Biology Trivia Questions for College Students — page 5

A subunit of DNA and protein consisting of 134-base-pair long stretches of DNA surrounding a protein octomer is called (a)

• Achromatin
• Bsolenoid
• Chistone
• Dnucleosome

RFLP analysis is a technique that

• Auses hybridization to detect specific DNA restriction fragments in genomic DNA
• Bmeasures the transfer frequency of genes during conjugation
• Cis used to detect genetic variation at the protein level
• Dis used to determine whether a gene is transcribed in specific cells

An Hfr strain of E. coli contains:

• Aa bacterial chromosome with the F factor inserted
• Ba vector of yeast or bacterial origin which is used to make many copies of a particular DNA sequence
• Ca bacterial chromosome with a human gene inserted
• Da human chromosome with a transposable element inserted

In the brain stem, pathways for:

• Adiscriminative touch decussate in the pyramids.
• Bnociception decussate in the medial lemniscus
• Cskilled movements decussate in the medial lemniscus
• Dskilled motor movements decussate in the pyramids.

Which of the following controls body temperature, sleep, and appetite?

• AAdrenal glands
• BThalamus
• CHypothalamus
• DPancreas

Which orbital wall is most likely to collapse in a 'blow out' fracture?

• AThe floor
• BThe medial wall
• CThe lateral wall
• DThe roof

The major concentrations of proprioceptive receptors providing information about position of the TMJ are located in

• Athe articular disc of the TMJ and the lateral pterygoid muscle.
• Bthe capsule and ligaments of the TMJ and the medial pterygoid muscle.
• Cthe capsule and ligaments of the TMJ and the lateral pterygoid muscle.
• Dthe articular disc of the TMJ and the medial pterygoid muscle.

The presence of homologous structures in two different organisms, such as the humerus in the front limb of a human and a bird, indicates that

• Athe human and bird belong to a clade
• Ba human's and bird's evolution is convergent
• Cthe human and bird are polyphyletic species
• Dthe human and bird developed by analogy

Which of the following techniques could be used to demonstrate protein binding to specific DNA sequences?

• ASouthern blot hybridization
• BElectrophoretic mobility shift assay
• CNorthern blot hybridization
• DWestern blot hybridization

Which of the following organs removes bilirubin from the blood, manufactures plasma proteins, and is involved with the production of prothrombin and fibrinogen?

• ALiver
• BKidney
• CSpleen
• DGallbladder

Cancer cells grown in culture are similar to normal cells grown in culture in that they

• Aproliferate to the same cell density
• Bdivide an indefinite number of times
• Cdo not display contact inhibition
• Drequire a surface for attachment in order to grow

The crown of a very carious tooth suddenly fractures while the patient is standing eating at a take-away food outlet and a fragment is inhaled. It is more likely to enter the

• Aleft lung because the left main bronchus is wider and more vertical than the right.
• Bright lung or left lung because the two main bronchi are of equal size and at the same angulation.
• Cright or left lung because there are no factors predisposing to the fragment going in one particular direction.
• Dright lung because the right main bronchus is wider and more vertical than the left.

Which of the following conditions is not caused by a mutation in FGFR3?

• AAchondroplasia
• BThanatophoric dysplasia
• CWaardenburg syndrome
• DCrouzon syndrome

The amino acid ornithine is regenerated during each turn of the urea cycle in a similar manner to which of the following participants in the citric acid cycle?

• AFumarate
• BCitrate
• COxaloacetate
• DSuccinate

Mutations that cause achondroplasia exert an effect which can be classified as:

• Adominant negative.
• Bhaploinsufficiency.
• Cgain-of-function.
• Dloss-of-function.

Homeobox sequences

• Aare present in the genome of many animal species
• Brepresent integration sites for transposable elements
• Cwere identified as the integration sites for bacterial viruses
• Dare found in prokaryotes but not in eukaryotes

The concept of punctuated equilibrium refers to

• Apersistent predator-prey relationships in relatively stable environments
• Becological succession arrested by sudden environmental changes, e.g., fire
• Cbursts of speciation followed by relatively unchanging lineages
• Doscillating ecological successional stages

Adaptations of plants to minimize water loss in environments with high temperatures include which of the following?

• ANumerous stomata
• BThin cuticles
• CSpines instead of leaves
• DLarge surface-to-volume ratios

Which muscle is the most active during a right lateral excursion of the mandible?

• ARight medial pterygoid muscle
• BLeft medial pterygoid muscle
• CLeft lateral pterygoid muscle
• DRight lateral pterygoid muscle

Which of the following sources makes the greatest contribution to the dry mass of organic matter that comprises an oak tree?

• AWater that is taken up by the roots and carbon dioxide from the air
• BEndosperm located in the cotyledons of the acorn
• CMineral nutrients dissolved in groundwater that are taken up by the roots
• DOrganic molecules from decaying matter in the soil that are taken up by the roots

Plasmid vectors for cloning

• Ainclude centromeres to allow propagation in yeast
• Bcan accommodate inserts of over 100 kilobases
• Cgrow within bacteria, and are present in bacterial colonies on an agar plate
• Dcan generally accommodate larger inserts than phage vectors can

In fungi, cell walls are reinforced by which of the following?

• ACollagen fibers
• BSilica
• CChitin
• DLignin

Which of the following trisomy karyotypes has the mildest effect on human development?

• A47,XY,+21
• B47,XX,+13
• C47,XXY
• D47,XXX

Natural enemies have been implicated as a strong selective force for all of the following EXCEPT

• Alekking behavior
• Bmasting (synchronous fruiting)
• Caposematic coloration
• Dchemical defenses

Asp235Phe in a molecular report indicates that:

• Aaspartic acid has been replaced by phenylalanine.
• Bphenylalanine has been replaced by asparagine.
• Casparagine has been replaced by phenylalanine.
• Dphenylalanine has been replaced by aspartic acid.

A patient has a fracture in which the radius is bent but not displaced, and the skin is intact. This type of fracture is known as which of the following?

• AComplex, comminuted
• BClosed, greenstick
• CCompound, transverse
• DOpen, spiral

Evidence that sea urchins are more closely related to frogs than they are to snails is that echinoderms and chordates share which of the following embryological features?

• AEarly embryos are unable to compensate for missing cells.
• BThe pore that forms the mouth develops after the pore that forms the anus.
• CAn embryonic notochord disappears by the adult stage.
• DLarvae undergo metamorphosis.

Which of the following is encoded by the src oncogene and catalyzes the specific addition of phosphate groups to cellular proteins?

• AProtein phosphatase
• BG protein-linked receptor
• CTyrosine kinase
• DAdenylate cyclase

Adequate serum levels of calcium are maintained in humans by the secretion of

• Aparathyroid hormone
• Bgrowth hormone
• Cthyroxine
• Dglucagon

The likelihood of an individual in a population carrying two specific alleles of a human DNA marker, each of which has a frequency of 0.2, will be:

• A0.02
• B0.32
• C0.4
• D0.08

Positional cloning refers to

• Aisolating a gene by PCR using primers from another species
• Bcloning a portion of a gene using PCR
• Cmapping a gene to a chromosomal region and then identifying and cloning a genomic copy of the gene from the region
• Dusing a selection procedure to clone a cDNA

A "dished face" profile is often associated with

• Adefective development of the maxillary air sinus.
• Ban enlarged frontal bone due to hydrocephaly.
• Ca recessive maxilla due to failure of elongation of the cranial base.
• Da protruding mandible due to reactivation of the condylar cartilage by acromegaly.

A patient suffers a broken neck with damage to the spinal cord at the level of the sixth cervical vertebra.

• ABreathing will be unaffected.
• BIt is impossible to predict an effect on breathing.
• CThey will be unable to breathe without life support.
• DThey will only be able to breathe quietly.

Which of the following statements concerning a sarcomere of a striated muscle (such as skeletal muscle) is correct?

• AIn the relaxed position tropomyosin impedes myosin's access to the binding site of actin.
• BEach myosin helical tail contains an actinbinding site and an ATP-hydrolyzing site.
• CThe proteins troponin and tropomyosin constitute the thick and thin filaments, respectively.
• DDuring contraction H zones become elongated.

Phalloidin is a toxin made by the death cap mushroom. The toxin binds to actin subunits and disrupts actin function. Which of the following structures would be most directly affected by phalloidin?

• ACollagen fibers
• BIntermediate filaments
• CMicrofilaments
• DMicrotubules

A successful infraorbital nerve block will produce anaesthesia of the

• Amaxillary anterior teeth, their labial gingivae and the upper lip.
• Bmaxillary anterior teeth and their labial gingivae.
• Cmaxillary anterior teeth.
• Dmaxillary anterior teeth, their labial gingivae, the upper lip and anterior hard palate.

Mammals are homeostatic for all of the following EXCEPT

• Ablood pH
• Bbody temperature
• Cblood glucose concentration
• Dmetabolic rate

Which of the following muscles are derived from the first brachial arch?

• AThe muscles of mastication, anterior and posterior bellies of digastric and geniohyoid
• BThe muscles of mastication and anterior belly of digastric
• CThe muscles of mastication
• DThe muscles of mastication and anterior and posterior bellies of digastric

The seventh cranial nerve supplies

• Amuscles of the lower lip.
• Btaste buds on the posterior third of the tongue.
• Cmuscles of the soft palate.
• Dthe parotid salivary gland.

Mitochondria isolated and placed in a buffered solution with a low pH begin to manufacture ATP. Which of the following is the best explanation for the effect of low external pH?

• AIt increases the OH- concentration in the mitochondria matrix.
• BIt increases diffusion of H+ from the intermembrane space to the matrix.
• CIt increases the acid concentration in the mitochondria matrix.
• DIt increases the concentration of OH-, causing the mitochondria to pump H+ to the intermembrane space.

Fungi participate in each of the following EXCEPT

• Aassociation with humans to produce ringworm
• Bphotosynthesis to produce glucose
• Cassociation with the roots of plants to form mycorrhizae
• Dfermentation to produce alcohol

All of the following statements about plant embryogenesis are correct EXCEPT:

• AThe suspensor is derived from the basal cell.
• BCotyledons are derived from the apical cell.
• CShoot apical meristem formation occurs after seed formation.
• DPrecursors of all three plant tissue systems are formed during embryogenesis.

Which of the following agents will induce polyploidy in a dividing eukaryote?

• ATetracycline
• BColchicine
• CPuromycin
• DPenicillin

Which of the following would increase the rate at which a gas diffuses between the alveoli of the lung and the blood within a pulmonary capillary?

• ADecreasing the partial pressure gradient of the gas
• BDecreasing the solubility of the gas in water
• CDecreasing the rate of blood flow through the pulmonary capillary
• DIncreasing the total surface area available for diffusion

The target of digestion of a nucleosome dimer to nucleosome monomers by DNase is

• Athe nucleosome core
• Bhistones H2A, H2B, H3, and H4
• Cthe H1 histone
• Dlinker DNA

The auditory tube

• Ais opened by the action of levator veli palatini.
• Bis derived from the second pharyngeal pouch.
• Cconnects the inner ear and nasopharynx.
• Dis closed by the action of tensor veli palatini.

In order for the Hardy-Weinberg law to operate with respect to a population of organisms, each of the following conditions must be met EXCEPT:

• AMatings are random.
• BNatural selection does not take place.
• CGenes are exchanged with other populations.
• DPopulation size is large.

Twin studies in humans are useful because

• Athey allow genetic as opposed to environmental influences on variation in a trait to be estimated
• Bthey allow improved expression of genes
• Ctwins have a greater likelihood of being heterozygous
• Dcloning of genes is facilitated by the presence of extra copies

Which is a characteristic unique to angiosperms?

• AWind-borne pollen
• BA dominant sporophyte life cycle
• CDouble fertilization
• DAlteration of generations

When an emergency opening into the airway is required, the cricothyroid membrane should be pierced immediately

• Ainferior to the thyroid cartilage.
• Binferior to the cricoid cartilage.
• Csuperior to the thyroid isthmus.
• Dsuperior to the thyroid cartilage.