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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 II. During anaphase II the sister chromatids are finally spearated at their centromeres and puled to opposite sides of teh cell. Note that anaphase II is identical to mitotic anaphase - excep the number of chromosmes was re






2. 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.






3. A specific DNA nucleotide sequence where transcriptional regulatory proteins can bind.






4. Molecules made from monosaccharides that serve as the primary source of cellular energy -. Carbohydrates can also act as cell surface markers (good thing to remember).






5. Steroid hormones secreted from the adrenal cortex. The two major classes are teh mineralocorticoids and glucocorticoids. Aldosterone is the principal mineralocorticoid - and cortisol is the principal glucorcorticoid.






6. One of the four basic tissue types in the body (epithelial - connective - muscle - and nervous). Connective tissue is a supportive tissue consisting of a relatively few cells scattered among a great deal of extracellular material (matrix) - and inclu






7. An integral membrane proteint hat binds extracellular signaling molecules - suchas hormones and peptides.






8. The burrowing of a blastocyst (a developing embryo) into the endometrium of the uterus - typically occuring about a week after fertilizaiton.






9. A substance secreted by embryonic testes that causes the regression of the Mullerian ducts.






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






11. A receptor that responds to light






12. Chemoreceptors in the upper nasal cavity that respond to odo chemicals.






13. One of the four basic tissue types in the body (epithelial - connective - muscle - and nervous). Epithelial tissue is a lining and covering tissue (e.g. skin - the lining of the stomach and intestines - the lining of the urinary tract - etc. ) or a g






14. The entropy (disorder) of the universe (or system) tends to increase.






15. Cytoskeletal filaments with a diameter in between that of the microtubule and the microfilament. Intermediate filaments are composed of many different proteins and tend to play structural roles in cells.






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






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






18. Strong contractions of the uterus (stimulated by oxytoncin) that force a baby out of the mother's baby during childbirth. Labor contractions are part of a positive feedback cycle - during which the baby's head stretches the cervix - which stimulates






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






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






21. 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.






22. A small cell with extremely little cytoplasm that results from the unequal cytoplasmic divsion of the primary (produces the first polar body) and the secondary (produces the second polary body) oocytes during meiosis (oogenesis). The polar bodies deg






23. A type of lymphocyte that can recognize (bind to) an antigen adn secrete an antibody specific for that antigen. When activated by binding an antigen - B cells mature into plasma cells (that secreted antibody) and memory cells (that patrol the body fo






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






25. A bundle of skeletal muscle cells. Fascicles group together to form skeletal muscles.






26. The layer of ciliated - mucus - covered cells in the respiratory tract.The cilia continually beat - sweeping contaminated mucus upward toward the pharynx.






27. The process of breaking down large molecules into smaller precursors - e.g. digesion of starch into glucose.






28. A portion of DNA that codes for some product - usually a protein - including all regulatory sequences. Some genes code for rRNA and tRNA - which are not translated.






29. An organism that relies on a chemical source of energy (such as ATP) instead of light (which phototrophs).






30. An organism that can survive in the presence of oxygen (oxygen is not toxic) - but that does not use oxygen during metabolism (anaerobic metabolism only).






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






32. An inactive precursor of an enzyme - activated by various methods (acid hydrolysis - cleavage by another enzyme - etc.)






33. A systme of ductless glands taht secrete chemical messengers (into) the blood - has to be into the blood.






34. The tube that connects the middle ear acity with the pharynx; also known as the Eustachian tube. Its fucntion is to equalize midle ear pressure with atmospheric pressure so that pressure on boths sides of the tympanic membrane is the same.






35. A contractile protein. In skeletal and cardiac muscle - actin polymerizes (along with other proteins) to form the thin filaments. Actin is involved in many contractile activities - such as cyotkinesis - pseudopod formation - and muscle contraction.






36. Muscles that help focus light on teh retin by controlling the curvature of the lens of the eye.






37. A globular protein that ssociated with tropomyosin as part of the thin filament of the sarcomere. Troponin binds Ca2+ - which causes the conformaiton change in tropomyosin required to expose the myosin - binding sites on actin and initiate muscle con






38. A chemical derived from vitamin A found in the pigment proteins of the rod photoreceptors of the retina. Retinal changes conformation when it absorbs light - triggering a series of reactions that ultimately result in an action potential being sent to






39. A hole in the center of the iris of the eye that allows light to enter the eyeball. The diameter of pupil is controlled by the iris in response to the brightness of the light.






40. An enzyme that cuts one or both strands of DNa to relieve the excess tension caused by the unwinding of the helix by helicase during replication.






41. Earlier embryonic ducts that can develop into femal internal genitalia in the absence of testosteron.






42. Three loop - like structures in the inner ear that contain sensory receptors to monitor balance.






43. One of the main pancreatic proteases; it is activated (from chymotrypsinogen) by trypsin.






44. A gene appearing in a single copy in diploid organisms - e.g. X- linked genes in human males.






45. An organism that has only a single copy of its genome in each of its cells. Haploid organisms possess no homolous chromosomes.






46. The portion of the diencephalon involved in maintaining body homeostasis. the hypothalamus also controls the release of hormones from the pituitary gland.






47. The inner region of an organ - e.g. - the renal medulla - the ovarian medulla - and the adrenal medulla - etc.






48. An organism that requires the aid of a host organism to survive - and that harms the host in the process.






49. 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






50. The step in the sliding filament theory during which yosin undergoes a conformaitonal change to its low energy state - in the process dragging the thin filaments (and the attached Z lines) toward the center fo the sarcomere. NOte that power stroke re