Passage I

An endocrinologist is a doctor who studies, diagnoses, and treats patients with hormone imbalances. There are many hormones involved in daily functioning. Two of the most important hormones for digestion are insulin and glucagon. These hormones are secreted by the pancreas. Insulin is released after a meal to help body cells take in sugar and covert it to energy. Glucagon is released when the body needs more energy, such as during exercise, and causes body cells to secrete sugar into the blood. A team of endocrinologists performed the following experiments:

Experiment 1

Five participants were given 15 grams of pure glucose (sugar). The participants had not eaten for four hours prior to the experiment. All five participants were healthy and had no serious medical conditions. A team of endocrinologists monitored the blood sugar and insulin levels of the participants over time. Figure 1 is a graph of the average levels in the five participants.

Experiment 2

Two participants were given 15 grams of pure glucose (sugar). The participants had not eaten for four hours prior to the experiment. One participant was healthy and the other had a hormone disease. Figure 2 is a graph of the blood sugar levels of the participants over time.

At what time after eating would you expect the highest blood sugar level?

Passage I

An endocrinologist is a doctor who studies, diagnoses, and treats patients with hormone imbalances. There are many hormones involved in daily functioning. Two of the most important hormones for digestion are insulin and glucagon. These hormones are secreted by the pancreas. Insulin is released after a meal to help body cells take in sugar and covert it to energy. Glucagon is released when the body needs more energy, such as during exercise, and causes body cells to secrete sugar into the blood. A team of endocrinologists performed the following experiments:

Experiment 1

Five participants were given 15 grams of pure glucose (sugar). The participants had not eaten for four hours prior to the experiment. All five participants were healthy and had no serious medical conditions. A team of endocrinologists monitored the blood sugar and insulin levels of the participants over time. Figure 1 is a graph of the average levels in the five participants.

Experiment 2

Two participants were given 15 grams of pure glucose (sugar). The participants had not eaten for four hours prior to the experiment. One participant was healthy and the other had a hormone disease. Figure 2 is a graph of the blood sugar levels of the participants over time.

Experiment 1 is repeated. The team of endocrinologists also monitors glucagon levels of the participants over time. What would the graph of average glucagon levels over time look like?

Error bars are utilized in scientific graphs to show the difference between data points. If the error bars of data points overlap then they are not statistically independent from one another; therefore, they can be considered to be similar to one another. Only data points that possess non-overlapping error bars are sufficient to make or support a scientific conclusion.

Is this data set statistically valid?

Error bars are utilized in scientific graphs to show the difference between data points. If the error bars of data points overlap then they are not statistically independent from one another; therefore, they can be considered to be similar to one another. Only data points that possess non-overlapping error bars are sufficient to make or support a scientific conclusion. 

Are these data points statistically independent from one another?

Error bars are utilized in scientific graphs to show the difference between data points. If the error bars of data points overlap then they are not statistically independent from one another; therefore, they can be considered to be similar to one another. Only data points that possess non-overlapping error bars are sufficient to make or support a scientific conclusion.

Are these data points statistically significant?

Error bars are utilized in scientific graphs to show the difference between data points. If the error bars of data points overlap then they are not statistically independent from one another; therefore, they can be considered to be similar to one another. Only data points that possess non-overlapping error bars are sufficient to make or support a scientific conclusion.

Are Samples 3 and 6 statistically valid?

Error bars are utilized in scientific graphs to show the difference between data points. If the error bars of data points overlap then they are not statistically independent from one another; therefore, they can be considered to be similar to one another. Only data points that possess non-overlapping error bars are sufficient to make or support a scientific conclusion.

Are samples 7 and 8 statistically valid?

Eukaryotic cells first appeared billions of years ago and were marked by the presence of membrane-bound organelles (organelles with a lipid bilayer surrounding them) similar to the outer and inner membranes of prokaryotes like bacteria. One of these membrane bound organelles is called the mitochondrion, which is responsible for helping generate energy in the form of a nucleotide-sugar molecule called adenosine triphosphate (also known as ATP).

By using only oxygen and glucose (a type of sugar composed of a single molecule) as reactants, the mitochondrion is responsible for generating ATP and water. In order to make ATP, animals must eat food products that contain sugars, such as potatoes, which contain molecules called starches that have many sugar molecules linked together. Once the sugar has been processed in the cell by an enzyme called amylase, it undergoes a process called glycolysis, which breaks down glucose into a molecule called pyruvate and provides 2 ATP molecules in the process.

After glycolysis, the pyruvate molecule is transported to the mitochondrion, carried across its membrane and then enters a process called the Kreb’s cycle, where a net of 34 ATP are produced. However, the process of transporting the pyruvate molecule into the mitochondrion requires 1 ATP. The ATP produced from both glycolysis and the Kreb’s cycle serves to allow the cell to carry out its housekeeping functions.

According to the passage, what is the net amount of ATP that can be produced by one glucose molecule?

Eukaryotic cells first appeared billions of years ago and were marked by the presence of membrane-bound organelles (organelles with a lipid bilayer surrounding them) similar to the outer and inner membranes of prokaryotes like bacteria. One of these membrane bound organelles is called the mitochondrion, which is responsible for helping generate energy in the form of a nucleotide-sugar molecule called adenosine triphosphate (also known as ATP).

By using only oxygen and glucose (a type of sugar composed of a single molecule) as reactants, the mitochondrion is responsible for generating ATP and water. In order to make ATP, animals must eat food products that contain sugars, such as potatoes, which contain molecules called starches that have many sugar molecules linked together. Once the sugar has been processed in the cell by an enzyme called amylase, it undergoes a process called glycolysis, which breaks down glucose into a molecule called pyruvate and provides 2 ATP molecules in the process.

After glycolysis, the pyruvate molecule is transported to the mitochondrion, carried across its membrane and then enters a process called the Kreb’s cycle, where a net of 34 ATP are produced. However, the process of transporting the pyruvate molecule into the mitochondrion requires 1 ATP. The ATP produced from both glycolysis and the Kreb’s cycle serves to allow the cell to carry out its housekeeping functions.

Why might the Kreb's Cycle have been evolutionarily advantageous to developing eukaryotic cells?

Eukaryotic cells first appeared billions of years ago and were marked by the presence of membrane-bound organelles (organelles with a lipid bilayer surrounding them) similar to the outer and inner membranes of prokaryotes like bacteria. One of these membrane bound organelles is called the mitochondrion, which is responsible for helping generate energy in the form of a nucleotide-sugar molecule called adenosine triphosphate (also known as ATP).

By using only oxygen and glucose (a type of sugar composed of a single molecule) as reactants, the mitochondrion is responsible for generating ATP and water. In order to make ATP, animals must eat food products that contain sugars, such as potatoes, which contain molecules called starches that have many sugar molecules linked together. Once the sugar has been processed in the cell by an enzyme called amylase, it undergoes a process called glycolysis, which breaks down glucose into a molecule called pyruvate and provides 2 ATP molecules in the process.

After glycolysis, the pyruvate molecule is transported to the mitochondrion, carried across its membrane and then enters a process called the Kreb’s cycle, where a net of 34 ATP are produced. However, the process of transporting the pyruvate molecule into the mitochondrion requires 1 ATP. The ATP produced from both glycolysis and the Kreb’s cycle serves to allow the cell to carry out its housekeeping functions.

The funtion of amylase is most likely to: