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 complex foudn in the inner membrane of the mitochondira. It is essentially a channel that llows H+ ions to flow from teh intermembrane space to the matrix (down teh gradeint produced by the enyzmes complexes of the electron transport chain)






2. The muscuar layer of the uterus. The myometrium is made of smooth muscles that retains its ability to divide in order to accomodate the massive size increases that occur during pregnancy. The myometrium is stimulated to contract during labor by the h






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


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






5. A form of genetic recombination in bacteria in which plasmid and/or genomic DNA is transferred from one bacterium to the toher through a conjugation bridge.






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






7. The relationship of muscle length to its ability to generate strong contractions. Maximum tension (contraction strength) is achieved at sarcomere lengths between 2.0 and 2.2 microns. Tension decreases outside of this range <-- remember.






8. A structure composed of two coils of DNA wrapped around an octet of histone proteins. The nucleosome is the primary form of packagin of eukaryotic DNA.






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






10. A nonliving - intracellular parasite. Viruses are typically just pieces of nucleic aid surrounded by a protein coat.






11. (1) The integration of input (EPSPs and IPSPs) from many presynaptic neruons by a single postsynaptic neuron - either temporaly or spatially. Summation of al input can either stimulate the postsynaptic neuron and possibly lead to an action potential






12. Enzymes that degrade various macromolecules and that require an acidic pH to function properly. Acid hydrolases are found within the lysosomes of cells.






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






14. The division of the autonomic nervous system known as the 'resting and digesting' system. It causes a general decrease in body activities such as heart rate - respiratory rate - and blood pressure - and an increase in blood flow to the GI tract and d






15. Something that increases the rate of a chemical reaction by reducing the activation energy for that reaction. The free energy of reaction remains unchanged.






16. A hormone secreted by the small intestine (duodenum) in response to low pH (e.g. - from stomach acid). It promotes the release of bicarbonate from the pancreas to act as a buffer.






17. 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






18. Integration by a postsynaptic neuron of inputs (EPSPs and IPSPs) from multiple sources.






19. An insulating layer of membranes wrapped around the axons of almost all neurons in the body. Myelin is essentially the plasma membranes of specialized cells; Schwann cells in the peripheral nervous system - and oligodendrocytes in the central nervous






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






21. A protein fiber with a unique triple - helix that gives it great strength. Tissues with a lot of collagen fibers are typically very strong - e.g. bone - tendons - ligaments - etc.






22. The period of human development from implantation through 8 weeks of gestation. Gastrulation - neurulation - and organogenesis occur during this time period. The developing baby is known as embryo during this time period.






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






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






25. The first phase of meiosis II. Prophase II is identical to mitotic prophase - except that the number of chromosomes was reduced by half during meiosis I.






26. The flow of blood through a tissue; ischeia is when there is no blood flow - anoxia when there is no O2 available (ischemia is more dangerous b/c of waste build - up)






27. 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






28. A hormone released from the hypothalamus that triggers the anterior pituitary to secrete FSH and LH.






29. 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.






30. A passageway leading from behind the nasal cavity to the trachea. The pharynx is divided into three regions - named for their location. The nasopharynx is behind the nasal cavity - the oropharynx is behind the oral cavity - and the laryngopharynx is






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






32. 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.






33. The primary female sex hormone. Estrogen stimulates the development of female secondary sex characteristics during puberty - maintains those characteristics during adulthood - stimulates the development of a new uterine lining after menstruation - an






34. A sweat gland located in the dermis of the skin. Sweat consists of water and ions (including Na+ and urea) and is secreted with temperatures rise.






35. A sensory receptor that responds to mechanical disturbances - such as shape changes (being squashed - bent - pulled - etc.). Mechanoreceptors include touch receptors in the skin - hair cells - in the ear - muscle spindles - and others.






36. 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






37. A hormone released by the anterior pituitary that targets all cells in the body. Growth hormone stimulates whole body growth in children and adolescents - adn increases cell turnover rate in adults.






38. A region within the nucleus where rRNA is transribed and ribosomes are partially assembled.






39. A mature - cartilage cell.






40. The regino of the sarcomere made up only of thin filaments. The I band is bisected by a Z line. I bands alternate with A bands to give skeletal and cardiac muscle a striated appearance. I bands get shorter (and may disappear completely) during muscle






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






42. MRna that codes for several different proteins by utliizing different reading frames - nested genets - etc. Polycistronic mRNa is a characteristic of prokaryotes.






43. 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.






44. The enzyme that breaks down acetylcholine in the synaptic cleft.






45. The monomer of a protein; amino acids hae an amio group on one end fo the molecule and a carboxylic acid group on the other - and of the of 2 different side chains.






46. The unit of combact bone - also called a Haversian system. Osteons are essentially long cylinders of bone; the hollow center is called the central canal - and is where blood vessels - nervs - and lymphatic vessels are found. Compact bone is laid down






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






48. Also called falopian tubes - these tubes extend laterally from their side of the uterus and serve as a passageway for the ocyte to travel from the ovary to the uterus. This is also the normal site of fertilization. Severing of the uterine tubes (tuba






49. Small paired gland found inferior to the prostate in males and at the posterior end of the penile urethra. They secrete an alkaline mucus on sexual arousal that helps toneutralize any traces of acidic urine the urethra that might be harmful to sperm.






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