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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. A strong band of connective tissue that connets bones to one another.






2. A neuron found completely within the central nervous system. Interneous typically connect sensory and motor neurons - especially in reflex arcs.






3. A mass of lymphatic tissue at the befenning of the large intestine that helps trap ingested pathogens.






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






5. An enzyme inhibitor that competes with substrate for binding at the active site of teh enzyme. When the inhibitor is bound - no product can be made.






6. A group of three nucleotides taht is specific for a particular amino acid - or that specifies 'stop translating'






7. 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






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






9. Cells that make up exocrine galnds - adn that secrete their products into ducts. For example - in the pancreas - acinar cells secrete digestive enzyme; in the salivary glands - acinar cells secrete saliva.






10. The volume of air remaining in the lungs after a maximal forced exhalation - typically about 1200 mL.






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






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






13. A virus that infects a bacterium.






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






15. 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.)






16. A digestive accessory organ near the liver. The gallbladder stores and concentrates bile produced by the liver - and is stimulated to contrat by cholecystokin (CCK).






17. 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.






18. A region of specialized cardiac muscle cells in the right atrium of the heart that initiate the impules of heart contraction; for this reason the SA node is knownas the 'pacemaker' of the heart.






19. A viral enzyme that makes a strand of RNA by reading a strand of RNa . All prokaryotic and eukaryotic RNa polymerases are DNa dependent; they make a strand of RNa by reading a strand of DNA.






20. The layer of epithelial tissue that lines body cavities in contact with the outside environment (respiratory - digestive - urinary - and reproductive tracts).






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






22. 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






23. The primary male sex organ. The testes are suspended outside the body cavity in the scrotum and have two functions (1) produce sperm - and (2) secrete testosterone.






24. The cerebral hemispheres.






25. The 28 days of the menstrual cycle as they apply to the events in the uterus. The endometrial cycle is also known as the uterine cycle - and has the three subphases: menstruation - the proliferative phase - and the secretory phase.






26. A dense - hard type of bone constructed from osteons (at the microscopic level). Compact bone forms the diaphysis of the the long bones - and the outer shell of the epiphyses and all other bones.






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






28. The region at the center of an A band of a sarcomere that is made up of myosin only. The H zone gets shorter (and may disappear) during muscle contraction.






29. A receptor that responds to changes in body position - such as stretch on a tendon - or contraction of a muscle. These receptor allow us to be consciously aware of the position of our body parts.






30. A hormone derived from cholesterol. Steroids are generally hydrophobic and can easily cross the plasma membrane of cells - thus receptors for steroids are found intracellularly. Once this steroid binds to its receptor - the receptor - steroid complex






31. 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.






32. Specif ic defense of the body by antibodies - secreted into the blood by B- cells.






33. 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**.






34. The amount of blood returned to heart by the vena cavae.






35. Molecules made from monosaccharides that serve as the primary source of cellular energy -. Carbohydrates can also act as cell surface markers (good thing to remember).






36. A pair of similar chromosomes that have the same genes in the same order - but may have different versions (alleles) of those genes. One of the pair of chromosomes came from Mom in an ovum - and the other came from Dad in a sperm. Humans have 23 pair






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






38. The final phase of the digestive tract - also called the colon. The primary funcion of the large intestine is to reabsorb water and to store the feces.






39. An organism that has two copies of its genome it each cell. The paired genomes are said to be homologous.






40. 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.






41. A molecule composed of two monosaccharides. Common disaccharides include maltose - sucrose - and lactose.






42. A receptor that responds to light






43. A prokaryotic enzyme used to twist teh single circular chromosome of prokaryotes upon itself to form supercois. Supercoiling helps to compact prokaryotic DNa and make it sturdier.






44. 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






45. A cell characterized by the presence of a nucleus and other membrane - bound organelles. Eukaryotes can be unicellular (protists) or multicellular (fungi - plants and animals).






46. The plasma membrane of a muscle cell.






47. A membrane lipid consisting of a glycerol molecule esteried to two fatty acid chains and a sugar molecule.






48. A large multinucleate cell - typically formed by the fusion of many smaller cells during development (e.g. a skeletal muscle cell) - or formed by nuclear division in the absence of cellular division.






49. 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.






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