Multiple Choice Practice for Midterm Residency

____ 1. The prefix kilo- means ____.

a. 1,000 b. 100 c. 0.01 d. 0.001

____ 2. The prefix milli- means ____.

a. 1,000 b. 100 c. 0.01 d. 0.001

____ 3. How many meters are there in 1,865 cm?

a. 0.1865 b. 1.865 c. 18.65 d. 186.5

____ 4. A beaker contains 0.32 L of water. What is the volume of this water in milliliters?

a. 320 mL b. 3.2 mL c. 32 mL d. 0.32 mL

____ 5. When designing an experiment, the first step is to ____.

a. analyze the data b. list a procedure c. state a hypothesis d. state the problem

____ 6. A standard for comparison that helps to ensure that the experimental result is caused by the condition being tested is the ____.

a. constant b. control c. dependent variable d. hypothesis

____ 7. A factor that does NOT change in an experiment is the ____.

a. constant b. control c. dependent variable d. hypothesis

____ 8. A factor that is manipulated in an experiment to change the dependent variable is the ____.

a. constant b. dependent variable c. control d. independent variable

____ 9. The smallest units of life in all living things are

a. cells. b. mitochondria. c. cytoplasm. d. Golgi apparatus.

____ 10. Surface area is an important factor in limiting cell growth because

a. the cell can burst if the membrane becomes too large. b. materials cannot enter the cell if it is too large. c. the cell may become too large to take in enough food and to remove enough wastes. d. waste products cannot leave the cell if it is too small.

____ 11. Which of the following is characteristic of prokaryotes?

a. They have a nucleus. b. They were found on Earth before eukaryotes. c. The organelles in their cytoplasm are surrounded by membranes. d. None of the above

____ 12. Only eukaryotic cells have

a. DNA. b. membrane-bound organelles. c. ribosomes. d. cytoplasm.

____ 13. Studying a picture of a cell taken with an electron microscope, you find that the cell has no nucleus and no mitochondria, but it does have a cell membrane and a cell wall. You conclude that the cell is probably from a(n)

a. animal. b. plant. c. prokaryote. d. now extinct organism.

____ 14. The structure that regulates what enters and leaves the cell is called

a. the nucleus. b. the cell wall. c. the nuclear membrane. d. the cell membrane.

____ 15. Cell membranes

a. are only found on a small number of cells. b. contain genes. c. are made of DNA. d. are thin coverings that surround cells.

____ 16. A structure within a cell that performs a specific function is called a(n)

a. organelle. b. organ tissue. c. tissue. d. biocenter.

____ 17. A particularly active cell might contain large numbers of

a. chromosomes. b. vacuoles. c. mitochondria. d. walls.

____ 18. In which of the following organelles is a cell’s ATP produced?

a. mitochondrion b. endoplasmic reticulum c. Golgi apparatus d. lysosome

____ 19. The packaging and distribution center of the cell is the

a. nucleus. b. Golgi apparatus. c. central vacuole. d. nuclear envelope.

____ 20. The double membrane surrounding the nucleus is called the

a. nucleolus. b. nuclear wall. c. nucleoplasm. d. nuclear envelope.

____ 21. How are chloroplasts like mitochondria?

a. They can both use energy from sunlight. b. They look alike. c. They both manufacture food and release energy. d. They are both found in animal cells.

____ 22. Plant cells have large membrane-bound spaces in which water, waste products, and nutrients are stored. These places are known as

a. mitochondria. b. chloroplasts. c. Golgi apparatus. d. vacuoles.

____ 23. Which of the following is the correct order of organization of structures in living things, from simplest to most complex?

a. organ systems, organs, tissues, cells b. tissues, cells, organs, organ systems c. cells, tissues, organ systems, organs d. cells, tissues, organs, organ systems

____ 24. The dispersal of ink in a beaker of water is an example of

a. diffusion. b. osmosis. c. active transport. d. endocytosis.

____ 25. The process by which water passes into or out of a cell is called

a. solubility. b. osmosis. c. selective transport. d. endocytosis.

____ 26. Based on the cycle of photosynthesis and cellular respiration, one can say that the ultimate original source of energy for all living things on Earth is

a. carbohydrates. b. water. c. the sun. d. carbon dioxide.

____ 27. When cells break down food molecules, energy

a. is released all at once. b. is released entirely as body heat into the environment. c. is temporarily stored in ATP molecules. d. causes excitation of electrons in chlorophyll molecules.

____ 28. The process of cellular respiration

a. is performed only by organisms that are incapable of photosynthesis. b. breaks down food molecules to release stored energy. c. occurs before plants are able to carry out photosynthesis. d. occurs only in animals.

____ 29. The name of the process that takes place when organic compounds are broken down in the absence of oxygen is

a. respiration. b. oxidation. c. fermentation. d. All of the above

____ 30. When muscles are exercised extensively in the absence of sufficient oxygen,

a. a large amount of ATP is formed. b. NADH molecules split. c. lactic acid is produced. d. oxidative respiration ceases.

____ 31. The chromosomes in your body

a. exist in 23 pairs. b. each contain thousands of genes. c. are about 40 percent DNA and 60 percent protein. d. All of the above

____ 32. A student can study a karyotype to learn about the

a. molecular structure of a chromosome. b. genes that are present in a particular strand of DNA. c. medical history of an individual. d. chromosomes present in a somatic cell.

____ 33. A diploid cell is one that

a. has two homologues of each chromosome. b. is designated by the symbol 2n. c. has chromosomes found in pairs. d. All of the above

____ 34. The diploid number of chromosomes in a human skin cell is 46. The number of chromosomes found in a human ovum is

a. 46. b. 92. c. 23. d. 12.5.

____ 35. Mitosis is a process by which

a. DNA is replicated. b. cytokinesis occurs. c. cells grow in size. d. a cell’s nucleus divides.

____ 36. The scientific study of heredity is called

a. meiosis. b. crossing-over. c. genetics. d. pollination.

____ 37. The “father” of genetics was

a. T. A. Knight. b. Hans Krebs. c. Gregor Mendel. d. None of the above

____ 38. A genetic trait that appears in every generation of offspring is called

a. dominant. b. phenotypic. c. recessive. d. superior.

____ 39. The phenotype of an organism

a. represents its genetic composition. b. reflects all the traits that are actually expressed. c. occurs only in dominant pure organisms. d. cannot be seen.

____ 40. If an individual has two recessive alleles for the same trait, the individual is said to be

a. homozygous for the trait. b. haploid for the trait. c. heterozygous for the trait. d. mutated.

____ 41. An individual heterozygous for a trait and an individual homozygous recessive for the trait are crossed and produce many offspring that are

a. all the same genotype. b. of two different phenotypes. c. of three different phenotypes. d. all the same phenotype.

____ 42. Tallness (T) is dominant to shortness (t) in pea plants. Which of the following represents a genotype of a pea plant that is heterozygous for tallness?

a. T b. TT c. Tt d. tt

____ 43. The primary function of DNA is to

a. make proteins. b. store and transmit genetic information. c. control chemical processes within cells. d. prevent mutations.

____ 44. Molecules of DNA are composed of long chains of

a. amino acids. b. fatty acids. c. monosaccharides. d. nucleotides.

____ 45. A nucleotide consists of

a. a sugar, a protein, and adenine. b. a sugar, an amino acid, and starch. c. a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen-containing base. d. a starch, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen-containing base.

____ 46. The scientists credited with establishing the structure of DNA are

a. Avery and Chargaff. b. Hershey and Chase. c. Mendel and Griffith. d. Watson and Crick.

____ 47. The base-pairing rules state that the following are base pairs in DNA:

a. adenine—thymine; uracil—cytosine. b. adenine—thymine; guanine—cytosine. c. adenine—guanine; thymine—cytosine. d. uracil—thymine; guanine—cytosine.

____ 48. During DNA replication, a complementary strand of DNA is made for each original DNA strand. Thus, if a portion of the original strand is CCTAGCT, then the new strand will be

a. TTGCATG. b. AAGTATC. c. CCTAGCT. d. GGATCGA.

____ 49. The enzymes responsible for adding nucleotides to the exposed DNA template bases are

a. replicases. b. DNA polymerases. c. helicases. d. nucleotidases.

____ 50. RNA differs from DNA in that RNA

a. is sometimes single-stranded. b. contains a different sugar molecule. c. contains the nitrogen base uracil. d. All of the above

____ 51. Which of the following is not found in DNA?

a. adenine b. cytosine c. uracil d. None of the above

____ 52. During transcription

a. proteins are synthesized. b. DNA is replicated. c. RNA is produced. d. translation occurs.

____ 53. Restriction enzymes are specific in their identification of

a. base sequences. b. amino acids. c. proteins. d. chromosomes.

____ 54. Enzymes that cut DNA molecules at specific places

a. have sticky ends. b. are restriction enzymes. c. work only on bacterial DNA. d. always break the DNA between guanine and adenine.

____ 55. Cloning is a process by which

a. undesirable genes may be eliminated. b. many identical DNA fragments are produced. c. a virus and a bacterium may be fused into one. d. many identical cells may be produced.

____ 56. The use of genetic engineering to transfer human genes into bacteria

a. is impossible with current technology. b. causes the human genes to manufacture bacterial proteins. c. results in the formation of a new species of organism. d. allows the bacteria to produce human proteins.

____ 57. The goal of the Human Genome Project is to

a. create maps showing where genes are located on human chromosomes. b. create maps showing where chromosomes are located on human genes. c. treat patients with genetic diseases. d. identify people with genetic diseases.

____ 58. Which of the following are examples of fossils?

a. shells or old bones b. any traces of dead organisms c. footprints of human ancestors, insects trapped in tree sap, and animals buried in tar d. All of the above

____ 59. Animal fossils may form when

a. an animal is buried by sediment. b. burial takes place on the ocean floor, in swamps, in mud, or in tar pits. c. the tissue is replaced by harder minerals. d. All of the above

____ 60. Darwin conducted much of his research on

a. the Samoan Islands. b. Manhattan Island. c. the Hawaiian Islands. d. the Galapagos Islands.

____ 61. The process by which a population becomes better suited to its environment is known as

a. accommodation. b. variation. c. adaptation. d. selection.

____ 62. In order to fit into their habitat, the Galapagos finches had

a. not changed. b. been created as superior birds. c. evolved. d. All of the above

____ 63. According to Darwin, evolution occurs

a. by chance. b. during half-life periods of 5,715 years. c. because of natural selection. d. rapidly.

____ 64. Organisms well suited to their environment

a. reproduce more successfully than those less suited to the same environment. b. are always larger than organisms less suited to that environment. c. always live longer than organisms less suited to that environment. d. need less food than organisms less suited to that environment.

____ 65. When Darwin published his theory of evolution, he included all of the following ideas except

a. the idea that species change slowly over time. b. the idea that some organisms reproduce at a greater rate than others. c. Mendel’s ideas about genetics. d. the idea that some organisms become less suited to their environment than others.

____ 66. The major idea that Darwin presented in his book The Origin of Species was that

a. species changed over time and never competed with each other. b. animals changed, but plants remained the same. c. giraffes and peppered moths changed constantly. d. species changed over time by natural selection.

____ 67. Natural selection is the process by which

a. the age of selected fossils is calculated. b. organisms with traits well suited to their environment survive and reproduce more successfully than less well-adapted organisms in the same environment. c. acquired traits are passed on from one generation to the next. d. All of the above

____ 68. Natural selection could not occur without

a. genetic variation in species. b. environmental changes. c. competition for unlimited resources. d. gradual warming of the Earth.

____ 69. Which of the following is a vestigial structure?

a. the human tailbone b. the bill of a finch c. flower color d. fossil cast

____ 70. Homologous structures in organisms suggest that the organisms

a. share a common ancestor. b. must have lived at different times. c. have a skeletal structure. d. are now extinct.

____ 71. Structures that no longer serve an important function are called

a. inorganic. b. mutated. c. fossilized. d. vestigial.

____ 72. Evidence for evolution includes all of the following except

a. acquired characteristics. b. similarities and differences in proteins and DNA sequences between organisms. c. the fossil record. d. homologous structures.

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Answer Section

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. A

2. D

3. C

4. A

5. D

6. B

7. A

8. D

9. A

10. C

11. B

12. B

13. C

14. D

15. D

16. A

17. C

18. A

19. B

20. D

21. C

22. D

23. D

24. A

25. B

26. C

27. C

28. B

29. C

30. C

31. D

32. D

33. D

34. C

35. D

36. C

37. C

38. A

39. B

40. A

41. B

42. C

43. B

44. D

45. C

46. D

47. B

48. D

49. B

50. D

51. C

52. C

53. A

54. B

55. D

56. D

57. A

58. D

59. D

60. D

61. C

62. C

63. C

64. A

65. C

66. D

67. B

68. A

69. A

70. A

71. D

72. A