NOTE: I have added some comments and explanations for some of the questions. These are in boldface. The two exams, by the way, differed primarily in the order of the questions, although a few questions were reworded or changed between exams.
For the first eight questions, answer:
A if the statement is a testable hypothesis;
B if it is an untestable statement.
1. The speed of light is, like, pretty fast.
B--this is too vague to be testable
2. Human life begins at conception because that's when the soul
enters the body.
B--untestable (how would you test for the presence of a soul?)
3. UFOs exist, but they are made of a mysterious spiritual form
of matter, which cannot be photographed or measured with any known
instruments.
B--untestable
4. Alien beings are sending radio messages to Earth.
A--you can test this, for example, by building a radio
receiver and listening for messages
5. Michelangelo's David is more beautiful than Brancusi's
Bird in Space.
B--aesthetic judgments aren't testable
6. God created the Heavens and the Earth at exactly 9:53 this
morning, September 21, 1998. Every memory you have of anything
that happened earlier than 9:53 AM, and all physical evidence
of anything that might have happened before 9:53 AM, was planted
by the Devil.
B--untestable (obviously!)
7. The sun, moon, and all planets and stars revolve around the
earth, which is flat and fixed at the center of the universe.
A--you could test this, for example, by building a spacecraft
and looking for yourself
8. The Union Army captured the Confederate outpost of Fort Hindman,
on the Arkansas River near the town of Gillett, on January 10,
1863.
A--you could test this, for example, by going to the site and
looking for artifacts, or by reading eyewitness accounts and memoirs
In a desperate bid to maintain your GPA, you decide to poison
your biology professor. An acquaintance gives you some cyanide
to slip into his coffee. She explains that cyanide denatures the
proteins in the electron transport chain.
9. What does cyanide do to the proteins in the electron transport
chain?
A. breaks the bonds between amino acids
B. clumps the proteins together
C. disrupts the bonds between R-groups
This is the definition of 'denature'!
D. plugs up the pores in them that let electrons cross
the membrane
Electrons don't cross the membrane. Protons do. Tricky, tricky, tricky.
E. nothing at all; your accomplice is an idiot
10. What can a cell no longer do if its electron transport chain
is disrupted?
A. make ATP
B. make proteins
C. make ATP by glycolysis
D. make ATP by chemiosmosis
E. make lipids
11. Where do the electron transport proteins get electrons in
the first place?
A. ATP
B. water
C. the NAPA auto parts store on Harkrider, next to the
BondoTM
D. oxygen
E. NADH and FADH2.
12. Where, within the cells, would the cyanide have to go in order
to disrupt the electron transport chain?
A. the mitochondria
B. the chloroplasts
C. the nucleus
D. the endoplasmic reticulum
E. the muscles
13. Cyanide has the formula H-C_N.
That should be a triple bar between the C and the N -- your computer may or may not be able to display it.
The triple bar in this formula means that
A. the carbon atom and nitrogen atom share three pairs of
electrons
B. the carbon atom and nitrogen atom have the same number
of protons
C. the carbon atom and nitrogen atom have the same number
of neutrons
D. the carbon atom and nitrogen atom are bound together
with an ionic bond
E. the carbon atom and nitrogen atom share three electrons
14. Cyanide is a polar molecule. This means that it:
A. will not dissolve in water
B. will dissolve in water
C. smells like bitter almonds
D. will dissolve in oils or fatty acids
E. is found at the South Pole
15. Is it possible, at least, that cyanide would stop photosynthesis
as well?
A. Yes, because cyanide absorbs light
B. No, because plants don't have mitochondria
C. Yes, because photosynthesis uses electron transport proteins
D. No, because plants use different enzymes
E. No, because plants don't use electron transport proteins
This is a drawing of a eukaryotic cell. There are eight labeled
parts, numbered (logically enough) 1 through 8. Questions 16
through 24 refer to this drawing.
16. Part 8 is a ribosome. What important function does
a ribosome carry out?
A. lipid synthesis
B. protein synthesis
C. ATP synthesis
D. cellular digestion
E. recognition
17. Part 7 is the external plasma membrane. What proteins
would you expect to find in the plasma membrane?
A. recognition proteins
B. transport proteins
C. receptor proteins
D. A, B, and C
E. A and C, but not B
18. Part 5 is a centriole or basal body. It functions
as an organizing center for the cell's cytoskeleton. Which of
the following best describes the cytoskeleton's function?
A. maintains the cell's shape
B. allows the cell to receive chemical signals
C. allows the cell to move
D. A, B, and C
E. A and C
19. Near the arrow labeled #7, you can see the cell taking in
large particles. What's the general term for this?
A. osmosis
B. passive transport
C. endocytosis
D. facilitated diffusion
E. cyclosis
20. One of these parts is the "packaging" center for
the cell. Which?
A. #1, the Golgi body
B. #4, the mitochondrion
C. #6, the Golgi body
D. #5, the centrioles
E. #2, the smooth endoplasmic reticulum
21. Which of the labeled structures would also be found in a prokaryotic
cell?
A. #1, the mitochondrion
B. #3, the nucleus
C. #4, the nucleolus
D. #7, the plasma membrane
E. #4, the chloroplast
22. The five following structures are not labeled in the diagram,
but four of them could be present in at least some eukaryotic
cells. Which one is not present in eukaryotes?
A. chloroplasts
B. cell wall
C. cytoskeleton
D. circular DNA
E. chromosomes
23. If you dunked the cell shown above into pure water, what would
happen?
A. Water would enter the cell by endocytosis.
B. Water would leave the cell by osmosis.
C. Water would enter the cell by facilitated diffusion.
D. Water would leave the cell by active transport.
E. Nothing would happen.
Error -- none are correct. In fact, water would enter the cell by osmosis.
Two free points for everyone. You're welcome.
24. The organ in your body called the pancreas produces
digestive enzymes, as well as important proteins such as insulin.
If this cell were a pancreatic cell, which of its parts would
you expect to be very large and/or numerous?
A. 1 and 8
Golgi body and ribosomes
B. 2 and 6
C. 1, 6, and 7
D. 3, 4, and 8
E. 3 only
25. Which of the following molecules do NOT function in energy
storage?
A. starches
B. lipids
C. nucleic acids
D. ATP
E. All of these function in energy storage
26. A weak bond between oppositely charged parts of molecules,
in which electrons are not gained or lost, is a/an
A. hydrogen bond
B. covalent bond
C. ionic bond
D. hydrolytic bond
E. savings bond
27. Carbon atoms can exist as one of three isotopes, called 12C,
13C, and 14C. What is the difference between
these isotopes?
A. different numbers of protons
B. different numbers of electrons
C. different numbers of covalent bonds
D. different numbers of neutrons
This is, in fact, the definition of an isotope.
E. different numbers of hydrogen bonds
28. The stage of photosynthesis in which carbon dioxide is taken
up and incorporated into more complex molecules is
A. the Krebs cycle
B. the light-dependent reactions
C. the Harley cycle
D. glycolysis
E. the Calvin cycle
29. A molecule with a polar "head" and two nonpolar
"tails" is likely to be
A. an enzyme
B. a protein
C. a steroid
D. a phospholipid
E. a triglyceride
30. The protein known as albumin (found in egg whites) is made
up of four identical polypeptides held together by hydrogen bonds.
This is an example of
A. primary structure
B. secondary structure
C. tertiary structure
D. quaternary structure
E. none of the above
31. The protein known as collagen I (found in your tendons) has
a helical shape, locked together by hydrogen bonds between amino
and carboxyl groups. This is an example of
A. primary structure
B. secondary structure
"Hydrogen bonds between amino and carboxyl groups"
is secondary structure. It would be tertiary structure if they
were between R-groups.
C. tertiary structure
D. quaternary structure
E. none of the above
32. The protein known as lysozyme (found in your tears) consists
of 129 amino acids: lysine-valine-phenylalanine-glycine-. . .-cysteine-arginine-leucine.
This is an example of
A. primary structure
B. secondary structure
C. tertiary structure
D. quaternary structure
E. none of the above
33. Which of the following requires a cell to expend energy?
A. facilitated diffusion
B. endocytosis
C. simple diffusion
D. osmosis
E. cirrhosis
34. Photosynthesis involves a molecule called NADPH. Respiration
involves similar molecules called NADH and FADH2. Why
are these molecules necessary?
A. They store energy.
B. They make chemical reactions happen without being used
up themselves.
C. They carry electrons.
D. They pump protons across a membrane.
E. They can be fermented into lactic acid or ethanol.
35. The antibiotic penicillin works by blocking the active site
of an enzyme, transpeptidase, that certain bacteria use in forming
their cell walls. This is
A. competitive inhibition
B. feedback inhibition
C. allosteric regulation
D. facilitated regulation
E. fermentation
36. Molecules that readily form hydrogen bonds with water are
said to be:
A. allosteric
B. hydrophobic
C. esoteric
D. lipophilic
E. hydrophilic
37. Which of the following is a polymer of monosaccharides?
A. cellulose
B. DNA
C. ATP
D. ATP synthase
E. keratinIt is possible to "fool" an organism
by giving it a molecule that "looks like", but isn't,
something that it needs. Obviously, if a cell tries to use something
that isn't really what it's supposed to be, that cell's chemical
reactions may be blocked, its life functions will be seriously
disrupted, and that cell may die. Many drugs, poisons, and herbicides
work this way.
38. The herbicide RoundupTM has this molecular structure:
Which class of organic molecules is RoundupTM most
like?
A. nucleic acids
B. carbohydrates
C. lipids
D. proteins
E. amino acids
Notice that it has a carboxyl group, an R-group (just a hydrogen
atom, in this case) and an amino group that's had a big ugly carbon-phosphate
group stuck on it
39. The pesticide Rotenone has this molecular structure:
Which class of organic molecules is Rotenone most like?
A. nucleic acids
B. carbohydrates
C. lipids
Think "steroids", which have similar multiple-ring
structures
D. proteins
E. amino acids
40. The AIDS drug AZT (a.k.a. zidovudine) has this molecular structure:
Which class of organic molecules is AZT most like?
A. nucleic acids
It's a modified sugar stuck to a nitrogen-containing base
B. carbohydrates
C. lipids
D. proteins
E. amino acids
For these last ten questions, the E answer was always taken from the old Schoolhouse Rock educational short cartoons that ABC used to show on Saturday mornings. E was never the intended right answer, but in one case (#46) I will have to accept it. !?#*?*!?!
41. When an enzyme's activity is blocked by the very molecule
it helps to create, it is:
A. allosteric regulation
B. competitive inhibition
C. natural selection
D. feedback regulation
E. interjections-show excitement or emotion
42. A statement about how some aspect of the world works, that
has been tested several times and not been falsified, is a
A. hypothesis
B. control experiment
C. theory
D. guess
E. verb-that's what's happenin'
43. The First Law of Thermodynamics states that
A. energy cannot be created or destroyed
B. the number of electrons in an atom must equal the number
of protons
C. E=mc2
D. atoms are stable when they have filled outer orbitals
E. a noun's a person, place or thing
44. A polymer of amino acids is held together by
A. ionic bonds
B. hydrogen bonds
C. peptide bonds
D. amphipathic bonds
E. hookin' up words an' phrases an' clauses
45. The enzyme amylase, found in your saliva, breaks down starch
into
A. amino acids
B. sugars
C. nucleotides
D. fatty acids
E. a circle that turns 'round upon itself
46. Prokaryotic cells have all of the following EXCEPT:
A. cell wall
B. ribosomes
C. mitochondria
D. cytoplasm
E. Naughty Number Nine
47. A eukaryote's ribosomes are made in the:
A. nucleolus
B. cytoskeleton
C. cytoplasm
D. Golgi complex
E. three-ring government
48 A eukaryote's smooth endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is where what
gets made?
A. lipids and carbohydrates
B. nucleic acids
C. proteins
D. organelles
E. just a Bill
49. If there's not enough oxygen, your muscle cells may convert
pyruvate and NADH to lactic acid and NAD+. This process
is
A. the Krebs cycle
B. feedback regulation
C. covalent bonding
D. fermentation
E. sufferin' till suffrage
50. Simple diffusion of water across a plasma membrane is called:
A. psychosis
B. scoliosis
C. osmosis
D. neurosis
E. Rufus Xavier Sarsaparilla