Biology Trivia Questions — page 4

Two individuals, one with type B blood and one with type AB blood, have a child. The probability that the child has type O blood is

• A25%
• B0%
• C50%
• D100%

A trend toward the decrease in the size of plants on the slopes of mountains as altitudes increase is an example of

• Aa bottleneck.
• Brelative fitness.
• Cgenetic drift.
• Da cline.

Which of the following plant cells undergoes programmed cell death to become functional?

• AStomatal guard cell
• BPhloem sieve tube member
• CRoot cap cell
• DXylem vessel member

The pattern of inheritance shown by glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency is:

• Aautosomal recessive.
• BX-linked dominant.
• CX-linked recessive.
• Dautosomal dominant.

When driving from east to west in the U.S. from a forest ecosystem to grasslands, trees gradually give way to grasses. Which of the following is the critical factor responsible for this shift?

• AAvailability of oxygen
• BAmount of sunlight
• CLength of growing season
• DAvailability of water

A feature of amino acids NOT found in carbohydrates is the presence of

• Acarbon atoms
• Bnitrogen atoms
• Coxygen atoms
• Dhydrogen atoms

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of bacteria?

• APlasma membrane consisting of lipids and proteins
• BMembrane-bound cellular organelles
• CCircular double-stranded DNA
• DRibosomes that synthesize polypeptides

Which of the following changes in a gamete is most likely to lead to a heritable change in a protein?

• ADeleting two nucleotides from the middle of an intron
• BAdding two nucleotides to the poly(A) tail of an mRNA
• CDeleting two nucleotides immediately upstream of a gene promoter
• DInserting two nucleotides in the genome at the beginning of a codon

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

Which of the following tends to be highest on the trophic pyramid?

• APrimary producers
• BPrimary carnivores
• CPrimary consumers
• DHerbivores

Which of the following is flexible connective tissue that is attached to bones at the joints?

• AAdipose
• BMuscle
• CCartilage
• DEpithelial

Which of the following contain DNA sequences required for the segregation of chromosomes in mitosis and meiosis?

• ANucleosomes
• BCentromeres
• CSpliceosomes
• DTelomeres

The walls of the maxillary sinus are sinus is related to

• Athe floor of the orbit, the upper posterior teeth and the infratemporal fossa.
• Bthe floor of the orbit.
• Cthe floor of the orbit and the upper posterior teeth.
• Dthe floor of the orbit, the upper posterior teeth, the infratemporal fossa and the hard palate.

On which surfaces of the teeth is dental plaque most likely to accumulate in the mouth of a patient with poor oral hygiene?

• AThe palatal surfaces of the upper molars and labial surfaces of the lower incisors.
• BThe palatal surfaces of the upper molars and lingual surfaces of the lower incisors.
• CThe buccal surfaces of the upper molars and labial surfaces of the lower incisors.
• DThe buccal surfaces of the upper molars and lingual surfaces of the lower incisors.

A certain autosomal recessive trait is expressed in 1% of a population. Assuming that the population is in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, what percent of the population are carriers but do not express the trait?

• A10%
• B18%
• C27%
• D50%

Parasympathetic preganglionic nerves leave the central nervous system with the

• Asixth cranial nerves.
• Bthird cranial nerves.
• Cfifth cranial nerves.
• Dfourth cranial nerves.

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

Proprioceptive nerve endings in synovial joints are located in

• Asynovial membrane and capsule.
• Barticular cartilage and synovial membrane.
• Cligaments and articular discs.
• Dcapsule and ligaments.

Tracing of a cell lineage during development means that

• Athe regulatory genes for the organism have been genetically mapped
• Bcell components in the membrane involved in signaling have been isolated
• Cthe cells giving rise to and derived from a specific cell are known
• Dthe sequence of the enhancers for developmental genes is known

Of the following anatomical structures, which is homologous to the wing of a bird?

• ADorsal fin of a shark
• BFlipper of a cetacean
• CHindlimb of a kangaroo
• DWing of a butterfly

Which of the following is a feature of X-linked dominant inheritance?

• AParental consanguinity
• BMale to male transmission
• CTransmission only by females
• DTransmitted by males only to females

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

• Aparathyroid hormone
• Bgrowth hormone
• Cthyroxine
• Dglucagon

Crossing-over during meiosis permits scientists to determine

• Athe distance between genes on a chromosome
• Bthe rate of mutations
• Cthe chance for variation in zygotes
• Dwhich traits are dominant or recessive

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.

You notice that your patient's submandibular lymph nodes are enlarged. You would look for potential infection sites in the

• Ahard palate.
• Bhard palate, upper lip, upper central incisor and lower first molar.
• Chard palate and upper lip.
• Dhard palate, upper lip and upper central incisor.

The walls of bronchioles contain

• Asmooth muscle and respiratory epithelium.
• Bcartilage and smooth muscle.
• Ccartilage, smooth muscle and respiratory epithelium.
• Dcartilage and respiratory epithelium.

If a couple has had three sons and the woman is pregnant with their fourth child, what is the probability that child 4 will also be male?

• A1/2
• B1/16
• C1/8
• D1/4

Which describes an African butterfly species that exists in two strikingly different color patterns?

• Adisruptive selection
• Bdirectional selection
• Cstabilizing selection
• Dartificial selection

Differential distribution of substances in the egg most typically results in:

• Adifferences in gene expression which may establish a pattern in the embryo as the cells divide
• Bamplification of specific genes during development
• Closs of specific genes during development
• Ddevelopment of polyploid tissues

The muscles of the soft palate are innervated by branches of the

• Atrigeminal and vagus nerves.
• Bfacial and vagus nerves.
• Cfacial and glossopharyngeal nerves.
• Dtrigeminal and glossopharyngeal nerves.

Which of the following genes conveys susceptibility for polygenic Alzheimer disease?

• APS2
• BPS1
• CAPOE
• DAPP

Viruses are considered an exception to the cell theory because they

• Amove about via their tails
• Bhave evolved from ancestral protists
• Care not independent organisms
• Dhave only a few genes

Which of the following is the master gland of the endocrine system?

• APituitary
• BAdrenal
• CPineal
• DPancreas

On average, how many fragments would a restriction enzyme which recognizes a specific 4 base sequence in DNA be expected to cleave a double-stranded bacteriophage with a genome size of 5,000 bp into?

• Aabout 20
• Babout 4
• Cabout 50
• Dabout 2

Which of the following does NOT take place in the small intestine?

• APepsin breaks down proteins to amino acids.
• BPancreatic lipase breaks down fats to fatty acids and glycerol.
• CPancreatic amylase breaks down carbohydrates into simple sugars.
• DBile emulsifies fats into smaller fat particles.

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.

Which of the following is (are) required when performing a polymerase chain reaction (P C R) on a DNA sample?

• AA vacuum chamber
• BPrimers complementary to certain portions of the DNA
• CDNA ligase
• DReverse transcriptase

Similar evolutionary changes occurring in two species that can be related or unrelated.

• ACoevolution
• BDivergent evolution
• CConvergent evolution
• DParallel evolution

In a condition such as schizophrenia the recurrence risk will be greatest for which of the following relatives of an affected individual?

• ABrother
• BAunt
• CGrandchild
• DNephew

Which of the following pairs of scientists pioneered the ecological discipline known as island biogeography?

• AMatthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann
• BAlfred Hershey and Martha Chase
• CJames Watson and Francis Crick
• DRobert MacArthur and E. O. Wilson

A patient is admitted after a head injury and sinks rapidly into a coma. An MRI scan indicates an extradural haemorrhage because extravasated blood can be detected between the

• Askull bones and dura mater.
• Bpia mater and brain surface.
• Cdura mater and arachnoid.
• Darachnoid and pia mater.

The bones of the viscerocranium develop initially by

• Aendochondral ossification and follow the neural growth pattern.
• Bintramembranous ossification and follow the somatic growth pattern.
• Cintramembranous ossification and follow the neural growth pattern.
• Dendochondral ossification and follow the somatic growth pattern.

If a forest of fir, birch, and white spruce trees was devastated by fire, which of the following would most likely happen?

• ASecondary succession would begin to occur.
• BOnly animal life would continue to inhabit the region.
• COnly tough grasses would appear.
• DThe number of species would stabilize as the ecosystem matures.

Antibiotics that affect bacterial cells interfere with all of the following EXCEPT

• Apeptidoglycan synthesis
• Breverse transcriptase
• Cprotein synthesis
• DDNA synthesis

Which of the following is not known to be involved in the control of cell division?

• ACheckpoints
• BCyclins
• CProtein kinases
• DFibroblast cells

Cleavage symmetry arising from early cell divisions that occur at an oblique angle to the polar axis is known as

• Ameroblastic cleavage
• Bradial cleavage
• Cspiral cleavage
• Dsuperficial cleavage

A patient suffers damage to the orbit in a road traffic incident resulting in damage to the third cranial nerve. Which of the following signs will be present?

• APupillary constriction and a lateral strabismus
• BPupillary constriction and a medial strabismus
• CPupillary dilatation and a medial strabismus
• DPupillary dilatation and a lateral strabismus

Repeat core sequences consisting of 2, 3, or 4 base pairs are known as what?

• ASingle nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)
• BMinisatellites
• CMicrosatellites
• DSatellites

Which of the following is the direct energy source that allows ATP synthase to produce ATP in mitochondria?

• ANADH diffusing from the mitochondrial intermembrane space to the matrix
• BThe energy of electrons passing along the electron transport chain
• CH+ ions flowing down a gradient across the mitochondrial inner membrane
• DThe reduction of NAD+ during the conversion of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA

Which of the following anatomical regions of abdomen lies just distal to the sternum?

• AHypogastric
• BHypochondriac
• CLumbar
• DEpigastric