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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. An organism (such as a fungus) that feeds of dead plants and animals.






2. Diploid cells resulting from the activation of anoogoium; primary oocytes are ready to enter meiosis I. remember: cyte means ready to undergo meiosi






3. The deliberate exposure of a person to an antigen in order to provoke the primary immune response and memory cell production. Typically the antigens are those normally associated with pathogens - thus if the live pathogen is encountered in the future






4. The percentage of individuals with a particular genotype that actually displays the phenotype associated with the genotype.






5. Mal sex hormones. Testosteron is the primary androgen.






6. Physical structures in two different organisms that have structural similarity due to a common ancestor - but may have different functions. Homologous structures arise from divergent evolution.






7. The small artery that carries blood away from the capillaries of the glomerulus.






8. An organism that requires oxygen to survive (aerobic metabolism only).






9. A neuron with a single axon and multiple dendrites; the most common type of neuron in the nervous system.






10. 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






11. A bacterium that cannon survive on minimal medium (glucose alone) because it lacks the ability to syntheisze a molecule it needs to live (typically an amino acid). Auxotrphs must ave the needed substance (the auxiliary trophic substance) added to the






12. A type of white blood cell; leukocytes are either B or T cells and are involved in disease defense.






13. A strong band of connective tissue that connets bones to one another.






14. The stoppage of bleeding; blood clotting.






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






16. A type of cell division (in diploid cells) that reduces the number of chromosomes by half. Meiosis usualy produces haploid gametes in organisms that undergo sexual reproduction. It consists of a single interphase (G1 - S - and G2) followed by two set






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






18. Small paired gland found inferior to the prostate in males and at the posterior end of the penile urethra. They secrete an alkaline mucus on sexual arousal that helps toneutralize any traces of acidic urine the urethra that might be harmful to sperm.






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






20. A bacterial enzyme that recognizes a specific DNA nucleotide sequence and that cuts the double helix at a specific site within the sequence.






21. A hormone released from the hypothalamus that triggers the anterior pituitary to secrete FSH and LH.






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






23. The largest artery in teh body; the aorta carries oxygenated blood away from the left ventricle of the heart.






24. The three small bones found in the middle ear (the malleus - the incus - and the stapes) that help to amplify the vibrations from sound waves. The malleus is atached to the tympanic membrane and the stapes is attached to the oval window of the cochle






25. Transfer RNA; the type of RNA that carries an amino acid from the cytoplasm to the ribosome for incorporation into a growing protein.






26. The monomer of a carbohydrate. Monosaccharides have the general chemical formula CnH2nOn - and common monosaccharides include glucose - fructose - galactose - and ribose.






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






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






29. 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






30. The specific molecule that binds to a receptor.






31. The division of the periperal nervsous system that innervates and cotnrols the visceral organs (everything but the skeletal muscles). It is also knowns as the involuntary nervous system and an be subdivided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic di






32. A sequence of three nucleotides (found int he anticodon loop of tRNA) that is complementary to a specific codon in mRNA. The codon to which the anticodon is complementary specifies the amino acid that is carried by that tRNA.






33. The majority of the cells surrouding an oocyte in a follicle. Granulosa cells secrete estrogen during the follicular phase of the ovarian cycle (before ovulation).






34. A pair of replicated homologous chromosomes. Tetrads form during prophase I of meiosis so that homologous chromosomes can exchange DNA in a process known as 'crossing over.'






35. 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.






36. A network of membranes inside eukarytoic cells invovled in lipid synthesis (steroid in gonads) - detoxification (in liver cells) - and/or Ca2+ storage (muscle cells).






37. Toward the 5' end of an Rna transcript (the 5' end of the DNA coding strand). The promoter and start sites are upstream.






38. The portion of the nephron tubule after the loop of Henle - but before teh collecting duct. Selective reabsorption and secretion occur here - most notably regulated reabsorption of water and sodium.






39. The inner epithelial lining of the uterus that thickens and develops during the menstrual cycle - into which a fertilized ovum can implant - and which sloughs off during menstration if a pregnancy does not occur.






40. A structure made of two protein subunits and rRNA; this is the site of protein synthessis (translation) in a cell. Prokaryotic ribosomes (also known as 70S ribosomes) are smaller than eukaryotic ribosome (80S ribosomes). The S value refers to the sed






41. An enzyme secreted by the juxtaglomerular cells when blood pressure decreases. Renin onverts angiotensinogen to angiotensin I.






42. The physical characterisitcs resulting from the genotype. Phenotypes are usually described as dominant or recessive.






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






44. A clump of gray matter (unmyelinated neuron cell bodies) found in the peripheral nervous system.






45. The portion of the cell membrane at the neuromusclar junction; essentially the postsynaptic membrane at the synapse.






46. Amino - acyl tRNA site; the site on a ribosome where a new amino acid is added to a growing peptide.






47. A diploid cell formed by the fusion of two gametes during sexual reproduction.






48. One of two large vessels (superior and inferior) that return deoxygenated blood to the right atrium of the heart.






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






50. The cord that connects the embryo of a developing mammal to the placenta in the uterus of the mother. The umbilical cord contains fetal arteries (carry blood toward the placenta) and veins (carry blood away from the placenta). The umbilical vessels d