The label on a container of margarine lists “hydrogenated vegetable oil” as the major
ingredient. Hydrogenated vegetable oil _____.
A) is solid at room temperature
B) has more “kinks” in the fatty acid chains
C) has fewer trans fatty acids
D) is less likely to clog arteries
Plant meristematic cells _____.
A) are distributed evenly in all tissues throughout the plant
B) are undifferentiated cells that produce new cells
C) increase the surface area of dermal tissue by developing root hairs
D) subdivide into three distinct cell types named parenchyma, ground meristem, and
procambium
Which of the following types of mutation, resulting in an error in the mRNA just after
the AUG start of translation, is likely to have the most serious effect on the polypeptide
product?
A) a deletion of a codon
B) a deletion of two nucleotides
C) a substitution of the third nucleotide in an ACC codon
D) a substitution of the first nucleotide of a GGG codon
Mutations in which of the following genes lead to transformations in the identity of
entire body parts?
A) segmentation genes
B) egg-polarity genes
C) homeotic genes
D) inducers
What would happen to people exposed to a chemical warfare agent that blocked
acetylcholine from binding to muscle receptors?
A) Action potentials would be continuously generated, causing convulsive muscle
contractions.
B) Muscle contractions would be prevented, causing paralysis.
C) Muscle contractions could still occur, but relaxation of the muscle would be
impaired.
D) Action potentials would be continuously generated, causing convulsive muscle
contractions; muscle contractions would then be prevented, causing paralysis.
One is most likely to see guttation in small plants when the _____.
A) transpiration rates are high
B) root pressure exceeds transpiration pull
C) the preceding evening was hot, windy, and dry
D) roots are not absorbing minerals from the soil
The polarity of a plant is established when _____.
A) cotyledons form at the shoot end of the embryo
B) the shoot-root axis is established in the embryo
C) the primary root breaks through the seed coat
D) the shoot first breaks through the soil into the light as the seed germinates
A DNA microarray is a tool that owes its existence to earlier genomics investigations.
What essential contribution of genomics makes microarrays possible?
A) recently improved RNA sequencing technologies
B) continuously improving methods of gene cloning
C) more efficient techniques for cDNA synthesis
D) knowledge of which DNA sequences to synthesize for the array
The loop of Henle dips into the renal cortex. This is an important feature of
osmoregulation in terrestrial vertebrates because _____.
A) absorptive processes taking place in the loop of Henle are hormonally regulated
B) differential permeabilities of ascending and descending limbs of the loop of Henle
are important in establishing an osmotic gradient
C) the loop of Henle plays an important role in detoxification
D) additional filtration takes place along the loop of Henle
A genetic change that caused a certain Hox gene to be expressed along the tip of a
vertebrate limb bud instead of farther back helped make possible the evolution of the
tetrapod limb. This type of change is illustrative of _____.
A) the influence of environment on development
B) paedomorphosis
C) a change in a developmental gene or its regulation that altered the spatial
organization of body parts
D) heterochrony
The comparison between the number of human genes and those of other animal species
has led to many conclusions, including that _____.
A) the density of the human genome is far higher than in most other animals
B) the number of proteins expressed by the human genome is far more than the number
of its genes
C) most human DNA consists of genes for protein, tRNA, rRNA, and miRNA
D) the genomes of most other organisms are significantly smaller than the human
genome
A primary transcript in the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell is _____ the functional mRNA,
while a primary transcript in a prokaryotic cell is _____ the functional mRNA.
A) the same size as; smaller than
B) larger than; the same size as
C) larger than; smaller than
D) the same size as; larger than
The alternative pathways of photosynthesis using the C4 or CAM systems are said to be
compromises. Why?
A) Each one minimizes both water loss and rate of photosynthesis.
B) C4 compromises on water loss and CAM compromises on photorespiration.
C) Both minimize photorespiration but expend more ATP during carbon fixation.
D) CAM plants allow more water loss, while C4 plants allow less CO2 into the plant.
What wavelength of light in the figure is most effective in driving photosynthesis?
A) 420 mm
B) 575 mm
C) 625 mm
D) 730 mm
Removing which of the following glands would have the most wide-reaching effect on
bodily functions of an adult human?
A) adrenal glands
B) pituitary gland
C) thyroid gland
D) ovaries (in female) or testes (in male)
In onions (Allium), cells of the sporophyte have 16 chromosomes within each nucleus.
Match the number of chromosomes present in each of the following onion tissues.
How many chromosomes should be in a generative cell nucleus?
A) 8
B) 16
C) 24
D) 32
Misfolding of polypeptides is a serious problem in cells. Which of the following
diseases are associated with an accumulation of misfolded polypeptides?
A) Alzheimer’s only
B) Parkinson’s only
C) diabetes mellitus only
D) Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s only
Which of the following root tissues gives rise to lateral roots?
A) endodermis
B) phloem
C) epidermis
D) pericycle
Which of the following would be most significant in understanding the structure of an
ecological community?
I) determining how many species are present overall
II) determining which particular species are present
III) determining the kinds of interactions that occur among organisms of different
species
IV) determining the relative abundance of species
A) only I and III
B) only II and IV
C) only I, II, and III
D) I, II, III, and IV
The atomic number of nitrogen is 7. Nitrogen-15 has a greater mass number than
nitrogen-14 because the atomic nucleus of nitrogen-15 contains _____.
A) 7 neutrons
B) 8 neutrons
C) 8 protons
D) 15 protons
The following table depicts characteristics of five prokaryotic species (A-E). Use the
information in the table to answer the question(s) below
Species D is pathogenic if it gains access to the human intestine. Which other species, if
it coinhabited a human intestine along with species D, is most likely to result in a
recombinant species that is both pathogenic and resistant to some antibiotics?
A) species A
B) species B
C) species C
D) species E
Which of the following describes the ability of a single allele to have multiple
phenotypic effects?
A) incomplete dominance
B) multiple alleles
C) pleiotropy
D) epistasis
Several epidemic microbial diseases of earlier centuries incurred high death rates
because they resulted in severe dehydration due to vomiting and diarrhea. Today they
are usually not fatal because we have developed which of the following?
A) antiviral medications that are efficient and work well with most viruses
B) intravenous feeding techniques
C) medications to slow blood loss
D) hydrating drinks with high concentrations of salts and glucose
When the atoms involved in a covalent bond have the same electronegativity, what type
of bond results?
A) an ionic bond
B) a hydrogen bond
C) a nonpolar covalent bond
D) a polar covalent bond
Which of the following are directly associated with photosystem I?
A) receiving electrons from the thylakoid membrane electron transport chain
B) generation of molecular oxygen
C) extraction of hydrogen electrons from the splitting of water
D) passing electrons to the cytochrome complex
Glucocorticoids do which of the following?
A) promote the immune response
B) promote the release of fatty acids
C) increase blood glucose levels
D) increase insulin production
Movement of the chromosomes during anaphase would be most affected by a drug that
prevents _____.
A) nuclear envelope breakdown
B) elongation of microtubules
C) shortening of microtubules
D) formation of a cleavage furrow
Genetically engineered plants _____.
A) are more difficult to develop than genetically engineered animals
B) include transgenic rice plants that can grow in water of high salinity
C) are used in research but not yet in commercial agricultural production
D) are banned throughout the world
Refer to the following graph of an action potential to answer the question(s) below.
The membrane’s permeability to sodium ions is at its maximum at label _____.
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
If a female of this species has one chromosome 12 with a blue gene and another
chromosome 12 with an orange gene, and has both number 19 chromosomes with short
genes, she will produce which of the following egg types?
A) only blue short gene eggs
B) only orange short gene eggs
C) one-half blue short and one-half orange short gene eggs
D) three-fourths blue short and one-fourth orange short gene eggs
Which molecule shown above can increase the concentration of hydrogen ions in a
solution and is, therefore, an organic acid?
A) A
B) B
C) C
D) D
A researcher is using adult stem cells and comparing them to other adult cells from the
same tissue. Which of the following is a likely finding?
A) The cells from the two sources exhibit different patterns of DNA methylation.
B) Adult stem cells have more DNA nucleotides than their counterparts.
C) The two kinds of cells have virtually identical gene expression patterns in
microarrays.
D) The nonstem cells have fewer repressed genes.
Some cells have several nuclei per cell. How could such multinucleated cells be
explained?
A) The cell underwent repeated cytokinesis but no mitosis.
B) The cell underwent repeated mitosis with simultaneous cytokinesis.
C) The cell underwent repeated mitosis, but cytokinesis did not occur.
D) The cell had multiple S phases before it entered mitosis.
Which of the following animals generally has the lowest volume of urine production?
A) a vampire bat
B) a salmon in fresh water
C) a marine bony fish
D) a shark inhabiting the Mississippi River