GENERAL BIOLOGY

Midterm Examinations

MULTIPLE CHOICE: Select the BEST ANSWER.

1. Which of the following statements about living cells is false?
a. Most are microscopic
b. They are found in all animals but not in all plants.
c. They are the smallest basic units that can carry out all of the functions that we normally
define as life.
d. All of the above
2. Chromosomes are found in _____________________ of cells.
a. he nucleus
b. the cytoplasm
c. both the nucleus and the cytoplasm
d. All of the above
3. Which of the following statements is true about the chromosomes of different plant and animal
species?
a. They may differ in number, but are the same shape and size.
b. They may differ in the shape and size, but normally have the same number.
c. They may differ in number, shape, and size.
d. None of the above
4. Which of the following statements is true about cells?
a. The nucleus is within the cell membrane which is surrounded by the nuclear
membrane.
b. The nucleus is within the nuclear membrane which is surrounded by the cytoplasm.
c. The cytoplasm is within the nuclear membrane.
d. All of the above
5. A prokaryotic cell can be distinguished from a eukaryotic cell. Which of the options, A – D,
would only be found in a eukaryotic cell?
a. a nucleus
b. a cell surface membrane
c. ribosomes
d. DNA
6. Which one of these organelles always contains DNA?
a. ribosome
b. Golgi body
c. mitochondrion
d. lysosome
7. Which of the following is absent from prokaryotic cells?
a. plasmids
b. cell wall
c. rough endoplasmic reticulum
d. ribosomes
8. Which of the following statements is true about the Nucleus?
a. It is absent in prokaryotes
b. It is called the brain of the cell
 c. It contains DNA and other genetic materials.
d. All of the above
9. Which of the following statements is true about the Golgi bodies?
a. It is a sac-like organelle
b. It is located near the nucleus
c. It helps in transporting the particles throughout the cell.
d. All of the above
10. Which of the following is not a double membrane-bound organelle?
a. Chloroplast
b. Mitochondria
c. Endoplasmic Reticulum
d. All of the above
11. Which of the following cell organelles is present in animal cells and absent in plant cells?
a. Nucleus
b. Centrosome
c. Golgi bodies
d. All of the above
12. Which of the following is a single membrane-bound organelle?
a. Vacuole
b. Golgi Apparatus
c. Endoplasmic Reticulum
d. All of the above
13. Which of the following statements is true about chromosomes?
a. It is present within the nucleus
b. It carries genes and helps in inheritance
c. It is composed of DNA in the form of Chromatin and protein
d. All of the above
14. _____________ is involved in the synthesis of phospholipids.
a. Mitochondria
b. Cytoplasm
c. Endoplasmic Reticulum
d. Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum
15. Which of the following cell organelles is absent in prokaryotic cells?
a. Nucleus
b. Lysosome
c. Endoplasmic Reticulum
d. All of the above
16. Which of the following cell organelles regulates the entry and exit of molecules to and from
the cell?
a. Lysosomes
b. Golgi bodies
c. Cell membrane
d. Mitochondria
17. ___________ is a jellylike substance found floating inside the plasma membrane.
a. Cell sap
b. Cytoplasm
 c. Karyoplasm
d. Mitochondria
18. Which of the following cell organelles is absent in animal cells and present in a plant cell?
a. Cell wall
b. Cytoplasm
c. Vacuoles
d. Mitochondria
19. Chloroplast is similar to mitochondria in having a
a. double layered membrane
b. Circular DNA
c. 70S ribosomes
d. All of these
20. Which of the statements are true regarding chloroplast
a. It is a double membrane bound organelle
b. Chloroplasts are site of photosynthesis
c. Chloroplasts are responsible for the synthesis of carbohydrates
d. All of the above
21. Which of the following statements are NOT true regarding cell wall
a. Plant cell wall is made up of cellulose
b. Plant cell wall is a non-living structure
c. Cell wall provides mechanical support to the cell
d. Cell wall is semi-permeable
22. Which cellular junction acts as a barrier to prevent fluids from passing between cells?
a. Tight junctions
b. Gap junctions
c. Desmosomes
d. Villi
23. What is the main purpose of gap junctions?
a. Allows large molecules to move between cells
b. Prevents water from moving between cells
c. Allows molecules and ions to travel between cells
d. Prevents cells from separating from one another
24. Microfilaments are made up of
a. actin
b. tubulin and actin
c. desmin
d. vimetin
25. Microtubules are made up of
a. flagellin
b. desmin
c. tubulin
d. actin and myosin
26. Cilia anf flagella of Eukaryotic cells are made up of
a. keratin
b. tubulin
c. lamin
 d. desmin
27. Which of the following is a characteristic of ALL living things?
a. All living things grow.
b. All living things need oxygen.
c. All living things breathe
d. All living things move.
28. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic that all living things share?
a. using energy
b. made of cells
c. reproduction
d. able to talk
29. A change in an organism's surroundings that causes it to react is called
a. a stimulus
b. development
c. energy
d. a response
30. A plant growing toward light is an example of
a. development
b. a response
c. a stimulus
d. reproduction
31. What are all living things composed of?
a. only one cell
b. at least 100 cells
c. at least a trillion cells
d. one or more cells
32. What is true of all organisms?
a. organisms grow but never develop
b. organisms grow and develop
c. organisms always remain the same size
d. organisms always shrink and divide
33. Which of the following characteristics is shared by all organisms?
a. all organisms can smell and taste
b. all organisms are composed of cells
c. all organisms can move
d. all organisms have cells that contain DNA
34. What is magnification?
a. the production of offspring by a living thing
b. the ability to make things look smaller than they are
c. the ability to make things look larger than they are
d. an adjustment of brightness for a microscope
35. Which of the following is NOT a stimulus that a living thing might sense and respond to?
a. hunger
b. sound
c. DNA
d. light
36. Which order is correct for the Scientific Method?
a. Observation, Hypothesis, Testing, Analysis, Conclusion
b. Hypothesis, Observation, Conclusion, Testing, Analysis
c. Hypothesis, Testing, Analysis, Conclusion, Observation
d. Observation, Testing, Hypothesis, Analysis, Conclusion
37. Which of the following is the best description of a control for an experiment?
a. The control group is kept in an unchanging environment.
b. The control group is left alone by the experimenters.
c. The control group is matched with the experimental group except for the one
experimental variable.
d. The control group is exposed to only one variable rather than several.
38. Why is it important that an experiment include a control group?
a. The control group is the group that the researcher is in control of, the group in which
the researcher predetermines the results.
b. The control group provides a reserve of experimental subjects.
c. A control group assures that the experiment will be repeatable.
d. Without a control group, there is no basis for knowing if a particular result is due to
the variable being tested.
39. An atom is composed of
a. ions and protons
b. electrons and protons
c. neutrons and ions
d. ions and electrons
40. Which of the following has a positive charge?
a. proton
b. neutron
c. anion
d. electron
41. Atoms that gain or lose electrons are called
a. metals.
b. nonmetals.
c. ions.
d. isotopes.
42. How was Mendeleev’s periodic table arranged?
a. by increasing atomic mass
b. by decreasing atomic mass
c. by increasing atomic number
d. by decreasing atomic number
43. Which of the following elements is an alkali metal?
a. calcium
b. magnesium
c. mercury
d. sodium
44. Each column of the periodic table is
a. an element..
b. a group.
 c. an isotope
d. a period.
45. Unlike the modern model of the atom, Bohr’s model states that
a. electrons move in set paths around the nucleus of an atom.
b. atoms cannot be divided into smaller parts.
c. electrons behave like waves.
d. electrons contain orbitals.
46. All orbitals can hold a maximum of ______ electrons
a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4
47. There are __________ orbitals in the second shell.
a. 1 b. 2 c. 4 d. 8
49. __________ orbitals are spherically symmetrical.
a. s b. p c. d d. f
50. ______ orbitals are dumbbell shaped
a. s b. p c. d d. f
51. What is another name for noble gases?
a. stable gases
b. cool gases
c. inert gases
d. reactive gases
52. Nobel gases do not react with other elements because
a. They have completely paired up and stable electron shell.
b. The size of the atoms are very small.
c. They are not found in abundance.
d. are mono-atomic
53. Water is liquid at room temperature, the most important reason for this is the:
a. High boiling point of water
b. High melting point of water
c. High vaporization of water
d. Cohesive forces due to hydrogen bonds in water
54. Most important reason for the unusual properties of water is:
a. The covalent bonding pattern in water molecule
b. The bond angle between the two hydrogen atoms in water
c. Hydrogen bonding between water molecules
d. Water can immediately ionized at room temperature
55. Which of the following statement is true regarding the electronegativity of atoms in water
molecule?
a. Hydrogen is more eletronegative than oxygen
b. Hydrogen is less electronegative than oxygen
c. Electronegativity of hydrogen and oxygen is same
d. Oxygen and hydrogen do not have significant electronegativity in water
56. Water is a _____
a. Polar solvent
b. Non polar solvent
c. An amphipathic solvent
d. Non polar uncharged solvent
57.  Property due to which water acts as a universal solvent is its
a. polarity only
b. ability to make hydrogen bond only
c. strong dipole dipole interaction
d. polarity and ability to make hydrogen bond
58. Which of the following is not a property of water?
a. Hydrogen bonds exist only in the solid state.
b. It can dissolve ionic and polar molecules.
c. It has a high surface tension.
d. The solid state is less dense than the liquid state.
59. A property of water that is vital to supporting life is that:
a. water is transparent
b. water can dissolve a wide variety of substances
c. water is found naturally on Earth as a liquid, solid, and gas
d. water molecules are not charged
60. Drops of dew on a leaf owe their spherical appearance to:
a. cohesion
b. adhesion
c. the density of water
d. cohesion, adhesion, and surface tension
61. Capillary action of water in a tube is the result of _____ being stronger than _____.
a. cohesion; adhesion
b. adhesion; cohesion
c. surface tension; cohesion
d. cohesion; surface tension
62. Cohesion is:
a. exemplified by the action of water droplets sticking to your drinking glass
b. a property that allows water to dissolve certain substances
c. a phenomenon that occurs only at the surface of water
d. an attraction between molecules of the same kind
63. The water properties which are responsible for pulling the water upward from the roots to the
leaves:
a. Cohesion and surface tension
b. Adhesion and polarity
c. Cohesion and adhesion
d. Adhesion and surface tension
64. A meniscus formed in a graduated cylinder is caused by and an example of what force?
a. Adhesion
b. Cohesion
c. Surface Tension
d. Capillary Action
65. Identify which property of water allows water to move against gravity.
a. Capillary Action allows water to move against gravity.
b. Surface tension allows water to move against gravity.
 c. Cohesion allows water to move against gravity.
d. Universal solvency allows water to move against gravity.
66. Which of the following is the correct order of organization in living things from most basic
(simple) to most complex?
a.  Organism, cell, tissue, organ, organ system
b.  Organ system, organ, tissue, cell, organism
c.  Cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism
d.  Cell, organ, tissue, organ, organism, organ system

II. ESSAY:
Directions: Answers must be in essay form. Labeled diagrams may be used to supplement
discussions, but in no case will a diagram alone suffice. It is important that you read all three
parts BEFORE you begin to write.
1. Describe the major physical/chemical properties of water that make it unique from other
liquids. 20 pts.
2. Chemical bonds are essential to building the molecules of life. Describe the following bond
types and how they are significant to life on earth. 20 pts.