Bio Homework Exam 1

Which are costs of multitasking?

. Lack of awareness that information has been lost Over-estimation of one's performance while multitasking Loss of information during the moment attention switches

Which of the following are associated with reliable sources of information?

.Clear writing. Absence of conflict of interest. Data rather than personal anecdotes. Referenced sources are published, peer reviewed, research. Referenced sources of information.

I surveyed the web for vaccine information and found two major categories of sites: (1) those by large non-profit organizations: government or non-government organizations (NGOs), such as WHO and CDC that report the results of large, controlled studies, and (2) individuals and small private groups that reported their personal observations (where I would see phrases such as "my daughter became autistic after receiving the MMR vaccine"). There were far more of the 2nd type of sites. Why?

1. People are committing the same mistake as rats that press a lever and then perform an arbitrary behavior the moment before the food arrives: assuming that a correlation is causing the thing of interest. Correct2. There are fewer responsible, evidence-based organizations than there are individuals with opinions. Correct4. A single scary anecdote (true or false) can be copied and pasted endlessly across the web, giving the appearance of independent replication when there is none.

Click on the vitamin within the metaphoric enzyme below

571, 420

High protein foods, like chicken breast, are not pure protein. A 3.5 oz breast contains only ~ 30 grams protein because, like most non-dehydrated foods, most of the mass is water. The Institute of Medicine recommends that adults get a minimum of 0.8 grams of protein for every kilogram of body weight per day (more or less depending on exercise habits). That's ~ 58 grams for a typical 160 lb. adult. Approximately how many grams of protein would the Institute of Medicine recommend for a 100 lb adult? (If this is not looking fun, try Googling "metric conversion". After finding the weight in kg, multiply it by 0.8.)

6. 36

Which are true of Wikipedia compared to traditional encyclopedias?

A study published in one of the most competitive scientific journals found it to be comparable in accuracy. There are far more contributors. Bogus/erroneous contributions are quickly removed It is far more extensive

Which are generally true of pharmaceutical products?

Companies have been caught suppressing data that indicates potential danger to some users.

A study followed a group of volunteer freshman over the first 4 years of their college career. Each week the students filled out a questionaire regarding the number of hours of TV they watched that week. After 4 years the data were analyzed and produced the figure below. What does this figure show?

Correct 2 A negative correlation between TV viewing time and GPA. Correct3. Students who watch less TV are more likely to have a higher GPA.

n a study of 100 cities, researchers found a statistically significant positive correlation between the percentage of life-guards within a city and the percentage of citizens who drowned within that city. From the information presented above, which of the following are appropriate conclusions or hypotheses?

Correct 5 Correlation is not causation. Correct6. Cities with more life-guards may have more opportunities for drowning (eg., lakes, rivers, or ocean)

Definition of WebCT terms used when you click on an assessment hyperlink Question Available until Duration Question delivery: All at once Question delivery:One at a time Question delivery: no revisits Attempts allowed

Correct B. The due date; you cannot take the assessment after this time. Correct D. How long you have to answer questions after you click Begin Assessment Correct C. You get to see all of the questions Correct E. You see one question at a time Correct F. You can only move forward to the next question; you cannot return to a question or change an answer after moving to the next question Correct A. How many times you can take the assessment

Which are generally true of dietary supplements?

Correct1. The Food and Drug Administration regulates them but does not generally test them for safety or efficacy. Correct2. If an herbal supplement did have an active ingredient that is useful, it may have any number of other ingredients that are toxic. Correct3. If a botanical/herbal supplement caused an illness (eg., cancer in, say, 10% of users over several decades of use, or years after discontinued) it would be unlikely for this to be noticed without careful long-term studies using animals and/or humans. These studies are not generally done. Correct4. They need not be evaluated (by large, controlled experiments) to determine if they have any value. Correct5. Companies have been caught lying and using deceptive labeling about tests done on the efficacy of their products.

Which are true of eye-witnesses to crimes?

Correct1. They can make mistakes. Correct2. They can lie. Correct3. Their testimony has sent innocent people to prison. Correct4. They often pick the person within a line up who most resembles the person they saw.

Use a search engine to find wich of the following assertions are true.

Daniel was found by the court to be unable to read. Daniel was found by the court to have a learning disability. Daniel testified that he believed chemotherapy would kill him. Daniel's father, Anthony, was quoted as saying: "I know many people around here who have had cancer, they did the chemo, it would come back. They did the chemo again and again and they are all in the grave. Chemo isn't foolproof." In 2010, Anthony Hauser reported that he had leukemia. He also reported that he was treating his cancer with vegetable diet puree. [Anthony says he's] "not refusing anything," but that chemotherapy would be a last resort. "I feel I have time for that,". He admits, however, that his doctors aren't sure if he has the luxury of time. "It's up to God, I guess, what happens," he added. Anthony died of leukemia in 2011.

Which are true regarding the study indicated by the figure?

Each student was asked to predict their course grade five times during the semester.

Which are true concerning nutrients?

Excess may itself be toxic or may be converted to something toxic. Vitamins are generally chemicals that assist the function of enzymes, and therefore very small amounts are sufficient

Which are true of Louis Pasteur's experiment?

His results have been elevated to the level of a theory because of a great many attempts to falsify them over the last 150 years He repeated his experiment using an alternative experimental design and got consistent results.

A researcher wanted to test the hypothesis that capsaicin (the chemical that makes chili peppers hot) reduced the symptoms of the common cold. Healthy volunteers were given nasal drops containing a cold virus. Two days later those who have developed a cold were randomly divided into two groups that each received one of two identical looking capsules. Group 1 capsules contained ground habanero pepper (the entire pepper was used); group 2 capsules contained maltodextrin (which is a common food additive and known to have no physiological effects). Four hours later individuals filled out a questionnaire that measured how sick they felt. The experiment is double blind. Which two statements are true?

If group 1's symptoms are relieved more than group 2's, then we can conclude that, in this study, habanero's relieve cold symptoms. The experiment controls for the placebo effect

One day while in graduate school, some friends and I were are arguing about olive oil quality and price. I thought that expensive oil was a rip off. One guy brought in his 30$ bottle of Extra-fancy olive oil. We already had two other oils in the lab: a cheap looking olive oil that had been on the shelf for an unknown number of years, and canola oil. We found someone from another lab to set up an experiment: label three clean coffee mugs (on the underside, out of sight), each with the name of one oil, and pour the appropriate oil into each. The labeling and oil pouring were done while the tasters were not in the room. The person who set up the experiment watched while we each used bread to taste the oils as many times as we wanted until we made our decision. Results: We all voted for the same mug of oil, which turned out to be Canola. All but one of us thought this was funny. Which of the following are true?

It is a single blind experiment. There were three treatments. The guy with the 30$ bottle, apparently could have saved himself some money. My hypothesis was that they expensive olive oil would not win the contest.

n a multiple choice problem, there are four correct and four false answers. You select three of the correct answers and one of the incorrect answers. What is your score (%)? Pick the single most accurate answer.

Less than 75

Which of the following contribute to the success of science?

Many years of demanding apprenticeship/training within Universities. Correct2. Repeatability of results by other researchers. Correct3. Dedication to reason rather than personal belief. An expectation of ethical behavior, such as revealing any conflicts of interest to editors and grant reviewers. Correct6. Review of manuscripts by other experts.

Why is consensus opinion of (A) engineers and physicians more likely to be adopted by public policy makers than that of (B) educators and psychologists?

More people, with no actual training, feel that they know best when it comes to (B) than (A). (A) is more important to immediate safety. (B) often takes longer for strong evidence and a consensus opinion to emerge.

A product description on the back of the package includes a reference to a peer-reviewed article of original research conducted by an independent research organization that finds the product is useful for reducing the duration of colds. Why is this insufficient evidence?

One study is considered preliminary, not conclusive. A company selling a product is extremely unlikely to reference any articles that fail to find value in its products. Companies have been known to lie.

Use techniques I showed you in class to find authoritative website(s) to determine which of the following assertions are likely true. I have not given you the answers to many of these questions.

Over the last 30 years in the US, approximately three thousand to fifty thousand people die each year from the flu The flue vaccine is generally recommended for people over 6 months of age (excluding those with strong egg or previous flu vaccine allergies) Influenza is a group of related viruses that infect birds and mammals.

Which methods are useful to thrive in a course (or a career)?

Print out the slides and take notes on them during class. Correct2. Record lectures if you cannot write fast enough. Correct3. Immediately after class, go back through today's notes and clarify rough spots. Especially take time to make notes about things that were difficult to understand and make them clear, so that you will quickly understand them again next month when you are preparing for the exam. Correct4. Begin memorizing several days before the exam in short periods instead of one long period the day before the exam. Example: 1 hr per day for 5 days is much more effective than 5 hr in one day. Correct5. Find ways to pay attention in class, especially as it drags on and on and you just want to sleep... "I am loosing points", "I am paying for this class". Correct7. When reading your notes, or book, after ever paragraph or concept, ask yourself a question and answer it. Example, "this is saying... that as because surface area is increasing slower than volume there is a point at which cells surfaces can no longer move materials fast enough to support the inside of the cell"). Correct8. Identify what exactly is confusing you so you can get help with it.

_________________ may have biases that affect their abilities to perform in an objective fashion.

Research assistants Correct2. Authors Correct3. Scientists Correct4. Politicians

Which of the following are hypotheses.

Temperature affects fermentation Temperature can affect fermentation.

Some have claimed that the herb echinacea reduces the likelihood of catching the common cold. In many studies conducted by a variety of independent researchers, this claim has been refuted. Assuming these studies were properly conducted, which of the following are potentially scientific reasons in support of further research on this subject.

The effective dosage of echinacea was outside the range of the dosages given in the scientific studies. The effective length of time needed for taking echinacea is longer than that provided in any of the scientific studies

Which are true regarding the study indicated by the figure?

The worse they performed the more they overestimated their performance. Performances were binned into four categories based on relative skill. People were tested in some area of knowledge and then asked to rate their performance.

Which are true of superstition?

Trivial events that immediately precede an important event tend to be treated as causative. Correct3. Superstitions include beliefs in which correlations are assumed to be causative.

Which are true of assessments (HW, Quizzes and Exams)?

a. Missed exams cannot be made up without documentation of the reason and instructor permission. None of your exam scores will be dropped. Correctb. Due dates for quizzes are posted in the schedule and at the assessment description in WebCT. When there is a conflict, the syllabus takes precedence. HW releases are announced in class. Correctc. Quizzes are due by midnight the night BEFORE the date listed in the syllabus schedule. Correcte. If a student gets ill or has technical problems shortly before a HW or quiz is due, they are responsible for the points lost. Waiting until a deadline is close is risky and one's personal choice. Correctf. You are welcome to come to my posted office hours to discuss your exam, quiz, or whatever's on your mind. Correctg. Office hours are posted in the syllabus

In multiple choice questions used in SacCT, answers in which you click on a circle to select an answer will allow only one answer choice. Answers with boxes (e.g., below), indicate ___ answers may be correct?

b. any number unless a specific number is mentioned in the question

In a scientific experiment, a control group:

is compared with a treatment group should differ from a treatment group in only one way

The placebo effect:

is the observation a small but measurable fraction of people respond positively to any treatment they believe will work.

Alan claimed that a local herb was effective in lowering anxiety and was planning to invest in the product. As evidence of his claim, Alan, who had anxiety over his financial situation, said that he felt much better after the treatment, was much more relaxed, and no longer worried about his finances. Which of the following are methodological flaws in Alan's investigation? Choose the best two answers.

lack of appropriate controls lack of replication

The first section of this HW assignment concerns the course syllabus and your commitment to following course guidelines. Do you agree to be responsible for reading and understanding the information provided in the syllabus? If so, please write 'yes' below.

yes