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 protein embedded in the lipid bilayer of a cell. These are typicallly cell surface receptors - channels - or pumps.






2. The membrane that separate the outer ear from the middle ear. The tympanic membrane is also known as the eardrum.






3. A set of vessels in the body that runs alongside the vessels of the circulatory system. It is a one - way system - with lymphatic capillaries beginning at the tissues and ultimately emptying into the large veins near the heart. It serves to return ex






4. An ion channel that is constitutively open - allowing the movement of teh ion across the plasma membrane according to its concentration gradient.






5. The cellular elements of blood; erythrocytes - leukocytes - and platelets.






6. A looser - more porous type of bone tissue found at the inner core of the epiphyses in long bones and all other bone types. Spongy gone is filed with red bone marrow - important in blood cell formation.






7. A neuron - to - neuron - neuron - to - organ - or muscle to cell - to - muscle cell junction.






8. A bacterium having a spiral shape (plural = spirochetes)






9. A mechanism for increasing tension (contractile length) in a muscle by activating more motor units.






10. A type of substrate binding to a multi - active site enzyme - in which the bnidng of one substrate molecule facilitates teh binding of subsequent substrate molecules. A graph of reaction rate vs. substrate concentration appears sigmoidal. Noe that co






11. Major Histocompatability complex - a set of proteins found on the plasma membranes of cells that help display antigen to T cells. MHC I is found on all cells and displays bits of proteins from within the cell; this allows T cells to monitor cell cont






12. The cell body of a neuron.






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






14. A non - bony material that fills the hollow spaces inside bones. Red bone marrow is found in regiosn of spongy bone and is the site of blood cell (red and white) production. Yellow bone marrow is found in the diaphysis (shaft) of long bones - is most






15. A contractile protein connecting microtubules in the '9+2- arrangement of cilia and eukaryotic flagella. The contraction of dynein produces the characteristic movement of these structures.






16. The inner layer of smooth muscle in the wall of the digestive tract. When the circular muscle contracts - the tube diameter is reduced. Certain areas of the circular muscle are thickened to act as valves (sphincters).






17. The volume of blood pumped out of the heart in one minute (vol/min); the product of the stroke volume (vol/beat) and the heart rate (beat/min). Cardiac output is directly proportional to blood pressure**.






18. Also known as the Bundle of His - this is the first portion of the cardiac conduction system - after the AV node.






19. Mendel's seond law. States that genes found on different chromosomes - or genes found very far apart on the same chromosome (i.e. - unlinked genes) sort independently of one another during gamete formation (meiosis).






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






21. A form of evolution in which different organisms are placed into the same environment and exposed to teh same selection pressures. This causes the organisms to evolve along similar lines. As a result - they may share functional - but not structural s






22. A hydrophobic molecule - usually fomred from long hydrocarbon chains. The most common forms in which lipids are found in the body are as triglycerides (energy storage) - phospholipids (cell membranes) - and cholestero (cell membranes and steroid synt






23. A thin - watery fluid found in teh anterior segment of the eye (between the lens and the cornea). THe aqueous humor is constantly produced and drained - adn helps to bring nutrients to the lesn and corena - as well as to remove metabolic wastes






24. The organ that carries out teh command sent along a particular motor neuron






25. The smalles of all blodo vessles - typically having a diamtere just large neough for blood cells to pass through in single file. Capillaries have extremelyu thin walls to faciliate the exchange of material between the blood and the tissues.






26. The flow of blood from the heart - through the body (not including the lungs) - and back to the heart.






27. 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






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






29. A pigmented membrane found just in from the lens of the eye. In the center of iris is the pupil - a hole through which light enters the eyeball. The iris regulates the diameter of the pupil in response to the brightness of light.






30. An enzyme that digests starch into disaccharides. Amylase is secreted by salivary glands and by the pancreas.






31. The neurotransmitter used throughout the parasympathetic nervous system as well as the neuromuscular junction.






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






33. 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.






34. The maximum amount of air that can be forcibly exhaled from the lungs after filling them to their maximum level - typically about 4500 mL






35. An enzyme inhibitor that binds at a site other than the active sit of an enzyme (binds at an allosteric site). THis changes the three - dimensional shape of the enzyme such that it can no longer catalyze the reaction






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






37. A hormone made of amino acids (in some cases just a single - modified amino acid). Peptide hormones are generally hydrophilic and cannot cross the plasma membranes of cells - thus receptor for peptide hormones must be found on the cell surface. An ex






38. Strong bands of connective tissue that connect skeletal muscle to bone.






39. The hollow center of an osteon - also known as a Haversian canal. The central canal contains blood vessels - lymphatic vessels - lymphatic vessels - and nerves. Bone is laid down around the central canal in concentric rings called lamellae.






40. A viral life cycle in which the viral genome is incorporated into the host genome where it can remain dormant for an unspecified period of time. Upon activation - the viral genome is excised from the host genome and typically enters the lytic cycle.






41. (1) The secretion of useful substances from a cell - either into the blood (endocrine secretin) or into a cavity or onto the body surface (exocrine secretion). (2) in the nephron - the movement of substances from the blood to the filtrate along the t






42. A subset of a species consisting of members that mate and reproduce with one another.






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






44. Fat cell






45. One of several vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart.






46. Microscopic outward folds of the cells lining the small intestine; microvilli serve to increase the surface area of the small intestine for absorption.






47. 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






48. A stack of membranes found near the rough ER in eukaryotic cells that is involved in the secretory pathway. The Golgi is involved in protein glycosylation (and other protein modification) and sorting and packagin proteins.






49. The fraction of teh end - diastolic volume ejected from the ventricles in a single contraction of teh heart. THe ejection fraction is normally around 60% of the end diastolic volume.






50. 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