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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 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.






2. The 28 days of the menstrual cycle as they apply to the events in the uterus. The endometrial cycle is also known as the uterine cycle - and has the three subphases: menstruation - the proliferative phase - and the secretory phase.






3. Pairing of homologus chromosomes in a diploid cell - as occurs during prophase I of meiosis.






4. Also known as the neurohyophysis - the posterior pituitary is made of nervous tisssue and stores and secretes two hormones made by the hypothlamus; oxtytocin and ADH. The posterior pituitary is controlled by action potentials from the hypothalamus.






5. A hormone secreted by the anterior pituitary that tarets the mammary glands stimulating them to produce breastmilk.






6. A thick - gelatinous fluid found in the posterior segment of the eye (between the lens and the retina). The vireous humor is only produced during fetal development and helps maintain intraocular pressure (the pressure inside the eyeball).






7. A sweat gland located in the dermis of the skin. Sweat consists of water and ions (including Na+ and urea) and is secreted with temperatures rise.






8. A receptor that responds to light






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. The interior of a mitochondrion (the region bounded by the inner membrane). - The matrix is the site of action of pyruvate dehydroganse complex and the Krebs cycle.






11. An activated B cell that is secreting antibody.






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






13. The capillaries that surround the tubules of the nephron. The vasa recta reclaims reabsorbed substances - such as water and sodium ions.






14. A cyoplasmic Ca2+- binding protein. Calmodulin is particularly important in smooth muscle cells - where binding of Ca2+ allows calmodulin to activate myosin light - chian kinase - the first step in smooth muscle cell contraction.






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






16. The environment in which or upon Which bacteria grow. It typically contains a sugar source and any other nutrients that bacteria may require. 'Minimal medium' contain nothing but glucose.






17. Photoreceptors in the retina of the eye that responds to bright light and provide color vision.






18. 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






19. The energy in a system that can be used to drive chemical reactions. If the change in free energy of a reaction (Delta G - the free energy of the products minus the free energy of the energy of the reactants) is negative - the reaction will occur spo






20. 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






21. A virus that infects a bacterium.






22. A self - initiating action potential that occurs in the conduction system of the heart and triggers action potentials (and thus contraction) in the cardiac muscle cells Tee pacemaker potential is triggered by the regular - spontaneous depolarization






23. The smalles of all blodo vessles - typically having a diamtere just large neough for blood cells to pass through in single file. Capillaries have extremelyu thin walls to faciliate the exchange of material between the blood and the tissues.






24. A mass of lymphatic tissue at the befenning of the large intestine that helps trap ingested pathogens.






25. A form of evolution in which different organisms are placed into the same environment and exposed to teh same selection pressures. This causes the organisms to evolve along similar lines. As a result - they may share functional - but not structural s






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 primary male sex organ. The testes are suspended outside the body cavity in the scrotum and have two functions (1) produce sperm - and (2) secrete testosterone.






28. A dense grwoth of bacteria that covers the surface of a petri dish.






29. 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






30. An organism that cannot make its own food - and thus must ingest other organisms.






31. The band of the sarcomere that extends the full length of the thick filament. The A band includes regions of thick and thin filament overlap - as well as a region of thick filament only. A bands alternate with I bands to give skeletal and cardiac mus






32. The newly forming daughter strand of DNA that is replicated in a continuous fasion; the daughter strand that is replicated in thes aem direction that parental DNA is unwinding.






33. A carrier protein that transports two molecules acrss the plasma membrane in opposite directions.






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






35. Molecules made by connecting amino acids via peptide bonds. Proteins are synthesized (translated) by ribosomes - and function as enzymes - carriers - structrual fibers - cell surface receptors - channels - porters - hormones - etc.






36. Mendels' first law. The Law of Segregation states that the two alleles of a given gene will be separate from one another during gamete formation (meiosis).






37. An integral membrane protein that undergoes a conformational change to move a molecule from one side of the membrane to another. See also 'uniporter' - 'antiporter' - and 'symporter'.






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






39. Multiple sites of replication found on large - linear eukaryotic linear eukaryotie chromosomes.






40. Also called occluding junctions - tight junctions form a seal between cells that prevents the movement of substances across the cell layer - except by diffusion through the cell membranes themselves. Tight junctions are found between the epithelial c






41. Also called negative feedback - the inhibition of an early step in a series of events by the product of a later step in the series. This has the effect of stopping the series of events when the products are plentiful and the series is unnecesseary. F






42. A structure near the middle of eukaryotic chromosomes to which the fibers of the mitotic spindle attach during cell division.






43. A hormone secreted by the samll intestine (duodenum) in response to the presence of fats. It promotes release of bile from the gallbladder and pancreatic juice from the pancreas - and reduces stomach motility.






44. A genotype in which two identical alleles are possessed for a given gene. The allelles can both be dominant (homozygous dominant) or both be recessive (homozygous recessive)






45. Ribosomal RNA; the type of RNA that associates with ribosomal proteins to make a functional ribosome. It is thought that the rRNA has the peptidyl transferase activity.






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






47. A fibrous protein found on the intracellular side of the plasma membrane (also associated with the Golgi complex) that helps invaginate the membrane. Typically cel surface receptors are associated with clathrin - coated pits at the plasma membrane bi






48. A protein found in the plasma membrane of all cells in the body that uses the energy of an ATP (hydrolyzes ATP) to move three Na+ ions out of the cell and two K+ ions into the cell - thus establishing concentrations gradients for these ions across th






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






50. A smooth sustained muscle contraction - such as occurs in skeletal muscle when stimulation frequency is high enough (this is the normal type of contraction exhibited by skeletal muscle).