Biology I SOL Practice Test — Set 1 of 6
395 free Biology I Virginia SOL practice questions drawn from official Virginia Department of Education released tests. Pick an answer to check it instantly, or open “Show answer” to review. No signup required.
1. A graph titled “Mass of Fungi Grown in Forest Leaf Litter” shows fungal mass (in grams) on the vertical axis and time (in days) on the horizontal axis. The horizontal axis is labeled Days and ranges from 0 to 16 days in increments of 2 days. The vertical axis is labeled Mass (grams) and ranges from 0 to 500 grams in increments of 100 grams. Data points show a steady increase in fungal mass from day 0 through day 14, rising from approximately 50 grams to approximately 450 grams. One data point at day 16 shows a mass of approximately 50 grams, which sharply contradicts the overall upward trend. Which data point on the graph is probably invalid?
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Answer: B — The data point at day 16 with a mass of approximately 50 grams
2. Which method of fly control would be most harmful to other organisms in the environment?
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Answer: A — Spraying broad-range insecticides
3. In conditions of stress or fear, the human adrenal gland may produce adrenaline. Which of the following is an effect adrenaline can have on the body?
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Answer: A — Increased blood pressure
4. After a culture of cells is allowed to multiply and is viewed through a microscope, the cells are exposed to high-energy radiation for less than 1/100th of a second. After the radiation, many newly reproduced cells appear different. What has probably occurred?
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Answer: B — Mutation
5. Which pair of structures best shows that plant cells have functions different from animal cells?
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Answer: B — Chloroplasts and cell walls
6. One strand of DNA could be as long as a football field if it were stretched out lengthwise. One of the factors allowing DNA to fit inside the nucleus of a cell is its ability to —
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Answer: C — coil tightly around associated proteins
7. Two plants are crossed, and the traits of height and color are assessed in the offspring. The cross conducted is TTPP × ttpp, where: T = dominant allele for tall height t = recessive allele for short height P = dominant allele for purple color p = recessive allele for white color Which of the following choices correctly describes the offspring?
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Answer: D — All plants are tall and purple.
8. In an experiment, the height of several plants was recorded daily in millimeters. Which tool would be the most accurate and appropriate for this measurement?
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Answer: D — Metric ruler
9. Which of the following best describes a conclusion drawn from an investigation rather than a prediction, inference, or hypothesis?
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Answer: A — A conclusion
10. In squash plants, yellow fruit (Y) is dominant to white fruit (y). If two plants heterozygous for yellow fruit are crossed, what are the possible genotypes of the offspring?
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Answer: D — YY, Yy, and yy
11. A world map shows the typical habitats of four marine mammals. Manatees are found in warm, shallow coastal waters near the equator. Walruses are found in cold Arctic waters. Right whales are found in cold and temperate oceans. Bottlenose dolphins are found in temperate and tropical oceans. According to this information, which animal would most likely avoid cold waters?
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Answer: A — Manatee
12. Meiosis is the process by which gametes are produced. In which of the following human organs does meiosis occur?
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Answer: A — Testis
13. When an animal eats, food stays in the stomach for a period of time. When a unicellular organism, such as Paramecium, takes in food, the food is contained in which organelle?
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Answer: D — Vacuole
14. The table below summarizes heart chamber characteristics in different animals: Fish: 1 atrium, 1 ventricle, no separation of ventricles Bird: 2 atria, 2 ventricles, total separation of ventricles Turtle: 2 atria, 1 ventricle, partial separation of ventricles Frog: 2 atria, 1 ventricle, no separation of ventricles Dog: 2 atria, 2 ventricles, total separation of ventricles Which type of animal is most closely related to a mammal, based on heart structure?
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Answer: B — Bird
15. Animals that are the least specialized generally stand the best chance of survival when the environment suddenly and drastically changes because they are able to —
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Answer: A — adapt to different conditions
16. Ascidians are sac-like marine organisms. Their larvae have well-developed brains and dorsal nerve cords. This suggests that ascidians should be classified with the —
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Answer: A — chordates
17. A student’s experiment showed that earthworms move away from light. This statement should be classified as —
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Answer: D — a conclusion
18. What is the function of enzymes in biological systems?
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Answer: C — Enzymes act as catalysts to drive chemical reactions forward.
19. In Pasteur’s experiment, sterile nutrient broth remained sterile when exposed to air through a curved tube that trapped microorganisms, but became contaminated when microorganisms were allowed to enter directly. The results of Pasteur’s experiment helped him to —
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Answer: A — reject the theory of spontaneous generation
20. Scientists hypothesize that oxygen began to accumulate in Earth’s atmosphere after the appearance of living things with the ability to —
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Answer: C — photosynthesize
21. Fossils help scientists classify extinct species and determine their relationships to current species. Fossils provide the most information about extinct species’ —
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Answer: B — structures
22. Data about the climate in an ecosystem were collected for 30 years. Which hypothesis about a population of eagles could be made based on the climate data collected?
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Answer: A — Eagle chick survival is directly related to annual rainfall amounts.
23. Which of these organisms contains no specialized cells?
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Answer: A — Paramecium
24. Which of the following organisms would be expected to contain no true tissues?
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Answer: A — Sponge
25. A mushroom and a humpback whale are alike because both are —
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Answer: B — heterotrophic
26. Which of the following choices is not a method of preventing bacterial illnesses from spreading in a meat-processing plant?
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Answer: C — Using antibiotics to treat persons with food poisoning
27. Bivalves, such as clams, are found in salt water. The clam captures food particles from water that flows over its gills. Which of these is the best classification of the clam?
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Answer: A — A filter feeder
28. Which of these could not be a virus?
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Answer: D — A single-celled organism that carries out metabolism independently
29. An understanding of which of these best enabled scientists to determine the approximate ages of fossils?
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Answer: D — Radioactivity
30. An important feature of modern classification systems is that they —
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Answer: B — can incorporate new scientific discoveries
31. In an aquatic habitat, an example of organisms from the pioneer community would be —
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Answer: D — algae
32. A table titled “Bird Sightings at Willow Point” lists daily counts of sparrows and wrens from May 12 through May 16. The average (mean) number of sparrows observed over this period is greater than the average number of wrens by 8 birds. Based on the data in the table, what is the difference between the mean number of sparrows and the mean number of wrens observed at Willow Point between May 12 and May 16?
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Answer: D — 8
33. Some insects can stand on the surface of water because water —
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Answer: D — is cohesive and adhesive
34. If transpiration stopped completely, how would a plant’s homeostasis first be affected?
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Answer: D — Water molecules would not be released from leaves.
35. The main difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells is that —
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Answer: D — eukaryotic cells have a more advanced cellular organization
36. Which of the following macromolecules are a prominent part of animal tissues that function in insulation, helping animals conserve heat?
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Answer: B — Lipids
37. Cells from which of the following organisms would be expected to contain cell walls?
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Answer: C — Water lily
38. What characteristic do all living things share?
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Answer: A — They contain DNA.
39. A chart shows representative animals from a local ecosystem with the number of species collected: Grasses: 1 species Trees: 1 species Fish: 16 species Amphibians: 12 species Reptiles: 8 species Mammals: 3 species According to these data, this ecosystem was most likely a —
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Answer: B — marsh
40. A student researching a new discovery about the activity of mitochondria could find the most current and reliable information in a —
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Answer: C — scientific journal
41. A model of cellular respiration shows glucose and oxygen being converted into carbon dioxide, water, and ATP. The main purpose of this process is to produce —
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Answer: B — usable energy
42. A scientist designed an experiment to test the effect of temperature on bacterial growth by growing cultures of E. coli at different temperatures. What was the independent variable in this experiment?
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Answer: D — Temperature
43. Some plant roots grow with mycorrhizal fungi. The fungi absorb water and minerals and pass them to the plant, and the plant provides carbohydrates to the fungi. This relationship is an example of —
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Answer: B — mutualism
44. A pedigree shows that albinism appears only when individuals inherit the trait from both parents, and it affects males and females equally. This family tree shows that albinism —
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Answer: B — is a recessive genetic trait
45. Which of the following is most effective in helping rain forest plants trap sunlight so that light energy can be converted to chemical energy?
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Answer: A — Large leaf size
46. Some peeled pieces of apple were placed in distilled water and some in very salty water. The cells in the apple pieces will —
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Answer: D — gain water in distilled water and lose water in salty water
47. In the human body, muscle cells have an increased need for energy during exercise. To help supply this energy, the body will immediately increase —
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Answer: D — breathing rate to supply more oxygen
48. A food web shows algae eaten by small larvae; larvae eaten by herring; herring eaten by snapper and bluefish; bluefish eaten by seals; and seals eaten by orcas. Which organism provides nutrients for the largest number of other organisms?
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Answer: B — Herring
49. Which of these would be measured to determine the density of the polar bear population in Canada?
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Answer: A — The number of bears per square kilometer
50. A diagram of a cell shows chromosomes aligned at the center of the cell, with spindle fibers attached to each chromosome from opposite poles. Which phase of mitosis would be seen next?
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Answer: D — Anaphase
Biology I SOL practice test — FAQ
Are these Biology I SOL practice questions free?
Yes — this Biology I SOL practice test is completely free with no signup. Answer each question to check it instantly, or open "Show answer" to review.
How many Biology I SOL practice questions are there?
Across all sets, there are 395 Biology I practice questions drawn from official Virginia Department of Education released SOL tests. This set has 50.
Are these real Virginia SOL questions?
The questions are adapted from official VDOE released SOL tests for Biology I. SOL Prep is an independent study aid and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Virginia Department of Education.
Practice items adapted from Virginia Department of Education released SOL tests. Practice items are provided for study purposes and are not affiliated with or endorsed by the Virginia Department of Education.