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AP Biology The Chemical Foundation of Life — practice questions

Explore 24 free The Chemical Foundation of Life questions in AP Biology Biology. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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The Chemical Foundation of Life questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–24 of 24.

The four elements common to all living organisms are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and:Read the answer and worked solution →Which subatomic particle carries a positive charge?Read the answer and worked solution →More than what fraction of an atom's volume is empty space?Read the answer and worked solution →The time for half of an isotope to decay to its stable form is called its:Read the answer and worked solution →The region where an electron is most likely to be found is called its:Read the answer and worked solution →Atomic mass is calculated from protons and neutrons alone because electrons:Read the answer and worked solution →Carbon-14 contains six protons and how many neutrons?Read the answer and worked solution →Carbon-14 forms in the atmosphere from nitrogen-14 by:Read the answer and worked solution →Carbon dating is useful for old bones and wood because carbon-14 has a half-life that is:Read the answer and worked solution →The octet rule says atoms are most stable energetically when the valence shell holds:Read the answer and worked solution →Group 17 elements such as fluorine and chlorine tend to form ions that are:Read the answer and worked solution →Carbon is central to life partly because its outer shell holds four electrons, allowing it to make:Read the answer and worked solution →Electrons fill orbitals in a consistent order, beginning with those:Read the answer and worked solution →When several orbitals share the same energy, electrons occupy them:Read the answer and worked solution →A p subshell is made up of how many orbitals?Read the answer and worked solution →The electron configuration of hydrogen is written as:Read the answer and worked solution →Lithium's three electrons are arranged so that:Read the answer and worked solution →Chlorine's atomic mass is listed as 35.45 rather than a whole number because chlorine:Read the answer and worked solution →Sort the subatomic particlesRead the answer and worked solution →Count the particlesRead the answer and worked solution →Match each term to its meaningRead the answer and worked solution →Which half-life is longer?Read the answer and worked solution →Complete the shell rulesRead the answer and worked solution →True or false: atoms and isotopesRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

The four elements common to all living organisms are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and:

  1. Oxygen
  2. Sulfur
  3. Sodium
  4. Silicon
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Correct answer: A. Oxygen

1. Living matter is built overwhelmingly from a very short list of elements. 2. The four elements common to all living organisms are oxygen, carbon, hydrogen and nitrogen. 3. Sulfur and phosphorus appear too, but not in that core group of four. 4. Silicon is abundant in rock rather than in living tissue. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 'The Chemical Foundation of Life', sections 2.1-2.3_

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Which subatomic particle carries a positive charge?

  1. The positron
  2. The proton
  3. The neutron
  4. The electron
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Correct answer: B. The proton

1. An atom's charge comes from the balance of its charged particles. 2. A proton is positively charged whereas a neutron is uncharged. 3. Electrons carry the negative charge that balances the protons. 4. So the positive charge belongs to the proton. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 'The Chemical Foundation of Life', sections 2.1-2.3_

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More than what fraction of an atom's volume is empty space?

  1. 99 percent
  2. 9 percent
  3. 49 percent
  4. 89 percent
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Correct answer: A. 99 percent

1. Protons and neutrons are packed into a tiny nucleus at the centre. 2. Electrons occupy a vastly larger region around it, but take up almost no volume themselves. 3. Accounting for the sizes of protons, neutrons and electrons, most of the volume of an atom, greater than 99 percent, is in fact empty space. 4. Matter feels solid because of electrical repulsion, not because it is full. _Source: OpenStax Biology for AP(R) Courses (CC BY 4.0), Ch 2 'The Chemical Foundation of Life', sections 2.1-2.3_

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