Biology Trivia Questions — page 10

Most new mutations appear to be

• Aneutral or deleterious
• Bdetectable using allozyme studies (protein electrophoresis)
• Cpresent in homozygotes rather than heterozygotes
• Dbeneficial

A behavioral response called a fixed action pattern shown by animals

• Ais triggered by a number of sensory signals in the animal's environment
• Boccurs the second time an animal is exposed to the correct stimulus at the appropriate time in its life
• Cis a motor response which once released may be terminated spontaneously
• Doccurs in the absence of sensory feedback

Which of the following would be the most dependable environmental signal that a plant in a temperate ecosystem could use to initiate flowering at the correct time of the year?

• AFluctuations in abscisic acid levels
• BChanging air temperature
• CPhotoperiod
• DCircadian rhythm

Which of the following facts was established prior to 1859, the year in which Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species?

• AMendelian principles explain why some traits are dominant and others are recessive.
• BProkaryotes include two major domains, the Bacteria and the Archaea.
• CDNA provides the macromolecular basis of heredity.
• DThere exist fossilized remains of species that have become extinct.

In a Robertsonian translocation fusion occurs at the:

• Acentromeres.
• Bends of the long arms.
• Chistones.
• Dtelomeres.

DNA sequences in many human genes are very similar to the corresponding sequences in chimpanzees. Which statement gives the most likely explanation of this fact?

• AHumans and chimpanzees evolved from a distant common ancestor about 4 billion years ago.
• BChimpanzees evolved from humans millions of years ago.
• CHumans evolved from chimpanzees millions of year ago.
• DHumans and chimpanzees evolved from a recent common ancestor—about 6 million years ago.

Which of the following is not a recognized complication of cystic fibrosis?

• ADiabetes mellitus
• BLiver cirrhosis
• CCongenital absence of the vas deferens
• DCancer of the oesophagus

Which of the following closes and seals off the lower airway during swallowing?

• AAlveoli
• BLarynx
• CUvula
• DEpiglottis

Which of the following statements is correct about a man who has hemophilia and whose wife does not have the disease and who does not have any relatives with the disease?

• AAll his daughters will have the disease.
• BAll his sons will have the disease.
• CAll his daughters will be carriers.
• DAll his sons will be carriers.

If neutral variation is truly "neutral," then it should have no effect on

• Arelative fitness.
• Baverage heterozygosity.
• Cour ability to measure the rate of evolution.
• Dnucleotide diversity.

When water evaporates from the surface of a pond, what happens to the remaining liquid water?

• AThe surface water warms.
• BThe surface water cools.
• CThe surface water temperature remains unchanged.
• DThe pH of the remaining water decreases.

Which of the following structures travel through the substance of the parotid gland?

• AThe maxillary artery
• BThe maxillary artery and retromandibular vein
• CThe maxillary artery, retromandibular vein and facial artery
• DThe maxillary artery, retromandibular vein, facial artery and buccal branch of the mandibular nerve

This biome contains plants whose roots cannot go deep due to the presence of a permafrost.

• ADesert
• BTundra
• CTaiga
• DDeciduous forests

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

Which of the following is NOT a correct statement concerning elastin?

• AIt is secreted into the extracellular matrix of tissues.
• BIts secondary structure consists primarily of alpha helices.
• CIt is a component of large blood vessels.
• DIt is a globular protein found in connective tissue.

An organism exposed to wild temperature fluctuations shows very little, if any, change in its metabolic rate. This organism is most probably a

• Aectotherm.
• Bascospore.
• Cendotherm.
• Dthermophyle.

In vertebrate embryos, which of the following developmental processes most directly results in the formation of the three primary germ layers?

• ACleavage
• BBlastula formation
• CNeurulation
• DGastrulation

Where are the vital centres located in the brainstem?

• Amidbrain
• Bcerebellum
• Cmedulla oblongata
• Dpons

Which is a true statement concerning genetic variation?

• AIt must be present in a population before natural selection can act upon the population.
• BIt arises in response to changes in the environment.
• CIt is created by the direct action of natural selection.
• DIt tends to be reduced by the processes involved when diploid organisms produce gametes.

In men, which of the following structures is located at the neck of the bladder and surrounds the urethra?

• ASeminal vesicle
• BEpididymis
• CScrotum
• DProstate

This process couples the production of ATP with the movement of electrons down the electron transport chain by harnessing the driving force created by a proton gradient.

• AFermentation
• BGlycolysis
• CCalvin cycle
• DChemiosmosis

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 men, specimens for gonococcal cultures are most commonly obtained from which of the following structures?

• ABladder
• BUrethra
• CAnus
• DTesticle

Basepair sequence that signals the start site for gene transcription.

• AEnhancer
• BPromoter
• COperator
• DRepressor

Fossil evidence indicates that horses have gradually increased in size over geologic time. Which of the following terms best describes this?

• Astabilizing selection
• Bdisruptive selection
• Cartificial selection
• Ddirectional selection

In humans, a hereditary disorder called xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) can result in the inability to repair ultraviolet damage to DNA. Which of the following molecular lesions is most likely to accrue in individuals with XP?

• ASingle strand DNA breaks
• BDeamination of cytosine
• CDepurination
• DThymine dimers

Autozygosity mapping is used to map disorders that show which pattern of inheritance?

• AX-linked dominant
• BX-linked recessive
• CAutosomal dominant
• DAutosomal recessive

Which of the following karyotypes is not compatible with survival to birth?

• A47,XY,+13
• B47,XY,+21
• C45,Y
• D47,XX,+18

Logically, which of these should cast the most doubt on the relationships depicted by an evolutionary tree?

• ASome of the organisms depicted by the tree had lived in different habitats.
• BRelationships between DNA sequences among the species did not match relationships between skeletal patterns.
• CNone of the organisms depicted by the tree ate the same foods.
• DThe skeletal remains of the organisms depicted by the tree were incomplete (i.e., some bones were missing).

The following pairs were placed in solution together. Which two could be separated by performing low-speed centrifugation?

• ANuclei and secretory vesicles
• BGolgi apparatus and endoplasmic reticulum
• CDNA and mRNA
• DLysosomes and endosomes

Cattle breeders have improved the quality of meat over the years by which process?

• Astabilizing selection
• BA and B
• Cdirectional selection
• Dartificial selection

Which of the events described below agrees with the idea of catastrophism?

• AThe sudden demise of the dinosaurs, and various other groups, by the impact of a large extraterrestrial body with Earth
• BThe formation of the Grand Canyon by the Colorado River over millions of years
• CThe gradual deposition of sediments many kilometers thick on the floors of seas and oceans
• DThe gradual uplift of the Himalayas by the collision of the Australian crustal plate with the Eurasian crustal plate

A rise in intracellular free calcium in the sea urchin oocyte causes the release of proteolytic enzymes which act to prevent polyspermy. The events just described entail the

• Aacrosomal reaction
• Bzona reaction
• Cfertilization reaction
• Dcortical reaction

Kangaroo rats are better able to concentrate urine than humans are. It would be expected that, compared to the nephrons of human kidneys, the nephrons of kangaroo-rat kidneys would have

• Alonger loops of Henle
• Bshorter loops of Henle
• Cshorter collecting ducts
• Dthicker walls, which are impermeable to water

A patient is most likely to experience pain due to infection of the ethmoidal air cells sinus

• Aon the forehead.
• Bin the cheeks.
• Cat the base of the skull.
• Dbetween the eyes.

Fertilization of an ovum by a spermatozoon occurs in which of the following structures?

• AOvary
• BFallopian tube
• CUterus
• DCervix

The mutational mechanism in δβ-thalassaemia consists of:

• Aa duplication.
• Ba point mutation.
• Ca deletion.
• Dan insertion.

Which of the following statements about fungi is NOT true?

• AMost are filamentous.
• BSome are photosynthetic.
• CThey all have rigid cell walls.
• DThey all are eukaryotic.

Which of the following adaptations would limit pollination by bees and promote hummingbird pollination?

• AModified petals to provide a landing space
• BNectar with high sugar concentration produced in limited amounts
• CPendant (hanging) red-colored flowers
• DPatterns of ultraviolet color on the petals

In the inherited disorder called Pompe disease, glycogen breakdown in the cytosol occurs normally and blood glucose levels are normal, yet glycogen accumulates in lysosomes. This suggests a malfunction with

• Aenzymes in the lysosomes
• Bmembrane transport during exocytosis
• Cmembrane transport during endocytosis
• Denzymes in the mitochondria

Which of the following describes the cluster of blood capillaries found in each nephron in the kidney?

• ARenal pelvis
• BGlomerulus
• CLoop of Henle
• DAfferent arteriole

The DiGeorge/Shprintzen syndrome is caused by a deletion in which chromosome?

• A15
• B7
• C4
• D22

Which of the following would most likely describe the fate of a vesicle formed as a result of phagocytosis?

• AThe vesicle merges with a mitochondrion.
• BThe vesicle merges with a lysosome.
• CThe vesicle releases its contents to the cytoplasm to be digested.
• DThe vesicle is shuttled to the nucleus, and its contents become part of the nucleolus.

To ensure that hatchling sea turtles orient to the sea rather than inland, which of the following is the most environmentally sound practice around sea turtle nest sites?

• AMinimizing artificial lighting in the area
• BScattering preferred turtle foods between the nests and the sea
• CDigging troughs in the sand from the nests to the sea
• DBuilding low fences on the sand dunes

Marked microsatellite instability is a feature of:

• Ahereditary non-polyposis colon cancer (HNPCC).
• Bneurofibromatosis 1.
• Cfamilial adenomatous polyposis.
• Dmultiple endocrine adenomatosis type 2.

Which of the following is a reason that geneticists use mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) to study the relatedness of animal populations?

• AThere are few single nucleotide polymorphisms in the hypervariable, noncoding regions.
• BmtDNA mutates at a slower rate than nuclear DNA.
• CAll mitochondrial proteins are coded for by mitochondrial genes.
• DmtDNA is passed from mother to child and is free from recombination that occurs between pairs of chromosomes.

During the period when life is believed to have begun, the atmosphere on primitive Earth contained abundant amounts of all the following gases EXCEPT

• Aammonia
• Boxygen
• Cmethane
• Dhydrogen

Which of the following statements about post-transcriptional modification are incorrect?

• APosttranscriptional modification occurs in the cytoplasm.
• BA poly-A tail is added to the 3′ end of the mRNA.
• CA guanine cap is added to the 5′ end of the mRNA.
• DIntrons are removed from the mRNA.

Calcium, potassium, and sodium are classified as which of the following?

• AEstrogens
• BElectrolytes
• CCatecholamines
• DAndrogens

The process in which pioneer species colonize a bare substrate such as rock, sand, or glacial till is known as

• Aweathering
• Bsecondary succession
• Cstabilizing succession
• Dprimary succession