Test your basic knowledge |

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. A lubricating - nourishing fluid found in joint capsules.






2. 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






3. A pigment produced by melanocytes in teh bottom cell layer of the epidermis. Melanin production is increased on sun exposure and helps prevent cllular damage due to UV radiation.






4. Also called transverse tubules - these are deep invaginations of the plasma membrane found in skeletal and cardiac muscle cells. These invaginations allow depolarization of the membrane to quickly penetrate to the interior of the cell.






5. An embryonic structure particularly important in egg - laying animals because it contains the yolk - the only source of nutrients for the embryo developing inside the egg. In humans - the yolk sac is very small (since mammals get their nutrients via






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






7. Paired glands found on the posterior external wall of the bladder in males. Their secretions contain an alkaline mucus and fructose - among other things - and make up approximately 60% of the ejaculate volume.






8. The second step in viral infection - the injection of the viral genome into the host cell.






9. The valves in the heart that separate the ventricles from the arteries. The pulmonary semilunar valve separates the right ventricle from the pulmonary artery - and the aortic semilunar valve separates left ventricle from the aorta. These valves close






10. 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






11. The outer ring of cells of a blastocyst. The trophoblast takes part in the formation of the placenta.






12. DNA replication in which each of the parental strands is read to make a complementary daughter strand - ethus each new DNa molecule is composed of half the parental molecule paired with a newly synthesized strand.






13. Small convoluted tubules in the testes where spermatogenesis takes place.






14. A string of sarcomeres with a skeletal muscle cell (hence smaller than myofiber). Each muscle cell contains hundreds of myofibirils.






15. Early embryonic ducts that can develop into male internal genitalia under the proper stimulation (testosterone).






16. The valvecontrolling release of bile and pancreatic juice into the bloodstream.






17. A cell characterized by the presence of a nucleus and other membrane - bound organelles. Eukaryotes can be unicellular (protists) or multicellular (fungi - plants and animals).






18. Hardy crystals consisting of calcium and phosphate that form the bone matrix.






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






20. A fibrous - connective - tissue protein taht has the ability to recoil to its original shape after being stretche.d Elastin is found in great amounts in lung tissue - arterial tissue - skin - and the epiglottis.






21. 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.






22. A protein hormone secreted by sustenacular cells of the testes that acts to inhibit the release of FSH and LH from the anterior pituitary.






23. The valve that regulates the passage of chyme from the stomach into the small intestine.






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






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






26. The combination of alleles of an organism carries. In a homozygous genotype - both alleles are the same - whereas in a heterozygous gentorype the alleles are different.






27. A mechanism by which the stroke volume of the heart is increased by increasing the venous return of the heart (thus stretching the ventricular muscle).






28. The non - specific uptake of liquid particles into a cell by invagination of the plasma membrane and subsequent 'pinching off' a small bit of the extracellular fluid.






29. A vein connecting the capillary bed of the intestines with the capillary bed of the liver. This allows amino acids and gluocse absorbed from the intestines to be delivered first to the liver for processing before being transported throughout the circ






30. A bacterial extrachromosal elent that allows the bacterium to initati conjugation. Bacteria that possess teh F factor are known as F+ 'males'.






31. A molecule formed by joining many monosaccharides together. POlysaccharides are typically energy- storage molecules (glycogen in animals - starch in plants) or structural molecules (cellulose in plants - chitin in exoskeletons).






32. The fourth and final phase of meiosis II. Telophase II is identical to mitotic telophase - except that the number of chromosomes was reduced by half during meiosis. I.






33. A mutation caused by an insertion or deletion of base pairs in a gene sequence in DNA such that the reading frame of the gene (and thus teh amino acid sequence of the protein) is altered.






34. A wave of contraction that sweeps along a muscular tube - pushing substances along the tube (e.g. - food through the digestive tract - urine through the ureters - etc.)






35. The fourth (and final) phase of mitosis. During telophase the nuclear envelope reforms - chromosomes decondense - and the mitotic spindle is disassembled.






36. A tissue in which the cytoplasms of the cells are connected by gap junctions - allowing the cells to function as a unit. Cardiac and smooth muscle tissues are examples of functional synctiums.






37. The curled structure in the inner ear that contains the membranes and hair cells that transduce sound waves into action potentials.






38. A situation in which a heterozygot displays a blended version of the pheotypes associated with each allele - e.g. pure - breeding white - flowered plants crossed with pure - breeding red - flowered plants produces heterozygous offspring plants with p






39. Also known as the cortical reaction - the slow block invovles an increase in intracellular [Ca2+] in the egg - which causes the release of cortical granules near the egg plasma membrane. This results in the hardening of the zona pellucida and its sep






40. Cranial nerve pair X. The vagus nerves are very large mixed nerves (They carry both sensory input and motor input) that innervate virtually every visceral organ. They are especially important in transmitting parasympathetic input to the heart and dig






41. 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






42. A clear fluid the circulates around through the brain and spinal cord that helps to physially support teh brain and act as a shock absorber - and taht also exchanges nutrients and wastes with teh brain and spinal cord.






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






44. An enzyme whose transcription can be stimulated by an abundance of its substrate (as opposed to repressible enzyme). Usually in catabolism.






45. A clear area in a lawn of bacteria. Plaques represent an area where bacteria are lysing (dying) and usually caused by a lytic virus.






46. A blood protein essential to blood clotting. The conversion of fibrinogen to its active form (fibrin) is among the final steps in clot formation - and is triggered by thrombin.






47. The layer of epithelial tissue that lines body cavities in contact with the outside environment (respiratory - digestive - urinary - and reproductive tracts).






48. 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






49. Bacteria that have a thin peptidoglycan cell wall covered by an outer plasma membrane. They stain very lightly (pink) in Gram stain. Gram - negative bacteria are typically more resistant to antibiotics than Gram - positive bacteria.






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







Sorry!:) No result found.

Can you answer 50 questions in 15 minutes?


Let me suggest you:

Browse all subjects

Browse all tests

Most popular tests



Major Subjects

Tests & Exams


AP
CLEP
DSST
GRE
SAT
GMAT

Browse all subjects

Browse all tests

Most popular tests