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MCAT Prep Biology

Subjects : mcat, science
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. 'Yellow body.' The remnants of an ovarian follicle after ovulation has occurred. The cells enlarge and begin secreting progesterone - the dominant female hormone during the second half of the menstrual cycle. Some estrogen is also secreted.






2. Microscopic outward folds of the cells lining the small intestine; microvilli serve to increase the surface area of the small intestine for absorption.






3. A hormone produced and secreted by the parathyroid glands that increases serum calcium levels. It targets the bones (stimulates osteoclasts) - the kidneys (increases calcium reabsorption) - and the small intestine (increases calcium absorption).






4. The division of the peripheral nervous system that innervates and controls the skeletal muscles; also known as the voluntary nervous system.






5. An **inorganic molecule that associates non - covalently with an enzyme and that is required for the proper functioning of the enzyme






6. The cells of the afferent artery at the juxtaglomerular apparatus. They are baroreceptors that secrete renin upon sensing a decrease in blood pressure.






7. The third phase of meiosis I. During anaphase I the rplicated homologous chromosomes are separated (the tetrad is split) and pulled to opposite sides of the cell.






8. The reduced form of NAD+ (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide). This is the most common electron carrier in cellular respiration.






9. A red blood cell; they are filled with hemoglobin - and teh function of the erythrocytes is to carry oxygen in the blood.






10. A lipid bilayer that surrounds the capsid of an animal virus. the envelope is acquired as teh virus buds out through the plasma membrane of its host cell. Not all annimal viruses possess and envelope.






11. The space between the inner and outer cell membranes in Gram - negative bactera. The peptidoglycan cell wall is found in the periplasmic space - and this space sometimes contains enzymes to degrade antibiotics.






12. A small - extrachromosomal (outside the genome) - circular DNA molecule found in prokaryotes.






13. Three loop - like structures in the inner ear that contain sensory receptors to monitor balance.






14. Very small air tubes int eh respiratory system (diameter 0.5 - 1.0 mm). The walls of the bronchioles are made of smooth muscle (thus involunatry) to help regulate air flow.






15. The main air tube leading into the respiratory system. The trachea is made of alternating rings of cartilage and connective tissue.






16. Sperm production; occurs in human males on a daily basis from puberty until death. Spermatogenesis results in the production of four mature gametes (sperm) from a single precursor cell (spermatogonium). For maximum sperm viability - spermatogenesis r






17. A mechanism by which the stroke volume of the heart is increased by increasing the venous return of the heart (thus stretching the ventricular muscle).






18. A sensory receptor that responds to mechanical disturbances - such as shape changes (being squashed - bent - pulled - etc.). Mechanoreceptors include touch receptors in the skin - hair cells - in the ear - muscle spindles - and others.






19. Something that acts to oppose the action of something else. For example - muscles that move a join in oppoiste direction are said to be antagonists.






20. Large conglomerations of proteins - fats - and cholesterol that transport lipids in the bloodstream. (chylomicrons are a type of lipoprotein).






21. The non - specific uptake of solid material by a cell accomplished by englufing the particle with plasma membrane and drawing it into the cell.






22. The final phase of the digestive tract - also called the colon. The primary funcion of the large intestine is to reabsorb water and to store the feces.






23. A poysaccharide found in the cell walls of fungi and in the exoskeletons of insects.






24. The regino of the sarcomere made up only of thin filaments. The I band is bisected by a Z line. I bands alternate with A bands to give skeletal and cardiac muscle a striated appearance. I bands get shorter (and may disappear completely) during muscle






25. A structure composed of two coils of DNA wrapped around an octet of histone proteins. The nucleosome is the primary form of packagin of eukaryotic DNA.






26. A layer of cells surroudning the granulosa cells of the follicles in an ovary. Thecal cells help produce the estrogen secreted from the follicle during the first phase of the ovarian cycle.






27. Globular protein that assist in DNA packaging in eukaryotes. Histones form octamers around which DNA is wound to form a nucleosome.






28. A thin - watery fluid found in teh anterior segment of the eye (between the lens and the cornea). THe aqueous humor is constantly produced and drained - adn helps to bring nutrients to the lesn and corena - as well as to remove metabolic wastes






29. A carrier protein that transports two molecules across the plasma membrane in the same direction. For example - the Na+- glucose cotransporter in intestinal cells is a symporter.






30. A substance secreted by embryonic testes that causes the regression of the Mullerian ducts.






31. The reduced from (carries electrons) of FAD (flavin adenine dinucleotide). this is the other main electron carrier in cellular respiration (NADH is the most common).






32. Photoreceptors in the retina of the eye that respond to dim light and provide us with black and white vision.






33. The muscular femal organ - in which a baby develops during pregnancy.






34. A relatively direct connection between a sensory neuron and a motor neuron that allows an extremely rapid response to a stimulus - often without conscious brain involvement.






35. A normal blood protein produced by the liver - angiotensin is converted to angiotensim I by renin (secreted by kidney when blood pressur falls). Angiotensin I si further onverted to angiotensim II by ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme). Angiotensin I






36. The protective - connective tissue wrapping of the central nervous system (the dura mater - arachnoid mater - and pia mater).






37. A law of population genetics that states that the frequencies of alleles in a given gene pool do not change over time. There are five assumptions required for this law to hold true: there must be no mutation - there must be no migration - there must






38. The membrane that separates the middle ear from the inner ear.






39. The membrane surrounding the DNA in eukaryotic cells made of two lipid bilayers.






40. An organism that lacks a nucleus or any other memrane - bound organelles. All prokaytes belong to the Kingdom Monera (not protista!)






41. A solid clump of cells resulting from cleavage in the early embryo. Because there is very little growth of these cells during cleavage - the morula is ony about as large as the original zygote.






42. A neuron that carries information (action potentials) away from the central nervous system; a motor neuron.






43. An abdominal organ that is considered part of the immune system. THe spleen has four functions: (1) it filters antigen from the blood (2) it is the site of B cell maturation - (3) it stors blood - and (4) it destroys old red blood cells.






44. Paired masses of lymphatic tissue near the back of the throat that help trap inhaled or swallowed pathogens.






45. The valves in the heart that separte the atria from teh ventricles. The tricuspid valve separates teh right atrium from the right ventricel - and the bicuspid (mitral) valves separates the left atrium from the left ventricle. These valves close at th






46. A type of cell division (in diploid cells) that reduces the number of chromosomes by half. Meiosis usualy produces haploid gametes in organisms that undergo sexual reproduction. It consists of a single interphase (G1 - S - and G2) followed by two set






47. An organism that requires oxygen to survive (aerobic metabolism only).






48. Movement that is directed by chemical gradients - such as nutrients or toxins. (seen in some bacteria)






49. A subset of a species consisting of members that mate and reproduce with one another.






50. The specialization of cell types - especially during the embryonic and fetal development.