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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 that will use oxygen (aerobic metabolism) if it is available - and that can ferment (anaerobic metabolism) if it is not.






2. The ball of capillaries at the beginning of the nephron where blood filtration takes place.






3. Large conglomerations of proteins - fats - and cholesterol that transport lipids in the bloodstream. (chylomicrons are a type of lipoprotein).






4. A waste product of protein dbreakdown - produced by the liver and relased into the bloodstream to be eliminated by the kidney.






5. The duplication of DNA






6. A ductless gland that secretes a hormone into the blood






7. A haploid but immature cell resulting from the second meiotic division f spermatogenesis. Spermatids undergo significant physical changes to become mature sperm (spermatozoa).






8. A gene that has effects on several different characteristics.






9. A group of three enzymes that decarboxylates pyruvate - creating an acetyl group and carbon dioxide. The acetyl group is then attached to coenzyme A to produce acetyl - CoA - a substrate in the Krebs cycle. In the process - NAD+ is reduced to NADH. T






10. The period of exponential growth of bacterial population.






11. Fingerlike projection of the uterin (fallopian) tubes that drape over the ovary.






12. The contribution of an individual gas to the total ppressure of a mixture of gases. Partial pressures are used to describe the amounts of the various gases carried in the bloodstream.






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






14. The layer of connective tissue directly under the mucosa of an open body cavity.






15. To attach oxygen - to remove hydrogen - or to remove electrons from a molecule.






16. The force required to resist the movement of water by osmosis. Osmotic pressure is essentialy a measure of the concentration of a solution. A solution that is hyighly concnetrated has a strong tendency to draw water into itself - so the pressure requ






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






18. The space between the inner and outer cell membranes in Gram - negative bactera. The peptidoglycan cell wall is found in the periplasmic space - and this space sometimes contains enzymes to degrade antibiotics.






19. The cells of the distal tubule at the juxtaglomerular apparatus. They are receptors that monitor filtrate osmolarity as a means of regulatin filtration rate. If a drop is osmolarity is sensed - the macula densa dilates the afferent arteriole (to incr






20. Excitatory postsynaptic potential; a slight depolarization of a postsynaptic cell - bringing the membrane potential of that cell closer to the threshold for an action potential.






21. 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






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






23. An enzyme that polymerizes a strand of DNA by reading an RNA template (an RNA dependent DNa polymerase); used by retrovirus in order to integrate their genome with the host cell genome.






24. A hormone tha tcontrols the release of another hormone.






25. The mechanism that ensures tehat skeletal muscle contraction does not occur without neural stimulation (excitation). A trest - cytosolic [Calcium] is low - and the troponin - tropomyosin complex covers the myosin - binding sites on actin. When the mu






26. The portion of the digestive tract that stores and grinds food. Limited digestion occurs in the somach - and it has the lowest pH in the body (1-2).






27. The first phase of meiosis I. During prophase I the replicated chromosomes condense - homologous chromsomes pair up - crossing over occurs between homologous chromosomes - the spindle is formed - and the nuclear envelope breaks apart into vesicles. P






28. A type of lymphocyte. The major subtypes of T cells are the helper T cells (CD4) and the killer T cells (CD8 - or cytotoxic T cells). Helper T cells secrete chemicals that help killer Ts and B cells proliferate. Killer T cells destroy abnormal self -






29. The darkly pigmented middle layer of the eyeball - found between teh sclera (outer layer) and the retina (inner layer).






30. 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






31. Connective tissue with large amounts of either collagen fibers (making them strong) or elastic fibers - or both. Dense tissues are typically strong (e.g. bone - cartilage - tendons - etc.)






32. Very small tube or channel - such as is found between lacunae (connecting them together) in compact bone.






33. 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.






34. The largest bundle of white matter (axons) connecting th two cerebral hemispheres.






35. The movement of teh membrane potential of a cell away from rest potential in a more positive direction.






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






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. Active transport that relies directly on the hydrolysis of ATP.






39. A four - carbon molecule that binds with the two - carbon acetyl unit of acetyl - CoA to form citric acid in the first step of the Krebs cycle.






40. A projection of the cell body of a neuron that recieves a nerve impulse form a different neuron and send the impulse to the cell body. Neurons can have one or several dendrites!






41. Having the ability to become anything; a zygote is totipotent.






42. The region of teh brain that coordinates and smooth skeletal muscle activity.






43. 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.






44. The blood vessel that carries deoxygenated from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs.






45. Anterior pituitary gland






46. The subdivision of the nervous system consisting of the brain and spinal cord.






47. Lacking a blood supply; cartialge is an example of this






48. The perio dof tim ein a woman's life when ovulation and menstruation cease. Menopause typically begins in the late 40s.






49. A sensory receptor that responds to hcanges in pressure; for example - there are baroreceptors in the carotid arteries and the aortic ach that monitor blood pressure.






50. The sequence of nucleotides on a chromosome that activates RNA polymerase so that transcription can take place. The promoter is found upstream of the start site - the location where transcription actually takes place.