Biology IB SL Core Course

First Midterm Exam Version A Name: Laura Jastrzębska

1 Which of the following is the smallest structure that would most likely be visible with a
standard (not super-resolution) research-grade light microscope?
A. mitochondrion
B. microtubule
C. ribosome
D. virus
E. individual amino acid

2. Interstitial fluid is ________.

A. the internal environment inside animal cells
B. identical to blood in composition.
C. a site of exchange between blood and body cells
D. found only in the lumen of the small intestine
E. found only in muscle tissue

3. Which of the following would be the most appropriate method to observe the movements
of condensed chromosomes during cell division?
A. a hand lens (magnifying glass)
B. standard light microscopy
C. scanning electron microscopy
D. transmission electron microscopy
E. X-Ray Crystallography

4. Connective tissues typically have ________.

A. little space between the membranes of adjacent cells
B. the ability to transmit electrochemical impulses
C. the ability to shorten upon stimulation
D. relatively few cells and a large amount of extracellular matrix
E. cell walls and chloroplasts in humans

5. Which of the following frequently imposes a limit on cell size?

A. the absence of a nucleus
B. the number of mitochondria in the cytoplasm
C. ratios of surface area to volume
D. the volume of the endomembrane system
E. the number of flagella

6. Which of the following is a major difference between prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic
cells?
A. Prokaryotic cells have cell walls, while eukaryotic cells do not.
B. Eukaryotic cells have flagella, while prokaryotic cells do not.
C. Eukaryotic cells have membrane-bound organelles, while prokaryotic cells do not.
D. Prokaryotic cells are generally larger than eukaryotic cells.
E. Prokaryotic cells have a nucleus, while eukaryotic cells do not.
7. Which of the following are found in plant, animal, and bacterial cells?

A. mitochondria
B. ribosomes
C. chloroplasts
D. endoplasmic reticulum
E. lysosomes

8. Which of the following macromolecules leave the nucleus of a eukaryotic cell through
pores in the nuclear membrane?
A. DNA
B. amino acids
C. mRNA
D. phospholipids
E. tRNA

9. The nuclear lamina is an array of intermediate filaments that line the inner side of the
nuclear membrane. If a chemical treatment caused the lamina to disassemble, what would you
expect to be the most likely immediate consequence?
A. closing of nuclear pores
B. the inability of the nucleus to divide during cell division
C. a loss of genetic information from chromosomes
D. a change in the shape of the nucleus
E. The nucleus would expand and explode

10. A cell with a predominance of rough endoplasmic reticulum is most likely ________.
A. producing large quantities of proteins for secretion
B. producing large quantities of proteins in the cytosol
C. producing large quantities of carbohydrates to assemble an extensive cell wall
matrix
D. producing large quantities of carbohydrates for storage in the vacuole

11. A
cell with a predominance of smooth endoplasmic reticulum is likely specialized to
________.
A. store large quantities of water
B. import and export large quantities of protein
C. actively secrete large quantities of protein
D. synthesize large quantities of lipids
E. synthesize large quantities of carbohydrate

12. The liver is involved in detoxification of many poisons and drugs. Which of the following
structures is primarily involved in this process and, therefore, abundant in liver cells?
A. rough endoplasmic reticulum
B. smooth endoplasmic reticulum
C. Golgi apparatus
D. nuclear envelope
E. Peroxisomes
13. Cyanide binds with at least one molecule involved in producing ATP. If a cell is exposed
to cyanide, most of the bound cyanide is likely to be localized within the ________.
A. mitochondria
B. peroxisomes
C. lysosomes
D. smooth endoplasmic reticulum
E. nucleus

14. Vinblastine, a drug that inhibits microtubule polymerization, is used to treat some forms
of cancer. Cancer cells given vinblastine would be unable to ________.
A. form cleavage furrows during cell division
B. migrate by amoeboid movement
C. separate chromosomes during cell division
D. maintain the shape of the nucleus
E. form proteins

15. Which of the following structures form cytoplasmic channels that connect adjacent plant
cells through the cell walls?
A. desmosomes
B. gap junctions
C. plasmodesmata
D. tight junctions
E. loose junctions

16. For a protein to be an integral membrane protein, it would have to be ________.

A. hydrophilic
B. hydrophobic
C. amphipathic, with at least one hydrophobic region
D. exposed on only one surface of the membrane
E. only on one side of the membrane

17. According to the fluid mosaic model, a membrane ________.

A. is composed of a fluid bilayer of phospholipids between two layers of
hydrophilic proteins
B. is composed of a single layer of fluid phospholipids between two layers of
hydrophilic proteins
C. is composed of a mosaic of fluid polysaccharides and amphipathic proteins
D. is composed of a fluid bilayer of phospholipids with embedded amphipathic
proteins
E. does not exist in reality

18. Which of the following types of molecules lack hydrophilic domains?

A. transmembrane proteins
B. integral membrane proteins
C. peripheral membrane proteins
D. cholesterol
E. water
19. Eukaryotic chromosomes are composed of which of the following macromolecules?
A. DNA and RNA
B. DNA only
C. DNA and proteins
D. DNA and phospholipids
E. DNA and cholesterol

20. Starting with a fertilized egg (zygote), a series of six cell divisions would produce an early
embryo with how many cells?
A. 12
B. 16
C. 32
D. 64
E. 128
21. What is the name of the microtubule-organizing center found in animal cells as an
identifiable structure present during all phases of the cell cycle?
A. centriole
B. centrosome
C. centromere
D. kinetochore
E. ribosome
22. Certain cell types normally have several nuclei per cell. How could such multinucleated
cells be explained?
A. The cell underwent repeated cytokinesis but no mitosis.
B. The cell underwent repeated mitosis with simultaneous cytokinesis.
C. The cell underwent repeated mitosis, but cytokinesis did not occur.
D. The cell had multiple S phases before it entered mitosis

23. FtsZ is a bacterial cytoskeletal protein that forms a contractile ring involved in binary
fission. Its function is analogous to ________.
A. the cleavage furrow of eukaryotic animal cells
B. the cell plate of eukaryotic plant cells
C. the mitotic spindle of eukaryotic cells
D. the microtubule-organizing center of eukaryotic cells
24. If there are 40 centromeres in a cell at anaphase of mitosis, how many chromosomes will
be found in each daughter cell following cytokinesis?
A. 10
B. 20
C. 40
D. 80
E. 120

25. Taxol is an anticancer drug extracted from the Pacific yew tree. In animal cells, Taxol
prevents microtubule depolymerization. Thus, Taxol stops mitosis by interfering with which
of the following structures or processes?
A. the mitotic spindle
B. cytokinesis
C. centriole duplication
D. chromosome condensation
E. photosynthesis