We will go over as many of these as time permits in class on Thursday, May 4. The exam itself will be on Tuesday, May 9.

(Augmented) Multiple Choice

Directions: circle the letter of the answer that you think best completes the sentence. In the space provided below the answers, write a clear and concise sentence explaining your choice. (Thursday's exam will consist of ten such questions.)

1. Water has high heat capacity because of:
   1. covalent bonds between oxygen and hydrogen atoms.
   2. hydrogen bonding between water molecules.
   3. London forces between water molecules
   4. the shape of water molecules.



2. Which of the following theories provides an explanation for why the Universe is nearly flat?
   1. the inflation model.
   2. the standard Big Bang theory.
   3. the pancake theory.
   4. the Doppler shift.



3. The fractal dimension of a fractal...
   1. generalizes the standard notion of dimension to objects that display self-similarity.
   2. is always a whole number.
   3. is determined by considering the ratio of the fractal's perimeter to its area.
   4. is fractalicious, baby, yea!



4. An offspring is:
   1. more related to its parents than it is to its siblings.
   2. more related to it's own offspring than it is to its siblings.
   3. never willing to help its parents.
   4. equally related to its siblings and its own offspring.



5. Identify the valid claim among the following:
   1. "meme" is a contraction of "me me" and refers to selfish genes.
   2. memes explain how language structures evolved in the human brain.
   3. memetic evolution can occur much more rapidly than genetic evolution.
   4. successful experiments have been conducted to verify the existence of memes.

Long answer

Directions: write your answers clearly, in the space provided for each question. Keep your answers succinct. (Thursday's exam will consist of five pairs of such questions. For each pair you will choose exactly one question to answer for a total of five paragraph-or-so-length answers.)

1. Cosmology is usually associated with physicists. Yet it also relies on evidence from the other disciplines covered in this class. Other than physics, which discipline (biology, chemistry, computer science, or mathematics) do you think was most crucial in establishing the Big Bang theory? Explain.



2. What are the functions of carbohydrates in the body? Explain.



3. Describe three ways in which computer models can aid scientific investigations.



4. What is game theory and why does it provide us with a valuable collection of principles and techniques in order to study the theory of evolution?



5. In what way(s) is group selection similar to kin selection? In what way(s) does it differ? Based on your answer, would you argue that kin selection is a "kind" of group selection? Explain.