Chemistry for Changing Times, 14e (Hill/McCreary)
Chapter 22 Poisons
22.1 Multiple Choice Questions
1) Which of the following common kitchen chemicals are toxic at certain concentration or under certain
biological conditions?
A) table salt
B) cane sugar
C) baking soda
D) All of these can be toxic.
2) The study of the effects of poisons, their detection and identification and their antidotes is known as
A) alkaloidism.
B) carcinogenic testing.
C) berylliosis.
D) toxicology.
3) Which of the following is the most poisonous?
A) botulin
B) strychnine
C) nicotine
D) coniine
4) An example of an alkaloid is
A) estradiol.
B) acetic acid.
C) methionine.
D) caffeine.
5) An alkaloid is a(n)
A) carcinogen that is made by plants.
B) heterocyclic amine that is occurs naturally in plants.
C) air pollutant.
D) polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon.
6) Many household cleaners contain strong acids or bases. Drain cleaners, oven cleaners and toilet bowl
cleaners are all
A) metabolic poisons.
B) corrosive poisons.
C) mutagenic poisons.
D) carcinogenic poisons.
7) The active ingredient in which of the following is a corrosive poison?
A) ammonia
B) drain cleaner
C) furniture wax
D) laundry detergent
8) Which is a corrosive poison?
A) carbon monoxide
B) potassium nitrite
C) methyl alcohol
D) sulfuric acid
9) Oxidizing agents like ozone are classified as
A) blood agents.
B) nerve poisons.
C) corrosive poisons.
D) carcinogens.
10) Many oxidizing agents “poison” by
A) deactivating enzymes.
B) hydrolyzing proteins.
C) breaking down carbohydrates.
D) reacting with water.
11) Strong acids and bases are damaging to living cells because even in dilute solutions they
A) are oxidizing agents.
B) are reducing agents.
C) catalyze the hydrolysis of proteins.
D) form dangerous peroxides.
12) The sulfur-containing amino acid cysteine is oxidized to
A) cysteic acid.
B) cysteic sulfoxide.
C) a sulfoxide-carboxylic acid.
D) an amide.
13) Which of the following corrosive toxins is also called an oxidizing agent?
A) nitric acid
B) hydrochloric acid
C) sodium hydroxide (lye)
D) ozone
14) Which of the following is NOT an air pollutant that can damage living cells?
A) cysteine
B) ozone
C) peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN)
D) sulfur dioxide
15) Which of the following amino acids undergoes oxidation in the presence of photochemical smog?
A) tryptophan
B) glycine
C) leucine
D) threonine
16) Which is a poison that acts by blocking the oxidation of glucose within cells?
A) nitrate
B) cyanide
C) nicotine
D) sulfuric acid
17) Cyanide poisons by
A) blocking oxygen transport by hemoglobin.
B) reacting with lung tissue.
C) deactivating glucose oxidation enzymes.
D) blocking cell protein synthesis.
18) The average fatal dose of hydrogen cyanide is
A) 5 to 10 mg.
B) 50 mg.
C) 5 to 10 g.
D) 200 to 300 g.
19) The treatment for cyanide poisoning is
A) sodium bisulfate.
B) potassium iodide.
C) hydrogen iodide.
D) sodium nitrite.
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20) Which of the following poisons results in decreasing the ability of hemoglobin to carry oxygen?
A) mercury
B) carbon monoxide
C) sodium chloride
D) sodium hydroxide
21) Nitrate acts as a poison by
A) oxidizing hemoglobin to methemoglobin, which cannot carry oxygen.
B) reacting with enzymes that break down toxic wastes in the liver.
C) interfering with oxidative enzymes.
D) blocking cell protein synthesis.
22) Which compound has been used as a poison to kill predators?
A) NaCN
B) fluoroacetic acid
C) Cd
D) DDT
23) Iron (as Fe2+) is
A) toxic at all concentrations.
B) safe at all concentrations.
C) toxic at high concentrations, essential at low concentration.
D) toxic at high concentration, not known to be essential.
24) Pb (as Pb2+) is
A) toxic at all concentrations.
B) safe at all concentrations.
C) toxic at high concentrations but not at low concentrations.
D) toxic to children but not to adults at high concentrations.
25) Which of these is NOT considered a heavy metal?
A) Ca
B) Ag
C) Hg
D) Au
26) Which of these is considered to be a heavy metal?
A) Se
B) Li
C) Cd
D) I
27) The antidote for mercury poisoning is
A) atropine.
B) nicotine.
C) BAL.
D) coniine.
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28) The human body can eliminate half of a dose of mercury poisoning in ________ days.
A) 1
B) 100
C) 70
D) 365
29) Arsenic compounds are poisons because they
A) deactivate enzymes.
B) catalyze the hydrolysis of proteins.
C) are reducing agents.
D) deplete calcium from the bones.
30) The antidote for mercury poisoning, BAL, acts by
A) precipitating mercury.
B) reducing Hg2+ to Hg.
C) oxidizing Hg to Hg2+.
D) complexing the mercury.
31) Lead is used in
A) paint.
B) some gasolines.
C) plumbing fixtures.
D) Lead is used in all of the above.
32) Lead poisoning affects the
A) digestive system.
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B) endocrine system.
C) reproductive system.
D) central nervous system.
33) Cadmium poisons by
A) promoting loss of calcium from bone.
B) deactivating enzymes.
C) hydrolyzing proteins.
D) destroying cell membranes.
34) The cause of itai-itai, the “ouch-ouch” disease is
A) cadmium.
B) mercury.
C) lead.
D) iridium.
35) Which of the following metals is more hazardous in the vapor state?
A) lead
B) barium
C) mercury
D) cadmium
36) Botulin, the most deadly poison known, is
A) organophosphorus pesticide.
B) a nerve gas for chemical warfare.
C) formed in improperly canned food by anaerobic bacteria.
D) a chlorinated hydrocarbon.
37) Curare, the blow dart poison of Amazonian Indians, disrupts the acetylcholine cycle by blocking
A) receptors.
B) the release of acetylcholine.
C) the breakdown of acetylcholine.
D) the formation of acetylcholine.
38) The antidote for poisoning by organophosphorus nerve poisons is
A) atropine.
B) nicotine.
C) EDTA.
D) thiosulfate.
39) Organophosphorus compounds are used as
A) insecticides.
B) antiviral agents.
C) antipsychotic drugs.
D) antibiotics.
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40) Acetylcholine is a chemical messenger that
A) activates the presynaptic membrane to make it permeable to ions that conduct an impulse.
B) inactivates the presynaptic membrane to make it impermeable to certain ions that conduct an impulse.
C) activates the postsynaptic nerve cell by fitting into a specific receptor and changing the permeability of
the cell membrane to certain ions.
D) inactivates the postsynaptic membrane to make it impermeable to certain ions that conduct an
impulse.
41) Actylcholinesterase acts to change acetylcholine to
A) acetic acid, water and choline.
B) water and choline.
C) water and acetic acid.
D) acetic acid and choline.
42) Which of the following will make the most effective poison for rats and mice?
A) ethyl alcohol, LD50 = 2.08 g/kg
B) acetaminophen, LD50 = 0.340 g/kg
C) ethylene glycol, LD50 = 0.00686 g/kg
D) ricin, LD50 = 0.000005 mg/kg
43) Which of the following statements about LD50 is NOT correct?
A) The LD50 for a substance is the dose that will kill 50% of test subjects.
B) A substance with a low LD50 is more toxic than a substance with a high LD50.
C) The LD50 value for a mouse will be the same as the LD50 value for a human.
D) The LD50 value will change, depending upon how the substance is administered.
44) The organ most used for the detoxification of poisons in the human body is the
A) liver.
B) gall bladder.
C) small intestine.
D) mouth.
45) Most detoxification of poisons in the body occurs via
A) combination with chemicals other than oxygen.
B) oxidation.
C) reduction.
D) direct excretion.
46) In the body, ethanol goes through the following steps.
A) ethanol acetic acid acetaldehyde carbon dioxide and water
B) ethanol carbon dioxide and water acetaldehyde acetic acid
C) ethanol acetic acid carbon dioxide and water acetaldehyde
D) ethanol acetaldehyde acetic acid carbon dioxide and water
47) P-450 enzymes, which can convert fat-soluble compounds into water-soluble compounds that can be
excreted, are found in the
A) throat.
B) liver.
C) pancreas.
D) blood.