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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. One of the four aromatic bases found in DNA and RNA; also a component of ATP - NADH - and FADH2. Adenine is apurine; it pairs with thymine (in DNA) and with uracil (in RNA)






2. The primary membrane lipid. Phospholipids consist of a glycerol molecule esterified to two fatty acid chains and a phosphate molecule. Additional - highly hyrohpilic groups are attached to the phosphate - making this molecule extremely amphipathic.






3. The pituitary gland.






4. A normal blood protein produced by the liver - angiotensin is converted to angiotensim I by renin (secreted by kidney when blood pressur falls). Angiotensin I si further onverted to angiotensim II by ACE (angiotensin converting enzyme). Angiotensin I






5. The liquid portion of blood; plasma contains water - ions - buffers - sugars - proteins - etc. Anything that dissolves in blood dissolves in the plasma portion.






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






7. The cells of the afferent artery at the juxtaglomerular apparatus. They are baroreceptors that secrete renin upon sensing a decrease in blood pressure.






8. A cell surface receptor associated with an intracellular protein that binds and hydrolyzes GTP. When GTP is bound - the protein is active - and can regulate the activity of adenylyl cyclease; this modifies the intracellular levels of second messenger






9. 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.






10. 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.






11. 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.






12. The movement of molecules through the plasma membrane against their concentration gradients. Active transport requires input of cellular energy - often in the form of ATP. An example is the Na+/K+ ATPase in the plasma membrane of all cells.






13. The portion of the nephron after the glomerulus and apsule; the region of the nephron where the filtrate is modified along its path to becoming urine.






14. Unicellular exocrine glands found along the respiratory and digestive tracts taht secrete mucus.






15. The first branches of the trachea. There are two primary bronchi - one for each lung.






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






17. A bacteria having a round shape (plural = cocci)






18. 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).






19. 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






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






21. A sac filled with fluid (aminotic fluid) that surroudns and protects a developing embryo.






22. A viral life cycle in which the host is turned into a 'virus factory' and ultimately lysed to release the new viral particles.






23. The clear portion of the tough outer layer of teh eye ball - found over the iris and pupil






24. A steroid hormone produced by the corpus luteum in the ovary during the second half of the menstrual cycle Progesterone maintains and enhances the uterine lining for the possible implantation of a fertilized ovum. It is the primary hormone secreted d






25. The process by which neighboring cells can influence the determination (and subsequent differentiation) of a cell.






26. 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






27. A blood clot that forms in an unbrokened blood vessel. Thrombi are dangerous they can break free and begin travelin in the bloodstream (become an embolus). Emboli ultimately become stuck in a small vessel and prevent adequate blood delivery to tissue






28. A trop hormone produced by the anterior pituitary gand that targets the adrenal cortex - stimulating it to relase corisol and aldosterone.






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






30. The region of the nephron that surrounds the glomerulus. The capsule ollects the plasma that is filtered from teh capillaries in the glomerulus.

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31. The stage of human development during which the organs are formed. Organogenesis begins after gastrulation and is completed by the eight week of gestation.






32. Heterogeneous nuclear RNA; the primary transcript made in eukaryotes before splicing.






33. An incrase in the fragility of the membranes of sperm cells when exposed to the female reproductive tract. Capacitation is required sot aht the acrosomal enzymes can be relased to faciliate fertilization.






34. The depolarization of the egg plasma membrane upon fertilization - designed to prevent the entry of more than one sperm into the egg.






35. An X- linked recessive disorder in Which blood fails to clot properly - leading to excessive bleeding if injured.






36. A method of DNA protection utilized by prokaryotes in which their large circular chromosome is coiled upon itself.






37. The product of glycolysis; 2 pyruvic acid (pyruvate) molecules are produced from a single glucose molecule. In the absence of oxygen - pyruvic acid undergoes fermentation and is reduced to either lactic acid or ethanol; in the presence of oxygen - py






38. A gland that secretes a waxy product - found in the external ear canal.






39. A group of nucleotides that does not specify a particular amino acid - but instead serves to notify the ribosome that the protein being translated is complete. The stop codons are UAA - UGA - and UAG. They are also known as nonsense codons.






40. The normal configuration of double - stranded DNA in which the 5' end of oen strand is paired with the 3' end of the other






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






42. The period of exponential growth of bacterial population.






43. Genes that are inherited only from the mother - such as mitochondrial genes (all organelles come only from the ovum).






44. The connection of a mosin head group to an actin filament during muscle contraction (the sliding filament theory).






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






46. A virus that infects a bacterium.






47. The second major node of the cardiac conduction system (after the SA node). The cardiac impulse is delayed slightly at teh AV node - allowing the ventricles to contract just after the atria contract.






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






49. The phase of the cell cycle during which the genome is replicated.






50. A point mutation in which a pyrimidine is susbstituted for a pyrimidine - or a purine is substituted for a purine.