Test your basic knowledge |

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. The second step in viral infection - the injection of the viral genome into the host cell.






2. 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.






3. A steroid hormone produced by the corpus luteum in the ovary during the second half of the menstrual cycle Progesterone maintains and enhances the uterine lining for the possible implantation of a fertilized ovum. It is the primary hormone secreted d






4. The law of conservation of energy; the energy of the universe is constant - thus if the energy of a system increases - the energy of its surroundings must decrease - and vice versa.






5. The movement of a particle (the solute) in a solution from its region of high concentration to its region of low concentration ( or down it concentration gradient).






6. A hormone made of amino acids (in some cases just a single - modified amino acid). Peptide hormones are generally hydrophilic and cannot cross the plasma membranes of cells - thus receptor for peptide hormones must be found on the cell surface. An ex






7. A hormone tha tcontrols the release of another hormone.






8. A thick - transpartent coating rich in glycoproteins that surrounds an oocyte.






9. The period of exponential growth of bacterial population.






10. To remove oxygen - to add hydrogen - or to add electrons to a molecule.






11. A bacterium having a rod - like shaped (plural = bacilli).






12. The primary androgen (male sex steroid). Testosterone is a steroid hormone produced and secreted by the interstitial cells of the testes. It triggers the development of secondary male sex characteristics during puberty (including spermatogenesis) and






13. A situation in which a heterozygot displays a blended version of the pheotypes associated with each allele - e.g. pure - breeding white - flowered plants crossed with pure - breeding red - flowered plants produces heterozygous offspring plants with p






14. An organelle surrounded by a double=membrane (two lipid bilayers) where ATP production takes place. The interior (matrix) is where PDC and the Krebs cycle occur - and the inner membrane contains the enzymes of the electron trasport chain and ATP synt






15. Paired glands found on the posterior external wall of the bladder in males. Their secretions contain an alkaline mucus and fructose - among other things - and make up approximately 60% of the ejaculate volume.






16. Something that works together with another thing to augment the the second thing's activity. For example - a uscle that assists another muslce is said to be a syngergist. An enzyme that helps another enzyme is a synergist.






17. The liquid portion of blood; plasma contains water - ions - buffers - sugars - proteins - etc. Anything that dissolves in blood dissolves in the plasma portion.






18. A genetic cross between an organism displaying a recessive phenotype (homozygous recessive) and an organism displaying a dominant phenotype (for whic the genotype is unknown) - done to determine the unknown genotype.






19. 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






20. A type of substrate binding to a multi - active site enzyme - in which the bnidng of one substrate molecule facilitates teh binding of subsequent substrate molecules. A graph of reaction rate vs. substrate concentration appears sigmoidal. Noe that co






21. The duplication of DNA






22. The neurotransmitter used throughout the parasympathetic nervous system as well as the neuromuscular junction.






23. The outermost layer of teh skin. The epidermis is made of epithelial tissue that is constantly dividing at the bottom; teh cells migrate to teh surface (dying along the way) to be sloughed off at the suface.






24. The movement of molecules through the plasma membrane against their concentration gradients. Active transport requires input of cellular energy - often in the form of ATP. An example is the Na+/K+ ATPase in the plasma membrane of all cells.






25. Arise in blood pH due to hyperventilation (excessive breathing) and a resulting decrease in CO2.






26. The portion of theforebrain that includes the thalamus and hypothalamus.






27. Proteins that bind to and stabilize the signle strands of DNA exposed when helicase unwinds the double helix in preparation for replication.






28. The membranes that line the surface of the lungs (visceral pleura) and the inside wall of the chest cavity (parietal pleura).






29. 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






30. A wave of contraction that sweeps along a muscular tube - pushing substances along the tube (e.g. - food through the digestive tract - urine through the ureters - etc.)






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






32. An organism that can only survive in the absence of oxygen (anaerobic metabolism); oxygen is toxic to obligate anaerobes.






33. The region of the nephron that surrounds the glomerulus. The capsule ollects the plasma that is filtered from teh capillaries in the glomerulus.


34. A developing oocyte and all of its surrounding (supporting) cells.






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






36. A protein hormone secreted by sustenacular cells of the testes that acts to inhibit the release of FSH and LH from the anterior pituitary.






37. The shaft of a long bone. The diaphysis is hollow and is made entirely from compact bone.






38. Specialized lymphatic capillaries in the intestines that take up lipids as well as lymph.






39. A eukaryotic organelle filled with digestive enzymes (acid hydrolases) that is involved in digestion of macromolecules such as worng organelles or material ingested by phagocytosis.






40. Bacteria that have a thin peptidoglycan cell wall covered by an outer plasma membrane. They stain very lightly (pink) in Gram stain. Gram - negative bacteria are typically more resistant to antibiotics than Gram - positive bacteria.






41. A mature - dormant osteoblast.






42. A type of mutation in DNa where a single base is substituted for another.






43. The layer of granulosa cells taht surround an oocyte after is has been ovulated.






44. The mechanism of contraction in skeletal and cardiac muscl cells. It is a series of four repeated steps: (1) myosin binds actin - (2) myosin pull actin toward the center of the sarcomere (3) myosin releases actin - and (4) myosin resets to its high -






45. The flow of blood from the heart - through the body (not including the lungs) - and back to the heart.






46. One of the four aromatic bases found in DNA and RNA. Guanine is a purine; it pairs with cytosine.






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






48. A string of sarcomeres with a skeletal muscle cell (hence smaller than myofiber). Each muscle cell contains hundreds of myofibirils.






49. The innermost layer of the eyeball. The retina is made up of a layer of photoreceptors - a layer of bipolar cells - and a layer of ganglion cells.






50. Formerly called the cardiac sphincter - this sphincter marks the entrance to the stomach. Its function is to prevent reflux of acid stomach contents into the esophagus; note that it does **not regulate entry into the stomach.