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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. The inner layer of smooth muscle in the wall of the digestive tract. When the circular muscle contracts - the tube diameter is reduced. Certain areas of the circular muscle are thickened to act as valves (sphincters).






2. An immune reaction directed against normal (necessary ) cells.Fo example - diabets melitus (typeI) is an autoimmun reaction directed against teh beta cells of the pancrease (destorying them and preventing insulin secretion) and aginst insulin itself.






3. A group of sensory neuron cell bodies found just posterior to the spinal cord on either side. A pair of root ganglia exists for each spinal nerve that expands from the spinal cord. The ganglia are part of the peripheral nervous system (PNS).






4. The specific site on an antigenic molecule that binds to a T cell receptor or to an antibody.






5. The transfre by a lysogenic virus of a portion of a host cell genome to a new host.






6. MRna that codes for several different proteins by utliizing different reading frames - nested genets - etc. Polycistronic mRNa is a characteristic of prokaryotes.






7. A group of blood proteins that bind non - specifically to the surface proteins of foreign cells (such as bacteria) - ultimately leading to the destruction of the foreign cell - part of the innate immunity.






8. Diploid cells resultinf rom the activation of a spermatogoium; primary spermatocytes are ready to enter meiosis I. remember: cyte means ready to undergo meiosis.






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






10. A nonliving - intracellular parasite. Viruses are typically just pieces of nucleic aid surrounded by a protein coat.






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






12. The product of glycolysis; 2 pyruvic acid (pyruvate) molecules are produced from a single glucose molecule. In the absence of oxygen - pyruvic acid undergoes fermentation and is reduced to either lactic acid or ethanol; in the presence of oxygen - py






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






14. A band of carilage (hyaline) found between the diaphysis and epiphyses of long bones during childhood and adolescence. Cell proliferation in the middle of the eiphyseal plate essentially forces teh diaphysis and epiphyses further apart - while the ol






15. One of the two peripheral nervous system supporting (glial) cells. Schwann cells from he myelin sheath on axons of peripheral neurons.






16. Fingerlike projection of the uterin (fallopian) tubes that drape over the ovary.






17. The rapid mitotic division of a zygot that being within 24-36 hours after fertilization






18. Oil - forming glands found all over the body - especially on the face and neck. The product (sebum) is released to the skin surface through hair follicles.






19. 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.






20. 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.






21. A point mutation in which a codon that specifies an amino acid is mutated into a new codon that specifies the same amion acid.






22. A statistical rule stating that the probability of two independent events occuring together is the product of their individual probabilities.






23. Summation by a postsynaptic cell of input (EPSPs or IPSPs) from a single source over time.






24. A bacterium having a spiral shape (plural = spirochetes)






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






26. The intracellular process triggered by the binding of a ligand to its receptor on the cell surface. Typically this activates seond messenger pathways.






27. The three glands in the male reproductive system that reproduce semen: the seminal vesicles - the prostate - and the






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






29. The movement of a hydrophobic molecule across the plasma membrane of cell - down its concentration gradient. Since the molecule can esialy interact with the lipid bilayer - no additional help (such as a channel or pore) is required.






30. The phase of the cell cycle during which the genome is replicated.






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






32. A genotype in which two different alleles are possessed for a given gene.






33. The string between beads of DNA on histones. They are also wrapped around a single histone - called linker histone - may not really have to know..






34. Movement of a hydrophilic molecuel across the plasma membrane of a cell - down its concentration gradient - through a channel - pore - or carrier molecule in the membrane. Because the hydrophilic nature of the molecule - it requires a special path th






35. The volume of blood pumped out the heart in a single contraction.






36. A virus with an RNA genome (e.g. HIV) that undergoes a lysogenic life cycle in a host with a double stranded DNA genome. In order to integrate its genome with the host cell genome - the virus must first reverse trasncribe its RNA genome to DNA.






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






38. A thin (4 mm) layer of gray matter on the surface of the cerebral hemispheres. The cerebral cortex is the conscious mind - and is functionally divided into four pairs of lobes: the frontal lobes - the parietal lobes - the temporal lobes - and the occ






39. A prokaryotic enzyme used to twist teh single circular chromosome of prokaryotes upon itself to form supercois. Supercoiling helps to compact prokaryotic DNa and make it sturdier.






40. A nucleotide sequence on DNA that contians three elemtns: a coding sequence for one or more enzymes - *a coding sequence for a regulatory protein - and upstream regulatory sequences where the regulatory proteins can bind. An example is the lac operon






41. A chromosome that does not determine gender (is not a sex chromosome). Humans have two sex chromsomes and 22 autosomes.






42. Receptors in the carotid arteries and the aorta that monitor blood pH to help regulate ventilation rate.






43. The division of the autonomic nervous system known as the 'resting and digesting' system. It causes a general decrease in body activities such as heart rate - respiratory rate - and blood pressure - and an increase in blood flow to the GI tract and d






44. The release of a secondary oocyte (along with some granulosa cells) from the ovary at the approximate midpoint of the menstrual cycle (typically around day 14). Ovulation is triggered by a surge in LH.






45. The perio of time during which the ventricles of the heart are relaxed.






46. The female primary sex organ. The ovary produces female gametes (ova) and secretes estrogen and progesterone.






47. The flow of blood through a tissue; ischeia is when there is no blood flow - anoxia when there is no O2 available (ischemia is more dangerous b/c of waste build - up)






48. A hormone released by teh G cells of the stomach in the presence of food. Gastrin promotes muscular activity of the stomach as well as secretion of hydrochloric acid - pepsinogen - and mucus.






49. The function unit of the kidney. Each kidney has about a million nehprons; this is where blood filtration and subsequent modification of the filtrate occurs. The nephron empties into collecting ducts - which empty into the ureter.






50. A function the reproductive system (conrolled by the sympathetic nervous system) that returns the body to its normal resting state after sexual arousal and orgasm.