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Test your basic knowledge |
MCAT Prep Biology
Start Test
Study First
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. Myelinated axons
Tropomyosin
Intercalcated discs
White matter
Gustatory receptors
2. One type of eukaryotic mRNA processing in which introns are removed from the primary transcript and exons are ligated together. SPlicing of transcripts can be different in different tissues.
Splicing
Maternal inheritance
Sex- linked rait
Oxaloacetate
3. A cyclic version of adenosine monophosphate - where the phosphate is esterified to both the 5' and 3' carbons - forming a ring. Cyclic AMP is an important intracellular signaling moelcule - often called the 'second messenger.' It serves to activate c
Inner cell mass
Testcross
Replication bubbles
Cyclic AMP (cAMP)
4. The region of teh brain that coordinates and smooth skeletal muscle activity.
Cerebellum
Peristalsis
Systolic pressure
Soma
5. The membranes that line the surface of the lungs (visceral pleura) and the inside wall of the chest cavity (parietal pleura).
Cholecystokinin (CCK)
Primary spermatocytes
Pleura
Duodenum
6. The division of the periperal nervsous system that innervates and cotnrols the visceral organs (everything but the skeletal muscles). It is also knowns as the involuntary nervous system and an be subdivided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic di
Outer ear
Inspiration
Autonomic nervous system (ANS)
Hepatic portal vein
7. A green fluid made from cholesterol and secreted by teh liver. It is stored and concentrated in the gallbladder. Bile isn an amphipathic molecule that is secreted itno the small intestine when fats are present - adn serves to emulsify the fats for be
Sphincter of Oddi
Bile
Passive transport
Hydroxyapatite
8. The maintenance of relatively constant internal conditions (such as temperature - pressure - ion balance - pH - etc.) regardless of external conditions.
Uterus
Homeostasis
RNA dependent RNA polymerase
Operon
9. A hormone produced from vitamin D that acts in essentially the same manner as parathyroid hormone.
Calcitriol
Mitosis
Universal donor
Pinocytosis
10. A point mutation in which a codon that specifies an amino acid is mutated into a new codon that specifies the same amion acid.
P site
Fascicle
Silent mutation
Coccus
11. The intracellular process triggered by the binding of a ligand to its receptor on the cell surface. Typically this activates seond messenger pathways.
Renin
Olfactory receptors
Signal transduction
Macula densa
12. The movement of a hydrophobic molecule across the plasma membrane of cell - down its concentration gradient. Since the molecule can esialy interact with the lipid bilayer - no additional help (such as a channel or pore) is required.
Tetrad
Central chemoreceptors
Gene
Simple diffsuion
13. 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
Tetanus
Pilus
Parasympathetic nervous system
Polyspermy
14. 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
Incomplete dominance
Yolk sac
Schwann cell
Allosteric regulation
15. 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
Inhibin
Myosin
Conjugation
Pyruvic acid
16. The tube that carries urine from the bladder to the to outside of the body. In males it also carries semen and sperm during ejaculation.
Catalase
Urethra
Meiosis
Filtration
17. 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.
Length - tension relationship
Medulla oblongata
G- protein linked receptor
Telencephalon
18. A version of a gene. For example - the gene may be for eye color - and the allels include those for brown eyes - those for blu e eyes - those green eyes - etc. At most - dploid organsims can posses only two alleles for a given gene - one on each of t
Plaque
Ectoderm
Cortisol
Allele
19. The maximal volume of air that the lungs can contain. Total lung capacity is the sum of the vital capacity and the residual volume - and is typically about 6000 mL (6L).
Auxotroph
Internodal tract
Total lung capacity
Amphipathic
20. The protective - connective tissue wrapping of the central nervous system (the dura mater - arachnoid mater - and pia mater).
Virus
Juxtaglomerular apparatus (JGA)
Meninges
Ejaculation
21. A group of blood proteins that bind non - specifically to the surface proteins of foreign cells (such as bacteria) - ultimately leading to the destruction of the foreign cell - part of the innate immunity.
Fermentation
Diaphysis
Cholesterol
Complement system
22. The fusion of a sperm with an ovum during sexual reproduction. Fertilization typically occurs in the uterine tubes and requires capacitation of the sperm and relase of the acrosomal enzymes. Fertilization is a species - specific process - requiring b
Calmodulin
Milk letdown
Fertilization
Ligand - gated ion channel
23. The white portion of teh tough outer layer of the eyeball
Virus
Basilar membrane
Sclera
Zymogen
24. The movement of a substance across a membane via pressure. In the kidney - filtration refers specifically to the movement of plasma across the capillary walls fo the glomerulus - into the capsule and tubule of the neprhon. Filtration at teh glomerulu
Phototroph
Filtration
Cyclic AMP (cAMP)
Matrix
25. The third phase of mitosis. During anaphase - replicated chromosmes are split apart at their centromeres (the sister chromatids are separated from each other) and moved to opposite sides of the cell.
Electrical synapse
Anaphase
Oval window
Hemizygous gene
26. A nonliving - intracellular parasite. Viruses are typically just pieces of nucleic aid surrounded by a protein coat.
Virus
Anabolism
Lysogenic cycle
I band
27. The process of bulidng complex structures out of simpler precursors - e.g. synthesizing protiens from amino acids.
Mullerian ducts
Lymphokine
Anabolism
Homologous chromosomes
28. A protein channel in a cell membrane that is specific for a particular ion - such as Na+ or K+. Ion channels may be constitutively open (leak channels) - or regulated (voltage - gated or ligand - gated).
Amylase
Ion channel
Uterus
Creatine Phosphate
29. Sperm production; occurs in human males on a daily basis from puberty until death. Spermatogenesis results in the production of four mature gametes (sperm) from a single precursor cell (spermatogonium). For maximum sperm viability - spermatogenesis r
Diastolic pressure
Replication bubbles
Spermatogenesis
Euchromatin
30. The capillaries that surround the tubules of the nephron. The vasa recta reclaims reabsorbed substances - such as water and sodium ions.
Vasa recta
Dominant
Compact bone
Nucleolus
31. A region within the nucleus where rRNA is transribed and ribosomes are partially assembled.
Chondrocyte
Sudoriferous gland
Nucleus
Nucleolus
32. The third phase of meiosis II. During anaphase II the sister chromatids are finally spearated at their centromeres and puled to opposite sides of teh cell. Note that anaphase II is identical to mitotic anaphase - excep the number of chromosmes was re
Glomerulus
Leading strand
Anaphase II
Prokaryote
33. A type of white blood cell; leukocytes are either B or T cells and are involved in disease defense.
Leukocyte
Goblet cells
Primary spermatocytes
Synovial fluid
34. 'Yellow body.' The remnants of an ovarian follicle after ovulation has occurred. The cells enlarge and begin secreting progesterone - the dominant female hormone during the second half of the menstrual cycle. Some estrogen is also secreted.
Corpus luteum
Ejaculation
Tidal volume
Prophase I
35. A nucleotide sequence on DNA that contians three elemtns: a coding sequence for one or more enzymes - *a coding sequence for a regulatory protein - and upstream regulatory sequences where the regulatory proteins can bind. An example is the lac operon
Operon
Myofiber
Peripheral membrane protein
Postganglionic neuron
36. Proteins that bind to and stabilize the signle strands of DNA exposed when helicase unwinds the double helix in preparation for replication.
Endocytosis
Single strand binding proteins
Auditory tube
Lysozyme
37. 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
Troponin
Pilus
Islets of Langerhans
Anticodon
38. The central structure of the diencephalon of the brain. the thalamus acts as a relay station and major integrating area for sensory impulses.
Thalamus
Endospore
Aldosterone
Seminiferous tubules
39. An organ that develops during pregnacy - derived in part from the mother and in part from the zygote. The placenta is the site of exchange of nutrients and gases between the mother's blood and the fetus' blood. The placenta is formed during the first
Envelope
Nucleus
Placenta
Central canal
40. 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
Glycolipid
Centriole
Yolk sac
Ossicles
41. An activated B cell that is secreting antibody.
Renal tubule
Sex- linked rait
RNA polymerase
Plasma cell
42. 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
Neuromuscular junction
Pore
Resolution
Vagus nerves
43. A thick muscular tube that connects the epididymis of the testes to the urethra. Muscular contractions of the vas deferns during ejaculation ehp propel the sperm outward. Severing of the vas deferens (vasectomy) results in sterility of the male.
Vas deferens
Respiratory alkalosis
Medium
Collagen
44. A situation in which a heterozygote displays the phenotype associated with each of the alleles - e.g. - human blood type AB.
Brush border enzymes
Intercostal muscles
Codominance
Purkinje fibers
45. 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'.
Carrier protein
Cervix
Tetanus
Gram - positive bacteria
46. The basic functional and structural unit of the nervous system. The neuron is a highly specialized cell - designed to transmit action potentials.
Neuron
Organ of Corti
Urinary sphincter
Efferent neuron
47. One of the two ends of long bone (pl: eiphyses). The epiphyses have an outer shell made of compact bone and inner core of spongy bone. The spongy bone is filled with red bone marrow - the stie of blood cell formation.
Topoisomerase
Restriction endonuclease
Long bone
Epiphysis
48. The pituitary gland.
Phosphofructokinase
Hypophysis
Epiphysis
Anterioir pituitary gland
49. 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
Metaphase
Hematopoiesis
Hepatic portal vein
Melanin
50. The characteristics of amolecule that has both polar (hydrophilic) and non - polar hydrophobic) regions - e.g. phospholipids - bile - etc.
Total lung capacity
Hemoglobin
Trypsin
Amphipathic