Qbank Samples

Hmm QBANK5 kinda makes you wonder if QBANK10 might work too?
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Thanks for checking out our sample passages of the M Prep Qbank. Weve selected a set of
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M Prep Team
M Prep | Qbank Sample Passages
2014 Lee Simonov Services, LLC. All rights reserved. 1| 11

Physical Sciences
Question 1 5 are based on the following
passage

The decomposition of hydrogen bromide, HBr, is a
demonstration of how diverse environments can
influence chemical kinetics. Under certain
restricted conditions, the decomposition
proceeds in a single elementary reaction:

Reaction A
2HBr H
2
+ Br
2

Reaction A is exothermic, with standard activation
energy of 196 kJ/mol. In some cases, a metal
catalyst is introduced, and in the presence of
metal surfaces like gold and platinum, the
activation energies are more closely
approximated at 115 kJ/mol and 72 kJ/mol,
respectively. Data collected from an experiment
with Reaction A are provided in Table 1.

Table 1. Comparison of reaction rates at various
HBr concentrations

Trial [HBr] at t = 0 Initial Rate (M/s)
1 2.0 2.0 x 10
-3
2 3.0 4.0 x 10
-3

3 4.0 8.0 x 10
-3

4 6.0 1.6 x 10
-2

Under other conditions, HBr decomposition
proceeds through different reaction mechanisms.
For example, when exposed to certain
wavelengths of light, HBr undergoes
photochemical dissociation in three steps:

Reaction B
I) HBr + hf H + Br
II) H + HBr H
2
+ Br
III) 2Br Br
2

Here, hf refers to the energy of a photon, with h
equal to 6.626 x 10
-34
Js (Planck's constant) and f
is the frequency of the light. Note that only
wavelengths less than 350 nm will provide
sufficient energy for the initiation of this reaction
when absorbed by HBr.

1. If Reaction A is a reversible reaction, an
increase in the temperature of the reaction
system would most likely produce:

I. Lower activation energy
II. Increase in the rate of the forward AND the
reverse reaction
III. A change in the equilibrium concentration of
HBr
IV. The neutralization of HBr (aq)

(A) I only
(B) II and III only
(C) I, II, and III only
(D) IV only

2. Based on the data in Table 1, what is the rate
expression for the decomposition of HBr shown in
Reaction A?

(A) Rate = 2k
(B) Rate = k[H][Br]
(C) Rate = k[HBr]
(D) Rate = k[HBr]
2

3. Based on the surface catalysts described in the
passage, what entries best fit I, II, and III in the
graph, respectively?

(A) Au, Pt, uncatalyzed
(B) Pt, Au, uncatalyzed
(C) Uncatalyzed, Au, Pt
(D) Uncatalyzed, Pt, Au


4. What type of light would cause the
photochemical decomposition of HBr to occur?

(A) Infrared, 1 x 10
-3
m to 7 x 10
-7
m
(B) Yellow - Green light, 6 x 10
-7
m to 4.8 x 10
-7
m
(C) Blue - violet light, 4.8 x 10
-7
m to 4 x 10
-7
m
(D) Ultraviolet, 4 x 10
-7
to 5 x 10
-8
m

5. In Reaction B, the II) step of the reaction would
be called the:

(A) Propagation
(B) Initiation
(C) Perpetuation
(D) Termination


Verbal Reasoning
Questions 6 12 are based on the following
passage:

Is there any knowledge in the world which is so
certain that no reasonable man could doubt it?
This question, which at first sight might not seem
difficult, is really one of the most difficult that can
be asked. When we have realized the obstacles in
the way of a straightforward and confident
answer, we shall be well launched on the study of
philosophy - for philosophy is merely the attempt
to answer such ultimate questions, not carelessly
and dogmatically, as we do in ordinary life and
even in the sciences, but critically, after exploring
all that makes such questions puzzling, and after
realizing all the vagueness and confusion that
underlie our ordinary ideas.
The philosopher who first brought prominently
forward the reasons for regarding the immediate
objects of our senses as not existing
independently of us was Bishop Berkeley (1685-
1753). The arguments employed are of very
different value: some are important and sound,
others are confused or quibbling. But Berkeley
retains the merit of having shown that the
existence of matter is capable of being denied
without absurdity, and that if there are any things
that exist independently of us they cannot be the
immediate objects of our sensations.
There are two different questions involved when
we ask whether matter exists, and it is important
to keep them clear. We commonly mean by
'matter' something which is opposed to 'mind',
something which we think of as occupying space
and as radically incapable of any sort of thought
or consciousness. It is chiefly in this sense that
Berkeley denies matter. He admits that there
must be something which continues to exist when
we go out of the room or shut our eyes, and that
what we call seeing the table does really give us
reason for believing in something which persists
even when we are not seeing it. But he thinks that
this something cannot be radically different in
nature from what we see, and cannot be
independent of seeing altogether, though it must
be independent of our seeing.
Such an argument, in my opinion, is fallacious;
and of course those who advance it do not put it
so shortly or so crudely. But whether valid or not,
the argument has been very widely advanced in
one form or another; and very many
philosophers, perhaps a majority, have held that
there is nothing real except minds and their ideas.
Such philosophers are called 'idealists'. When
they come to explaining matter, they either say,
like Berkeley, that matter is really nothing but a
collection of ideas, or they say, like Leibniz (1646-
1716), that what appears as matter is really a
collection of more or less rudimentary minds.
Such questions are bewildering, and it is difficult
to know that even the strangest hypotheses may
not be true. Thus our familiar table, which has
roused but the slightest thoughts in us hitherto,
has become a problem full of surprising
possibilities. The one thing we know about it is
that it is not what it seems. Philosophy, if it
cannot answer so many questions as we could
wish, has at least the power of asking questions
which increase the interest of the world, and
show the strangeness and wonder lying just
below the surface even in the commonest things
of daily life.
Adapted from The Problems of Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, 2009.


6. Which of the following lines best identifies the
thesis of the passage?

(A) The arguments employed are of very different
value: some are important and sound, others
are confused or quibbling.
(B) There are two different questions involved
when we ask whether matter exists, and it is
important to keep them clear.
(C) Such an argument, in my opinion, is fallacious;
and of course those who advance it do not
put it so shortly or so crudely.
(D) Philosophy, if it cannot answer so many
questions as we could wish, has at least the
power of asking questions.

7. The passage offers support for which of the
following positions?

(A) Idealism is the only correct way of thinking
when it comes to philosophy.
(B) Most of philosophy is fairly straightforward; it
is only complicated by humans.
(C) Bishop Berkeley is important to remember
because of his many influential contributions
to philosophy.
(D) The existence of matter depends on one's
perception of the object.

8. The information in the passage is sufficient to
answer which of the following questions?

(A) What kind of goals does philosophy seek to
obtain?
(B) What other schools of thought did Berkeley
disprove?
(C) How is philosophy different from other
disciplines?
(D) What arguments did other philosophers bring
up against Berkeley?

9. The example of Berkeley's table primarily
functions as a(n):

(A) Introduction
(B) Thesis
(C) Example
(D) Conclusion
10. In the context of the passage, "some"
(paragraph 2) most likely refers to the:

(A) Reasons
(B) Objects
(C) Arguments
(D) Existence

11. According to the passage, what kind of stance
does the author have pertaining to Berkeley's
ideas?

(A) No interest
(B) Agreement
(C) Disagreement
(D) Neutral

12. The author of the passage aims to:

(A) Press upon the reader the uncertainty of
philosophy.
(B) Examine the limits of philosophy.
(C) Discuss whether the table is really a table.
(D) Explain several different schools of
philosophy.


Biological Sciences
Questions 13 18 are based on the following
passage:

Figure 1 gives a standard subcloning for
transferring a DNA fragment (insert) from the
donor to the recipient plasmid. It involves three
steps:

1. Releasing the insert from the donor plasmid
and its purification
2. Digestion of the recipient plasmid
3. Ligation of the insert into the recipient
ligations.

The release of insert is accomplished using
restriction enzymes that recognize specific
sequence of DNA and cleave the phosphate
backbone of the DNA molecule near that
sequence. Once digestion of the DNA fragments is
carried out with enzymes that generate
compatible ends ligation is carried out using DNA
ligases.

Amp and Neo indicated on the plasmids in the
figure are antibiotic markers that confer
resistance to ampicillin and neomycin
respectively. The ligated plasmids are
transformed into bacteria which are selected
using appropriate antibiotics, depending on the
antibiotics markers on the plasmids. The
restriction digestion sites shown in the figure are
part of multiple cloning site, and are present only
as a single copy to facilitate ease of cloning.
Among these enzymes, the ones that do not
cleave the insert fragment (so that it can be
released intact) are used for cloning.

Figure 1. Digest procedure for subcloning DNA
from donor to recipient plasmid

13. If the ligation is carried out without purifying
it from the recipient vector, what is the best way
to select the donor plasmid with insert from the
colonies obtained after transformation?

(A) Grow the transformed bacteria in medium
supplemented with no antibiotics.
(B) Grow the transformed bacteria in medium
supplemented with ampicillin.
(C) Grow the transformed bacteria in medium
supplemented with neomycin.
(D) Grow the transformed bacteria in medium
supplemented with tetracycline.


14. In an experiment the total size of donor
plasmid before digestion was about 5000 base
pairs. After the digestion with restriction enzymes
EcoRI and NotI, as shown above, it released an
insert of about 1500 base pairs. The insert was
then cloned into the donor plasmid. In order to
verify his information, the student then digested
the newly cloned vector that has the insert with
XhoI and NotI. He obtained three DNA fragments
of 100, 400 and 1000 base pairs in addition to the
4000 base pairs of the donor vector. Which of the
following statements is TRUE regarding the donor
vector carrying the insert?

(A) NotI digestion by itself will also release all the
three fragments and the vector.
(B) EcoRI digestion will release three fragments
and the vector.
(C) XhoI digestion by itself will release two
fragments and the vector.
(D) EcoRI and NotI digestion will release 2
fragments and the vector.

15. Ligations are often difficult to achieve and
they are set up so as to maximize the probability
of success. Biologists have determined that a
mixture of DNA that has a 1:3 molar ratio of
vector to insert gives the best chance for success
with ligations. For the sake of simplicity such
calculations often consider all bases of DNA to
have same molecular mass. If 100 nanograms of a
10 kb vector is used for cloning a 1 kb insert,
calculate the amount of insert that should be
used to obtain this ratio.

(A) 10 nanograms
(B) 30 nanograms
(C) 100 nanograms
(D) 300 nanograms

16. The example shown in the figure used two
enzymes to digest the two ends of the insert. If
the insert in the donor plasmid, is flanked at both
ends by EcoRI sites, EcoRI enzyme can be used to
release it from the donor vector. The recipient
vector, digested with EcoRI, can be used to clone
it. The EcoRI digestion at its target site GAATTC
and ligation is represented below.

Which of the following statements is FALSE under
these conditions?

(A) The two ends of vector might ligate to
regenerate empty vectors.
(B) Many vector molecules can ligate together to
give rise concatamers.
(C) Many insert molecules can ligate together to
give rise to concatamers.
(D) The cloned inserts from this ligation cannot
be released by EcoRI digestion.


17. Recognition sequences and cleavage sites
(arrows) of a few restriction enzymes are denoted
below:

If the DNA fragment A is digested with BamHI,
and the fragment B with BglII. Which of the
following statements is always correct?

(A) A and B can be ligated and the product will be
digested by BamHI.
(B) A and B can be ligated and the product will be
digested by DpnII.
(C) A and B can be ligated and the product will be
digested by all three enzymes.
(D) A and B cannot be ligated.

18. Many enzymes leave an overhang on one of
the DNA strands after digestion. Some enzymes,
such as SmaI and EcoRV generate blunt ends with
no overhang. Ligation reactions that involve
fragments with blunt ends are often difficult. This
difficulty can be best explained by which of the
following?

(A) Ligase enzyme requires these overhangs for
optimal activity.
(B) Overhangs obviate the need of ligation.
(C) Overhangs stabilize DNA ends facilitating
ligation.
(D) Overhangs recruit DNA ligase facilitating
ligation.


Solutions

Physical Sciences
1. B When the temperature of a reaction system is increased, it will affect the kinetics and
thermodynamics of this reaction. Temperature affects the kinetics of all reactions, though not
necessarily to the same degree; a rise in temperature will increase the rate of any reaction. We will see a
shift of the equilibrium based on the thermodynamics of the equation, but this is due to the kinetics of
one reaction being affected more than the kinetics of the other reaction. Thus II is correct. It is also
noted in the passage that the reaction is exothermic, so using Le Chatelier's principle, it can be predicted
that the reaction will shift to the left and increase the equilibrium concentration of HBr. This is
described in III, making it correct. Only catalysts can lower activation energies, making I incorrect. IV is
incorrect as we see there will be an increase, not a decrease in the concentration of HBr.

2. D The rate law can be determined by comparing different trials, and how any changes to the initial
concentration of the reactant affect the rate of the reaction. It is possible to use any set of trials, but
usually easiest to compare, for example, Trials 1 and 3. The concentration of [HBr] increases by a factor
of 2, while the reaction rate increases by a factor of 4. Solving 2
x
= 4; x = 2, indicating that the rate is
second order. This is the option in (D), where Rate = k[HBr]
2
. Note that for elementary reactions, you
can simply use the coefficients of the reactants to directly write the rate law.

3. C These scenarios can be distinguished by the different energies of activation. The uncatalyzed
reaction would have the greatest energy of activation - the role of a catalyst is to lower this value so that
the reaction can proceed more readily. Between the two catalysts, it is stated that gold drops the
energy of activation to 115 kJ/mol, while platinum lowers it to 72 kJ/mol. So, the "energy hump" of
platinum would be lower than gold.

4. D The passage states that the wavelengths of light that can initiate this reaction are less than 350
nm. Looking at the list of options, they are in meters instead of nanometers, so the values have to be
evaluated by a shift of 10
-2
. Only the last option, ultraviolet, falls in the right window of wavelengths, is
less than 350 nm. Remember that the amount of energy is inversely related to the wavelength.

5. A Radical mechanisms typically have 3 steps: Initiation (I), Propagation (II), Termination (III).
Perpetuation is not a word used to describe a step in this process.

Verbal Reasoning
6. D (D) is the correct answer because it is the only choice that includes the general ideas and
arguments put forward in the passage. The passage introduces the nature of philosophy, then goes on
to discuss one facet of philosophy as an example, and then concludes with the idea that philosophy isn't
an exact science and has other purposes. (D), being in the conclusion, is the only summarizing thought
that carries the weight of the passage. (A), (B), and (C) are all incorrect because they each deal with an
individual part of the passage rather than the passage as a whole. As a 'thesis,' the correct statement
should be similar to an umbrella thought from which more specific thoughts are mentioned. (A), (B), and
(C) are the more specific thoughts under the umbrella, which means that they cannot be the thesis
itself.


7. D (D) is the correct answer because paragraphs 2 and 3 discuss the nature of matter and how it
relates to thought. In paragraph 2, the author states that Berkeley is able to deny matter because of
one's perception in its existence. (A) is incorrect because the author argues against idealism as a perfect
philosophy in paragraph 4. (B) is incorrect because the point of the passage is to discuss how many
possibilities there are in philosophy (paragraph 5). (C) is incorrect because the author only discusses one
way Berkeley has contributed to philosophy; the claim that Berkeley contributed many influential views
is thus false.

8. A (A) is the correct answer because the passage argues that philosophy aims to "ask questions" and
"show the strangeness and wonder... even in the commonest things of daily life" (paragraph 5). This
would be sufficient to answer the question posed in (A). (B) is incorrect because the only school of
thought that is mentioned is idealism, which means that it would be impossible for Berkeley to have
disproved any other schools. (C) is incorrect because the passage only concerns itself with the study of
philosophy and is not concerned with other disciplines such as mathematics or psychology. (D) is
incorrect because Berkeley and Leibniz are the only two philosophers brought up in the subject matter,
and both are idealists. Thus, there are no philosophers that were used to argue against Berkeley's ideas.

9. C (C) is the correct answer because Berkeley's table is used an example to demonstrate the
strangeness that philosophy is capable of ("such questions are bewildering, and it is difficult to know
that even the strangest hypotheses may not be true," paragraph 5). The passage opens with an
introduction of philosophy as a discipline, thus rendering (A) incorrect. Berkeley's table also cannot be
the thesis because the thesis of the passage has to do with the nature of philosophy itself. It also cannot
work as a conclusion because the main point of the passage is, again, the nature of philosophy. Thus,
Berkeley's table is then too specific to function as either a thesis or a conclusion. This would mean that
both (B) and (D) are incorrect.

10. C (C) is the correct answer. The word 'some' describes an idea that would be either important and
sound or confused or quibbling. The colon before 'some' indicates that 'some' is being used to list
separate mini-ideas of the bigger idea that 'some' is referring to. Because 'arguments' is the only noun
before the colon, (C) is the correct answer. (A), (B), and (D) are all incorrect because they each exist
outside the context of the sentence and the colon that defines 'some'.

11. C (C) is the correct answer because the author declares Berkeley's argument to be fallacious
(meaning to have flaws), which means that the author does not agree wholeheartedly with Berkeley's
ideas. (A) and (D) are incorrect because, by declaring Berkeley's argument as fallacious, the author
actively forms an opinion and no longer remain disinterested or neutral. (B) is also incorrect because the
author seeks to go against Berkeley's ideas, meaning that the author in fact does not agree with
Berkeley.

12. A (A) is the correct answer because first and last paragraphs focus on the "vagueness,"
"confusion," "bewildering" nature, and "possibilities" of philosophy. By opening and ending with such
open-ended terms, the author seeks to draw an impression of how ambiguous and unlimited philosophy
can be in terms of possibilities. (B) is incorrect because of said possibilities; by admitting that philosophy
can be "full of surprising possibilities," the author inherently states that there are no definable limits to
the study of philosophy. (C) is incorrect because the table is just an example to help establish the
author's main claim, and is not intended to be the main claim itself. (D) is incorrect because only
idealism was mentioned as an example of a school of thought and none others.


Biological Sciences
13. C Since the insert was not purified after digestion, the bacteria transformed can contain either the
donor or recipient plasmids. These bacteria can be selected in media containing appropriate antibiotics.
If grown without antibiotics all the bacteria will grow irrespective of the presence of plasmid and this is
not useful for obtaining the cloned plasmid. Both the donor and recipient plasmids contain ampicillin
resistance markers and the bacteria containing either of them will grow if selected with ampicillin.
Neomycin can be used here because only the recipient plasmid contains its selection marker.
Tetracycline cannot be used because the donor plasmid has no suitable resistance marker and hence it
will kill the bacteria that we are interested in.

14. C As described in the passage, the restriction sites marked on the plasmids are unique and found in
one copy on the plasmid DNA. This means that if a unique enzyme releases multiple fragments from the
plasmid it can be only due to presence of its target sites in the insert. Here EcoRI and NotI were already
used for cloning the insert into recipient plasmid. Hence they cannot cleave inside the insert and will not
release 3 fragments. By themselves either of them will not release any DNA fragment from the plasmid
since they can digest only at one end of the insert. EcoRI and NotI together will release only one
fragment, which is the complete insert, since they were used in the cloning. Here the answer is that XhoI
by itself will release 2 fragments because when used in combination with NotI (which digests one end of
the insert) it released 3 fragments. Since it is also a unique enzyme (and hence will cut the plasmid
backbone only once), the only explanation is that it digests the insert. One of the possible arrangements
of the restriction sites are shown below.

15. B The formula, derived from simple ratios is (kb of insert / kb of vector) x ng of vector x 3. This will
give 30 nanograms of insert. Since mass of insert DNA is one tenth of the vector mass (here we use the
approximation that all bases have same molecular mass), equimolar amounts can be obtained using one
tenth of the amount of vector. For a ratio of 1:3 (vector:insert), three fold of this value is used.

16. D As shown in the figure EcoRI-digested inserts can ligate to regenerate EcoRI restriction sites and
they can be cleaved by EcoRI again. When the DNA fragments are all digested with EcoRI, they can ligate
to form concatamers, and the plasmid molecules can religate without inserts. In practice, this can be
avoided by dephosphorylating the vectors so that they cannot ligate with themselves or concatamerize
vector molecules.


17. B The three enzymes given here have very similar recognition sequences. All three will generate
identical (3'-CTAG-5') DNA overhangs. Hence A and B fragments can be ligated together. However, the
ligated product will not be compatible for digestion with either BamHI or BglII since its sequence will be
different from either of their target sites and will have the following structure:

. . . GGATCT. . .
. . . CCTAGA. . .

Since DpnII recognized only the core 4 bases (GATC), it will be able to digest this hybrid DNA fragment
formed by ligating A and B.

18. C Ligase functions independent of DNA structure. If there are compatible overhangs the two
fragments of DNA can form hydrogen bonds at that region. This will facilitate formation of double
strands at the cleaved site, stabilizing them and increasing the probability of ligation of the two
fragments. This is not the case with blunt ends that have no overhangs. These ends are not stabilized,
making ligation difficult to achieve.

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Hmm QBANK5 kinda makes you wonder if QBANK10 might work too?

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