. climate change
6. Which of the following is characteristic of a fast-moving
stream ecosystem?
a. High levels of dissolved oxygen
b. High salinity
c. Large numbers of anaerobes
d. Eutrophication
7. Which of the following questions is most appropriate to
an investigation at the population level?
a. What is the effect of diminished resources on an
individual's life span?
b. What is the relationship between resource availability
and birthrate?
c. What factors influence the distribution of tropical
forests?
d. How long does it take for carbon to be cycled from the
atmosphere into living tissue?
8. Organisms such as lizards that need to maintain body
temperature through external means do so by
a. shivering to produce heat
b. exposing their bodies to sunlight for hours
c. eating large meals to provide calories for heat
production
d. running frequently to warm up
9. The energy pyramid shows the decreasing pattern of
energy from producers to consumers and from one trophic
level to another. Producers are placed at the base of the
pyramid because _____________.
a. they are used up at a faster rate
b. they have the most amount of energy available
c. they can be found in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem
d. they have pigments available in producing their own
food
10. The response of stems growing upward is referred to
as
a. negative gravitropism c. negative phototropism
b. positive gravitropism d. positive phototropism
11. Introduced species
a. Can disrupt the balance of the natural species with
which they become associated with
b. Often fail to colonize the new area
c. Can become common enough to become part of the
natural species
d. Often become sterile due to not being able to adapt.
12. Resource partitioning is best described by which of the
ff. statements?
a. Species diversity is maintained by switching between
prey species
b. A climax community is reached when no new niches are
available
c. Slight variations in niche allow similar species to coexist
d. Two species can coevolve and share the same niche
13. Which of the following statements is consistent with
the competitive exclusion principle?
a. Density of one competing species will have a positive
impact on the population growth of the competing
species.
b. Two species with the same fundamental niche will
exclude other competing species.
c. Even a slight reproductive advantage will eventually
lead to the elimination of inferior species.
d. Evolution tends to increase competition between related
species.
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14. In a plant cell, where are the ATP synthase complexes
found?
a. thylakoid membrane
b. plasma membrane
c. inner mitochondrial membrane
d. A and C
15. The main difference between primary and secondary
succession is that…
a. primary succession occurs in the year before secondary
succession
b. primary succession occurs on barren, rocky areas and
secondary succession does not
c. secondary succession ends in a climax species while
primary succession ends in a pioneer species
d. secondary succession occurs on barren, rocky areas and
primary succession does not.
16. Which of the following does not represent a potential
threat to biodiversity?
a. Importing a European insect into the Philippines to
control an undesirable weed
b. Letting previously used farmland go fallow and begin to
fill with weeds and shrubs
c. harvesting all of the oysters from an oyster bed off the
Atlantic coast
d. Shooting wolves because they pose a threat to cattle
farmers
17. Whether a land area supports a deciduous forest or
grassland primarily depends on…
a. changes in temperature
b. latitude north or south of the equator
c. consistency of rainfall from year to year and the effect
that it has on fires
d. changes in length of the growing season
18. Cell membrane carbohydrates participate in
a. Transporting substances across membranes
b. Cell to cell recognition
c. Attaching the membrane to the cytoskeleton
d. Attaching the membrane to the cell wall
19. Which of the following would not qualify as an
ecosystem service?
a. rain falling on land
b. squirrels burying acorns
c. leaves falling on the forest floor
d. blowfly larvae infesting a dear carcass
20. Under water stress, the leaves of plants are found to
contain higher concentrations of
a. Giberillin c. Cytokinins
b. Auxin d. Abscissic Acid
21. Which of the following apples will ripen the fastest?
a. an apple often flushed with carbon dioxide
b. an apple with an ethylene-releasing banana enclosed in
a bag
c. an apple with a beaker of an ethylene-releasing
chemical in a plastic bag
d. choices b and c
22. Succession is
a. series of physical changes that occur in an area
b. development of biotic communities on a bare area
c. series of biotic communities that appear in a previously
bare area
d. replacement of old individuals by new individuals of a
species
23. Which of the following is an example of a
characteristic of life known as metabolism found in plants?
a. A plant produces seeds, perpetuating the species.
b. An unattended potted plant that gets knocked over in
the greenhouse produces a shoot that bends toward the
light and away from the pull of gravity.
c. Cell division occurring in the apical meristem of the
stem and root extends the length of these modules.
d. Sunlight energy is captured by a plant leaf through the
process called photosynthesis.
24. The main plant bodies in bryophytes and
pteridophytes are
a. gametophytic in both
b. sporophytic in both
c. gametophytic in bryophytes and sporophytic in
pteridophytes
d. sporophytic in bryophytes and gametophytic in
pteridophytes
25. Occurrence of anthers and the stigma at different
levels in a flower is referred as
a. Herkogamy c. Dichogamy
b. Flower constancy d. Protandry
26. Which of the following factors does not help determine
biotic potential?
a. maximum number of offspring
b. number of times that a species reproduces each year
c. favorable light and temperature conditions
d. number of offspring that reach reproductive age
27. Biologist Charles Darwin emphasized that evolution
can be best be explained as a consequence of natural
selection. Which of the following statements correctly
describes Darwin’s “Natural Selection”?
a. Chance events results in a change of allele frequencies.
b. As the conditions of nature change, individuals that are
fittest and most adaptable will survive and evolve.
c. Populations exchange members to converge toward one
another.
d. As the organism continues to use a certain part of its
body, it enlarges or elongates.
28. Growth pattern in pollen tube is similar to that of
fungal hyphae or root hairs in exhibiting
a. oscillated elongation of tube
b. tip-oriented growth
c. multiple-oriented growth
d. predetermined path of growth
29. The increased productivity of lakes and streams
brought about by nutrient enrichment is known as
a. greenhouse effect c. eutrophication
b. biomagnification d. bioaugmentation
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30. Competition is the most severe between two
a. closely related species growing in different niches
b. closely related species growing in the same habitat
c. distantly related species growing in the same habitat
d. distantly related species growing in different niches
31. Most of the water taken up by the plant is
a. split during photosynthesis as a source of electrons and
hydrogen
b. lost by transpiration through stomata
c. absorbed by cells during their elongation
d. incorporated directly into organic material
32. The energy pyramid shows the decreasing pattern of
energy from producers to consumers and from one trophic
level to another. Producers are placed at the base of the
pyramid because _____________.
a. they are used up at a faster rate
b. they have the most amount of energy available
c. they can be found in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystem
d. they have pigments available in producing their own
food
33. Fifteen years ago, your parents hung a swing from the
lower branch of a large tree growing in your yard. When
you go and sit in it today, you realize it is exactly the
same height off the ground as it was when you first sat in
it 15 years ago. The reason the swing has not grown taller
as the tree has grown is that
a. the tree trunk is showing secondary growth.
b. the tree trunk is part of the primary growth system of
the plant, but elongation is no longer occurring in that
part of the tree.
c. trees lack apical meristems and so do not get taller.
d. you are hallucinating, because it is impossible for the
swing not to have gotten taller as the tree grew
34. Mosses are thought to resemble the primitive plants
that first inhabited the land. Interestingly, these plants
lack a vascular system. Therefore they should lack
a. mesophyll cells. c. shoots.
b. phloem. d. collenchyma.
35. Ecological pyramids can be inverted when..
a. they represent number of organisms
b. they represent energy content of organisms
c. they represent biomass of organism
d. both a and c are correct
36. In the angiosperms, the
a. gametophyte is prominent, and the sporophyte is
dependent upon the gametophyte.
b. sporophyte is prominent, with the sporophyte and
gametophyte living independently.
c. sporophyte is prominent, and the gametophyte is
dependent upon the sporophyte.
d. gametophyte is prominent, and the sporophyte stage
has disappeared.
37. All plants exhibit alternation of generations. This
means their life cycle
a. includes both haploid and diploid gametes.
b. shows only asexual reproduction.
c. has both a multicellular haploid stage and a multicellular
diploid stage.
d. does not include meiosis
38. A tree’s growth in uniform environmental conditions
such as those which grow near the equator throughout
the year will
a. not show secondary growth
b. not reveal annual rings with distinct spring and autumn
wood
c. have annual rings which can be used to date the tree
d. have only phloem formed by the activity of the
cambium
39. Development of shoot and root is determined by:
a. Cytokinin and auxin ratio c. Enzymes
b. Temperature d. Plant nutrients
40. Students were asked to collect data on the plant
Trifolio petalia. Two students reported finding a plant with
flowers having four petals instead of the usual 3. Which of
the ff. explains this observation?
a. Unusual findings such as this usually occurs and can
easily be disregarded
b. All plants having 3 petals produce some flowers with 4
petals
c. These flowers are actually the result of a new species
and in a few years, this group of plants will have formed 2
species.
d. Slight variation in the number of petals may occur due
to accidental changes during development
41. When O2 is released as a result of photosynthesis, it is
a byproduct of which of the ff.?
a. reducing NADP+
b. splitting of H2O molecules
c. the electron transfer systems of Photosystem I and II
d. chemiosmosis
42. All of the following statements regarding
characteristics of predator-prey relationships are correct
EXCEPT:
a. A rise in the population of prey is often followed by a
rise in population of predators.
b. A rise in the population of predators is followed by a
decrease in the population of prey.
c. Camouflage is an adaptation that protects prey.
d. The population of predators most often eliminates the
population of prey.
43. A few seconds after touching the Mimosa pudica plant,
its leaflets fold together. It takes about 10 minutes or
more for the plant to region and restore the natural form
of the leaf. A good explanation for this is:
a. Cells suddenly become flaccid after stimulation because
of the loss of K+
b. Cells suddenly become turgid after stimulation because
of loss of Na+
c. Cells suddenly become flaccid after stimulation because
of the loss of Na+
d. none of these
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44. Based on surface-area to volume considerations, we 50. Which of the following best explains why there are
would predict that populations of mammals that live in seldom more than five trophic levels in a food chain?
colder climates should have _______ bodies than a. Most carnivores function at more than one trophic level.
populations of the same species in warm climates. b. Trophic levels above this number contain too many
a. smaller c. larger individuals.
b. leaner d. taller c. Top carnivores are too few in number to prey
effectively.
45. Consider the following statements associated with the d. The ecosystem contains too much biomass.
germination of an angiospermous seed: e. Energy is lost from each trophic level.
a. As the seed gets hydrated and germinates, enzymatic
activity slows and picks up speed as the plant grows
b. The respiration rate of the germinating seed increases
along with the increased enzymatic activity
c. The increase in the respiratory rate continues till
senescence
d. Rate of enzymatic activity decreases

46. On a sunny day, the closing of stomata in plant leaves

results in
a. a decrease in CO2 intake
b. a shift from C4 photosynthesis to C3 photosynthesis
c. an increase in transpiration
d. an increase in the concentration of CO2 in mesophyll
cells

47. Which of the following factors is most important in the

movement of water up a tall tree?
a. Guttation c. Capillarity in the phloem
b. Air pressure d. Leaf transpiration

48. The productivity of a crop begins to decline when

leaves begin to wilt mainly because:
a. The chlorophyll wilting leaves decomposes.
b. Flaccid mesophyll cells are incapable of photosynthesis
c. Stomata close, preventing CO2 from entering the leaves
d. none of these

49. A botanist used a device called a dendrometer to

measure slight changes in the diameter of a tree trunk
caused by water movement in the xylem. The device
made simultaneous measurements at different heights,
graphed above. This suggests that
a. water is pulled up the trunk
b. water is pulled down the trunk
c. no movement of water in the trunk takes place
d. none of these