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






2. A long - coiled duct on the outside of the testis in which sperm mature.






3. A highly specific cellular uptake mechanism. The molecule to be taken up must bind to cell surface receptor found in a clathrin - coated pit.






4. The tubes that carry urine from the kindeys to the bladder.






5. An organs in the abdominal cavity with two roles. The first is an exocrine role: to produce digestive enzymes and bicarbonate - which are delivered to the small intestine via the pancreatic duct. The second is an endocrine role: to secrete insulin an






6. An organism that has only a single copy of its genome in each of its cells. Haploid organisms possess no homolous chromosomes.






7. The enzyme that catalyzes the phosphorylation of fructose -6- phosphate to form fructose -1-6- bisphosphate in the third step of glycolysis. This is the main regulatory step of glycolysis. PFK is feedback - inhibited by ATP.






8. The most common class of bone in the body - long bones have a well - defined shaft (the diaphysis) and two well - defined ends (the epiphyses).






9. A type of synapse at which a chemical (a neurotransmitter) is released from teh axon of a neuron into the ysnaptic cleft where it binds to receptors on the next structure in sequence - either another neuron or an organ.






10. A large - mature - ovarian follicel with a well - developed antrum and a secondary oocyte. Ovulation of the oocyte occurs from this type of follicle.






11. The elimination of wastes from the body.






12. A hormone produced and secreted by teh adrenal medulla that prolongs and increases teh effects of the sympathetic nervous system.






13. A contractile protein connecting microtubules in the '9+2- arrangement of cilia and eukaryotic flagella. The contraction of dynein produces the characteristic movement of these structures.






14. A subsequent immune response to previously encountered antigen that results in antibody production and T cell activation. The secondary immune response is mediated by memory cells (produced during the primary immune respone) and is much faster and st






15. An enzyme present in erythrocytes (as well as in other places) that catalyzes the conversion of CO2 and H2O into carbonic acid (H2CO3).






16. The allele in a heterozygou genotype that is not expressed; the phenotype resulting from possession of two recessive alleles (homozygous recessive).






17. The principal mineralocorticoid secreted by teh adrenal cortex. This steroid hormone targets the kidney tubules and increases renal reabsorption of sodium [and excretion of potassium]. (this causes ADH to be secreted & increased water comes out - inc






18. A generic connective tissue cell that produces fibers; the progenitor of all other connective tissue cell types.






19. The force required to resist the movement of water by osmosis. Osmotic pressure is essentialy a measure of the concentration of a solution. A solution that is hyighly concnetrated has a strong tendency to draw water into itself - so the pressure requ






20. The blood vessel that carries deoxygenated from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs.






21. The return of membrane potential to normal resting values after a depolarization of hyperpolarization.






22. The first substrate in teh Krebs cycle - produced primarily from the oxidation of pyruvate by the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex - however acetyl - CoA is also produced during fatty acid oxidation and protein catabolism.






23. A bacterial extrachromosal elent that allows the bacterium to initati conjugation. Bacteria that possess teh F factor are known as F+ 'males'.






24. A non - bony material that fills the hollow spaces inside bones. Red bone marrow is found in regiosn of spongy bone and is the site of blood cell (red and white) production. Yellow bone marrow is found in the diaphysis (shaft) of long bones - is most






25. Strong bands of connective tissue that connect skeletal muscle to bone.






26. One of the contractie proteins in muscle tissue. In skeletal and cardiac muscles - myosin forms the thick filaments. Myosin has intrinsic ATPase activity and can exist in two conformation - either high energy or low energy.






27. The 3' end of a tRNA molecule that binds an amino acid. The nucleotide sequence at this end is CCA






28. A large - non - sepcific - phagocytic cell of the immune syste. Macrophages frequently leave the bloodstream to crawl around in the tissues and perform 'clean up' duties - such as ingesting dead cells or cellular debris at an injury site - or pathoge






29. The movement of the membrane potential of a cell away from rest potential in a more negative direction.






30. The outer layer of an organ - e.g. the renal cortex - the ovarian cortex - the adrenal cortex - etc.






31. Hardy crystals consisting of calcium and phosphate that form the bone matrix.






32. The portion of the digestive tract that stores and grinds food. Limited digestion occurs in the somach - and it has the lowest pH in the body (1-2).






33. The 'blind spot' of the eye - this is where the axons of the ganglion cells exist the retinal to form the optic nerve. There are no photoreceptors in the optic disk.






34. The mass of cells in the blastocyst that ultimately give rise to the embryo and other embryonic structues (the amion - the umbilical vessels - etc.)






35. A contact point between the afferent arteriole of the glomerulus and the distal convoluted tubule of the nephron. It is involved in regulating blood pressure.






36. The process of reading a strand of mRNA to synthesize protein. Protein translation takes place on a ribosome.






37. A waste product of protein dbreakdown - produced by the liver and relased into the bloodstream to be eliminated by the kidney.






38. An immune organ located near the heart. THe thymus is the site of T cell maturation and is larger in children and adolescents.






39. 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.






40. The bond formed between the carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of another.






41. The mechanism that ensures tehat skeletal muscle contraction does not occur without neural stimulation (excitation). A trest - cytosolic [Calcium] is low - and the troponin - tropomyosin complex covers the myosin - binding sites on actin. When the mu






42. Aso called a subcutaneous layer - this is a layer of *fat located under the dermis of the skin. The hypodermis helps to insulate the body and protects underlying muscles and other structures.






43. Also called vasopressin - this hormone is produced in the hypothalamus and secreted by teh posterior pituitary gland. It tartes teh kidney tubules - increasing their permeability to water - adn thus increasing water retention by the body. Also raises






44. A vein connecting the capillary bed of the intestines with the capillary bed of the liver. This allows amino acids and gluocse absorbed from the intestines to be delivered first to the liver for processing before being transported throughout the circ






45. The tendency of certain factors to stablize the hemoglobin in the tense conformation - thus reducing its affinity for oxygen and enhancing the relase of oxygen to the tissues. The factors include increased PCO2 - increase temperature - increased bisp






46. A specialized region at the ends of eukaryotic chromosmes that contains several repeats of a particular DNA sequence. These ends are maintained (in some cells) with the help of a special DNA poymerase called telomerase. In cells that lack telomerase






47. A trop hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gand that targets the adrenal cortex - stimulating it to relase corisol and aldosterone.






48. A kinase in smooth muscle cells activated by calmodulin the presence of Ca2+. As its name implies - this kinase phosphorylates myosin - activating it so that muscle contraction can occur.






49. A pair of similar chromosomes that have the same genes in the same order - but may have different versions (alleles) of those genes. One of the pair of chromosomes came from Mom in an ovum - and the other came from Dad in a sperm. Humans have 23 pair






50. The small artery that carries blood toward the capillaries of the glomerulus.