Mulungushi University

School of Medicine and Health Sciences

MBChB program
Biochemistry MBI 261
2nd Year 1st semester TUTORIAL III
Prepared by Masenga SK., BSc., MSc., MSCI-CT
SECTION A
1. Which one of the following statements about the free energy change (ΔG) in a biochemical reaction is
CORRECT?
A. If ΔG is negative, the reaction proceeds spontaneously with a loss of free energy.
B. In an exergonic reaction, ΔG is positive.
C. The standard free energy change when reactants are present in concentrations of 1.0 mol/L
and the pH is 7.0 is represented as ΔG0.
D. In an endergonic reaction there is a loss of free energy.
E. If a reaction is essentially irreversible, it has a high positive ΔG.
2. If the ΔG of a reaction is zero:
A. The reaction goes virtually to completion and is essentially irreversible.
B. The reaction is endergonic.
C. The reaction is exergonic.
D. The reaction proceeds only if free energy can be gained.
E. The system is at equilibrium and no net change occurs.
3. ΔG0’ is defined as the standard free energy change when:
A. The reactants are present in concentrations of 1.0 mol/L.
B. The reactants are present in concentrations of 1.0 mol/L at pH 7.0.
C. The reactants are present in concentrations of 1.0 mmol/L at pH 7.0.
D. The reactants are present in concentrations of 1.0 μmol/L.
E. The reactants are present in concentrations of 1.0 mol/L at pH 7.4.
4. Which of the following statements about ATP is CORRECT?
A. It contains three high-energy phosphate bonds.
B. It is needed in the body to drive exergonic reactions.
C. It is used as an energy store in the body.
D. It functions in the body as a complex with Mg2+.
E. It is synthesized by ATP synthase in the presence of uncouplers such as UCP-1
(thermogenin).
Note: It is not stored in the body and in the presence of uncouplers its synthesis is blocked
5. Which one of the following statement about cytochromes is INCORRECT?
A. They are hemoproteins that take part in oxidation–reduction reactions.
B. They contain iron which oscillates between Fe3+ and Fe2+ during the reactions they
participate in.
C. They act as electron carriers in the respiratory chain in mitochondria.
D. They have an important role in the hydroxylation of steroids in the endoplasmic reticulum.
E. They are all dehydrogenase enzymes.
Note: Cytochrome oxidase is not a dehydrogenase, although all other cytochromes are classed as such.
6. Which one of the following statement about cytochromes P450 is INCORRECT?
A. They are able to accept electrons from either NADH or NADPH.
B. They are found only in the endoplasmic reticulum.
C. They are monooxygenase enzymes.
D. They play a major role in drug detoxification in the liver.
E. In some reactions they work in conjunction with cytochrome b5.
Note: Although Cytochromes p450 are located mainly in the endoplasmic reticulum, they are found in
mitochondria in some tissues.

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 Mulungushi University
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
MBChB program
Biochemistry MBI 261
2nd Year 1st semester TUTORIAL III
Prepared by Masenga SK., BSc., MSc., MSCI-CT
7. 12. A 25-year-old man visits his GP complaining of abdominal cramps and diarrhea a�er drinking
milk. What is the most likely
cause of his problem?
A. Bacterial and yeast overgrowth in the large intestine
B. Infection with the intestinal parasite Giardia lamblia
C. Lack of pancreatic amylase
D. Lack of small intestinal lactase
E. Lack of small intestinal sucrase-isomaltase
8. Which one of following statements about glycolysis and gluconeogenesis is correct?
A. All the reactions of glycolysis are freely reversible for gluconeogenesis.
B. Fructose cannot be used for gluconeogenesis in the liver because it cannot be phosphorylated
to fructose-6-phosphate.
C. Glycolysis can proceed in the absence of oxygen only if pyruvate is formed from lactate in
muscle.
D. Red blood cells only metabolize glucose by anaerobic glycolysis (and the pentose
phosphate pathway).
E. The reverse of glycolysis is the pathway for gluconeogenesis in skeletal muscle.
9. Which one of following statements about the step in glycolysis catalyzed by hexokinase and in
gluconeogenesis by glucose-6-
phosphatase is correct?
A. Because hexokinase has a low Km, its activity in liver increases as the concentration of
glucose in the portal blood increases.
B. Glucose-6-phosphatase is mainly active in muscle in the fasting state.
C. If hexokinase and glucose-6-phosphatase are both equally active at the same time, there is net
formation of ATP from ADP
and phosphate.
D. Liver contains an isoenzyme of hexokinase, glucokinase, which is especially important
in the fed state.
E. Muscle can release glucose into the circulation from its glycogen reserves in the fasting state.
10. Which one of following statements about this step in glycolysis catalyzed by phosphofructokinase
and in gluconeogenesis by fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase is correct?
A. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase is mainly active in the liver in the fed state.
B. Fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase is mainly active in the liver in the fed state.
C. If phosphofructokinase and fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase are both equally active at the same
time, there is a net formation
of ATP from ADP and phosphate.
D. Phosphofructokinase is inhibited more or less completely by physiologic
concentrations of ATP.
E. Phosphofructokinase is mainly active in the liver in the fasting state.
11. Which one of the following statements about glucose metabolism in maximum exertion is correct?
A. Gluconeogenesis from lactate requires less ATP than is formed during anaerobic
glycolysis.
B. In maximum exertion, pyruvate is oxidized to lactate in muscle.
C. Oxygen debt is caused by the need to exhale carbon dioxide produced in response to acidosis.
D. Oxygen debt reflects the need to replace oxygen that has been used in muscle during
vigorous exercise.

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 Mulungushi University
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
MBChB program
Biochemistry MBI 261
2nd Year 1st semester TUTORIAL III
Prepared by Masenga SK., BSc., MSc., MSCI-CT
E. There is metabolic acidosis as a result of vigorous exercise.
12. Which one of following statements is correct?
A. Glucose-1-phosphate may be hydrolyzed to yield free glucose in liver.
B. Glucose-6-phosphate can be formed from glucose, but not from glycogen.
C. Glucose-6-phosphate cannot be converted to glucose-1-phosphate in liver.
D. Glucose-6-phosphate is formed from glycogen by the action of the enzyme glycogen
phosphorylase.
E. In liver and red blood cells, glucose-6-phosphate may enter into either glycolysis or
the pentose phosphate pathway.
13. Which one of following statements about the pyruvate dehydrogenase multienzyme complex is
correct?
A. In thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency, pyruvate formed in muscle cannot be transaminated to
alanine.
B. In thiamin (vitamin B1) deficiency, pyruvate formed in muscle cannot be carboxylated to
oxaloacetate.
C. The reaction of pyruvate dehydrogenase involves decarboxylation and oxidation of
pyruvate, then formation of acetyl-CoA.
D. The reaction of pyruvate dehydrogenase is readily reversible, so that acetyl-CoA can be used
for the synthesis of pyruvate,
and hence glucose.
E. The reaction of pyruvate dehydrogenase leads to the oxidation of NADH to NAD+, and
hence the formation of ~2.5 × ATP per mol of pyruvate oxidized.
14. Which one of following statements about the pentose phosphate pathway is correct?
A. In favism red blood cells are more susceptible to oxidative stress because of a lack of NADPH
for fatty acid synthesis.
B. People who lack glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase cannot synthesize fatty acids because of
a lack of NADPH in liver and
adipose tissue.
C. The pentose phosphate pathway is especially important in tissues that are synthesizing
fatty acids.
D. The pentose phosphate pathway is the only source of NADPH for fatty acid synthesis.
E. The pentose phosphate pathway provides an alternative to glycolysis only in the fasting
state.
15. Which one of following statements about glycogen metabolism is correct?
A. Glycogen is synthesized in the liver in the fed state, then exported to other tissues in low-
density lipoproteins.
B. Glycogen reserves in liver and muscle will meet energy requirements for several days in
prolonged fasting.
C. Liver synthesizes more glycogen when the hepatic portal blood concentration of
glucose is high because of the activity of glucokinase in the liver.
D. Muscle synthesizes glycogen in the fed state because glycogen phosphorylase is activated in
response to insulin.
E. The plasma concentration of glycogen increases in the fed state.
16. Which one of following statements about gluconeogenesis is correct?
A. Because they form acetyl-CoA, fatty acids can be a substrate for gluconeogenesis.

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 Mulungushi University
School of Medicine and Health Sciences
MBChB program
Biochemistry MBI 261
2nd Year 1st semester TUTORIAL III
Prepared by Masenga SK., BSc., MSc., MSCI-CT
B. If oxaloacetate is withdrawn from the citric acid cycle for gluconeogenesis, then it can be
replaced by the action of pyruvate
dehydrogenase.
C. The reaction of phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase is important to replenish the pool of
citric acid cycle intermediates.
D. The use of GTP as the phosphate donor in the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase
reaction provides a link between citric acid cycle activity and gluconeogenesis.
E. There is a greater yield of ATP in anaerobic glycolysis than the cost for synthesis of glucose
from lactate.
17. Which one of following statements about carbohydrate metabolism is correct?
A. A key step in the biosynthesis of glycogen is the formation of UDP-glucose.
B. Glycogen can be broken down to glucose-6-phosphate in muscle, which then releases free
glucose by the action of the
enzyme glucose-6-phosphatase.
C. Glycogen is stored mainly in the liver and brain.
D. Insulin inhibits the biosynthesis of glycogen.
E. Phosphorylase kinase is an enzyme that phosphorylates the enzyme glycogen phosphorylase
and thereby decreases glycogen breakdown.
18. Which one of following statements about glycogen metabolism is correct?
A. Glycogen synthase activity is increased by glucagon.
B. Glycogen phosphorylase is an enzyme that can be activated by phosphorylation of
serine residues.
C. Glycogen phosphorylase cannot be activated by calcium ions.
D. cAMP activates glycogen synthesis.
E. Glycogen phosphorylase breaks the α1-4 glycosidic bonds by hydrolysis.
19. Which one of following statements about metabolism of sugars is correct?
A. Fructokinase phosphorylates fructose to fructose-6-phosphate.
B. Fructose is an aldose sugar-like glucose.
C. Fructose transport into cells is insulin dependent.
D. Galactose is phosphorylated to galactose-1-phosphate by galactokinase.
E. Sucrose can be biosynthesized from glucose and fructose in the liver.
20. In glycolysis, the conversion of 1 mol of fructose 1,6-bisphosphate to 2 mol of pyruvate results in the
formation of:
A. 1 mol NAD+ and 2 mol of ATP
B. 1 mol NADH and 1 mol of ATP
C. 2 mol NAD+ and 4 mol of ATP
D. 2 mol NADH and 2 mol of ATP
E. 2 mol NADH and 4 mol of ATP
21. Which of the following will provide the main fuel for muscle contraction during short-term
maximum exertion?
A. Muscle glycogen
B. Muscle reserves of triacylglycerol
C. Plasma glucose
D. Plasma nonesterified fatty acids
E. Triacylglycerol in plasma very-low-density lipoprotein

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