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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 period of human development from implantation through 8 weeks of gestation. Gastrulation - neurulation - and organogenesis occur during this time period. The developing baby is known as embryo during this time period.






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






3. Pepsinogen - secreting cells foudn at teh bottom of the gastric glands






4. The stoppage of bleeding; blood clotting.






5. The third phase of the ovarian cycle - during which a corpus luteum is formed from the remnants of the follicle that has ovulated its oocyte. The corpus luteum secretes progestrone and estrogen during this time period - which typically lasts from day






6. The first phase of mitosis. During prophase the replicated chromosomes condense - the spindle is formed - and the nuclear envelope breaks apart into vessicles.






7. The third stage of cellular respiration - in which acetyl - CoA is combined with oxaloacetate to form citric acid. The citric acid is then decarboxylated twice and isomerized to recreate oxaloacetate. In the process - 3 molecules of NADH - 1 molecule






8. The main duct of the pancreas. The pancreatic duct carries the exocrine secretions of the pancreas (enzymes and bicarbonate) to the small intestine (dueodenum).






9. The first part of the large intestine.






10. 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.






11. An alkaline - fructose - rich fluid produced by three different glands in the male reproductive tract and released during ejaculation. Semen is very nourishing for sperm.






12. The 'language' of a molecular biology that specifies which amino acid corresponds to which three - nucleotide group (codon).






13. 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






14. The sequence of nucleotides on a chromosome that activates RNA polymerase so that transcription can take place. The promoter is found upstream of the start site - the location where transcription actually takes place.






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






16. A general cell junction - used primarily for adhesion.






17. A cyclic version of adenosine monophosphate - where the phosphate is esterified to both the 5' and 3' carbons - forming a ring. Cyclic AMP is an important intracellular signaling moelcule - often called the 'second messenger.' It serves to activate c






18. Partially digested - semiliquid food mixed with digestive enzymes and acids in the stomach.






19. 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.






20. The second phase of the uterine (endometrial) cycle - during which the endometrium (shed off during menstration is rebuilt). This phase of the cycle is under the control of estrogen - secreted from the follicle developing in the ovary during this tim






21. Very small tube or channel - such as is found between lacunae (connecting them together) in compact bone.






22. The depolarzation of the motor end plate on a muscle cell.






23. (1) In the GI tract - organs that play a role in digestion but not directly part of the alimentary canal. These include the liver - the gallbladder - the pancreas - adn the salivary glands.






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






25. The 3D site of an enzyme where substrates (reactants) bind and a chemical reaction is facilitated.






26. A short sequence of amino aids - usually found at the N- terminus of a protein being translated - that directs the ribosome and its associated mRNa to the membranes of the rough ER where trasnlation will be completed. Signal sequences are found on me






27. Plasma with the clotting factors removed. Serum is often used in diagnostic tests because it does not clot.






28. To attach oxygen - to remove hydrogen - or to remove electrons from a molecule.






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






30. A life cycle of animal viruses in which the mature viral particles bud from the host cell - acquiring an envelope (a coating of lipid bilayer) in the process.






31. A period of time following an action potential during which no additional action potential can be evoked regardless of the level of stimulation. (usually because Na+ channel closed whle K+ efflux)






32. A receptor that responds to changes in temperature.






33. A localized change in a neruon's or musce cell's membrane potential that can propogate itself away from its point of origin. Action potentials are an all - or - none process mediated by the opening of voltage - gated Na+ and K+ channels when the memb






34. (Singular:villus). Folds of the intestinal mucosa that project into the lumen of the intestine; vili serve to increase the surface area of the intestine for absorption.






35. The cytoskeleton filaments with the smallest diameter. Microfilaments are composed of the contractile protein actin. They are dynamic filaments - constantly beig made and broken down as needed - and are responsible for events such as pseudopod format






36. The period of time during which the ventricles of the heart are contracted.






37. The pituitary gland.






38. The blood vessels taht carry blood to and from cardiac muscle. The coronary arteries branch off teh aorta and carry oxygenated blood to the cardiac tissue. The coronary veins collect deoxygenated blood from teh cardiac tissue - merge to form teh coro






39. Cells found in gastric glands that secrete hydrochloric acid (for hydrolysis of ingested food) and gastric intrinsic factor (for absorption of vitamin B-12).






40. The formation of haploid gametes (sperm or ova) via meiosis.






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






42. A stack of membranes found near the rough ER in eukaryotic cells that is involved in the secretory pathway. The Golgi is involved in protein glycosylation (and other protein modification) and sorting and packagin proteins.






43. A chemical released by the axon of a neuron in response to an action potential that binds to receptors on a postsynaptic cell and causes that cell to either depolarize slightlly (EPSP) or hyperpolarize slightly (IPSP). Examples are acetylcholine - no






44. The movement of air into the respiratory tract. Inspiration is an active process - requiring contraction of the diaphragm.






45. A physiological catalyst. Enzymes are usually proteins - although some RNAs have catalytic activity.






46. The primary female sex hormone. Estrogen stimulates the development of female secondary sex characteristics during puberty - maintains those characteristics during adulthood - stimulates the development of a new uterine lining after menstruation - an






47. Muscle tissue that is attached to the bones. SKeletal muscle is striated multinucleate - and under voluntary control.






48. A four - carbon molecule that binds with the two - carbon acetyl unit of acetyl - CoA to form citric acid in the first step of the Krebs cycle.






49. A hormone released by the anterior pituitary that targets all cells in the body. Growth hormone stimulates whole body growth in children and adolescents - adn increases cell turnover rate in adults.






50. The volume of blood pumped out of the heart in one minute (vol/min); the product of the stroke volume (vol/beat) and the heart rate (beat/min). Cardiac output is directly proportional to blood pressure**.