SECONDARY 4

1. The following images show differences in plant morphologies. The seedling on the left is
control, while the seedling on the right is applied with a specific hormone. Based on
morphology, what hormone was applied to the seedling on the right?

a. Auxin
b. Gibberellin
c. Cytokinin
d. Ethylene
e. Salicylic acid
2. Gastrulation is the stage in embryogenesis wherein the blastula reorganizes and
transforms into three-layered gastrula. The three germ layers then become the progenitors
of the different organs of the body. Which of the following organs is not derived from the
mesoderm layer?

a. Bone
b. Skeletal Muscle
c. Blood
d. Kidney
e. Liver

3. Which of the following statements is not true regarding adaptive immune response?

a. Antigen-presenting cell presents foreign antigen bound to MHCII and activates naïve
CD4+ T cells.
b. Naïve CD4+ T cells are activated to become helper cells.
c. Naïve CD8+ T cells are activated to become natural killer cells.
d. Helper T cells activate naïve B cells to become plasma cells.
e. Plasma cells secrete antibodies into the bloodstream to bind to foreign bodies.
4. Which statement does not hold true regarding the evolution of the vertebrate brain, as
illustrated in the image below?

a. Lamprey brain is not as capable of complex thoughts or actions as bony fish.

b. Mammalian brain is considered the precursor of the vertebrate brain.
c. Cerebral hemispheres increased in size at the course of evolution.
d. The medulla oblongata is one of the oldest parts of the brain.
e. None of the above.
5. Which of the following statements describes a DNA?

a. DNA contains ribose sugar.

b. DNA contains diphosphates between bases.
c. DNA encodes the transcript used for protein translation.
d. DNA can be signaled for degradation.
e. DNA can be silenced by compartmentalization.

6. The human digestive system is host to a variety of microbes, collectively known as the gut
microbiota. Which of the following bacteria is not a part of a healthy gut microbiota?

a. Escherichia coli
b. Salmonella typhimurium
c. Bifidobacterium bifidum
d. Bacteroides fragilis
e. Enterococcus faecalis
7. You are a chemist making a novel detergent formula. Which of the following compounds
can serve as a surfactant?

i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

v.

vi.

a. i and ii
b. ii, iii, and vi
c. i, iv, and v
d. iii, iv, v, and vi
e. ii, iii, iv, v, and vi
8. Karl Barry Sharpless is currently the only living scientist who hastwo Nobel Prizes in
Chemistry. The first one, awarded in 2001, was for his work on “chirally catalyzed oxidation
reactions”. An example of such reaction is shown below:

These reactions are important because, starting from the same reactant, one can produce two
different products by simply changing the nature of the catalyst. Which of the following BEST
describes the relationship between the two products?
a. enantiomers
b. diastereomers
c. isomers
d. conformers
e. structural isomers
9. Shown below is a distillation setup. At which part of the setup would the particles of the
material of interest have the lowest entropy?

a. Part 15
b. Part 2
c. Part 3
d. Part 5
e. Part 8

10. Molybdophosphoric acid (H3Mo12PO40) is a reagent used in staining thin-layer

chromatography plates in organic synthesis. Determine the oxidation state of the Mo atom.
(Hint: P is in the +5 oxidation state.)
a. +3
b. +4
c. +5
d. +6
e. None of the above
11. A 1.30 g antacid tablet containing 40 % calcium carbonate (CaCO3) was dissolved in 100.0
mL hydrochloric acid with concentration 0.12 M. How much CaCl2 was formed after the
reaction? (Use the following atomic weights: H=1, C=12, O=16, Cl=35, Ca=40)

a. 0.572 g
b. 1.144 g
c. 0.660 g
d. 1.32 g
e. None of the above

12. The ions given below are isoelectronic, i.e. of the same electronic configuration. Which one
would have the smallest atomic radius?
(A periodic table is given after this question.)
a. O2-
b. F-
c. Ne
d. Na+
e. Mg2+
f.
13.Perlmutter, Schmidt, and Riess were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2011 for
discovering that the expansion of the universe is accelerating by observing what?

a. The Milky Way

b. Distant Stars
c. Black Hole in the center of the Milky Way
d. Distant Supernovae
e. Proxima Centauri, the closest star

14.Which of the following statements can complete the statement below:

A ____ curve of _____ represents motion with constant acceleration.

I. Parabolic ; distance vs time

II. Parabolic; velocity vs time
III. Linear ; distance vs time
IV. Linear ; velocity vs time
V. Parabolic ; acceleration vs time

a. I only
b. I and III
c. I, II, and V
d. III and IV
e. I, III, and IV

15.What behavior of light explains the red to orange color of the sky during sunset?
a. Diffraction
b. Scattering
c. Interference
d. Reflection
e. Refraction
16.Which of the following could NOT be seen in an optical microscope working in transmission
mode?

I. a 1 μm biological cell
II. a 700 nm crystal
III. a 400 nm collagen hybdrid thread
IV. a 100 nm virus
V. a 50 nm gold nanoparticle

a. V only
b. IV and V
c. III, IV, and V only
d. II, III, and V
e. II, III, IV, and V

17.Which of the following states that the number of transistors in a microchip doubles every
couple of years?
a. Penrose Hypothesis
b. Dirac delta function
c. Feynman Conjecture
d. Moore’s Law
e. None of the above
18.The distance a ball moving at constant acceleration was measured over time. The data is
plotted over time and time2. The best fit line is then given on both plots. What is the BEST
way to report the acceleration of the object?

a. 0.28 m/s2
b. 0.56 m/s2
c. 0.31 m/s2
d. 0.62 m/s2
e. Data is insufficient.

19. According to the Richter scale, what would be the energy differences between magnitude
8 and magnitude 6 earthquakes?
a. 10x
b. 100x
c. 1000x
d. 30x
e. 60x
20. The following statements can be deduced by examining the tectonic plate movements,
except which one?

a. The Atlantic Ocean is getting smaller.

b. The Red Sea is getting bigger.
c. The Himalayan mountains are getting taller.
d. Hawaii is getting closer to Japan.
e. Iceland is getting bigger.
21. In which atmospheric layer does aurora borealis and aurora australis form?

a. Troposphere
b. Mesosphere
c. Stratosphere
d. Ionosphere
e. Exosphere

22. What is the major difference between a typhoon and a hurricane?

a. A typhoon spins counterclockwise while a hurricane spins clockwise.

b. A typhoon has a lower wind speed of 64–79 knots while a hurricane has a faster wind
speed of 80-100 knots.
c. A typhoon is formed from a low pressure area while a hurricane is formed from a high
pressure area.
d. A typhoon is formed at the Northwest Pacific Ocean while a hurricane is formed at the
Northeast Pacific Ocean and North Atlantic Ocean.
e. All of the above.
23. How do hailstones form?

a. When tiny ice crystals in the cloud clump together and solidify
b. When big ice crystals in the cloud clump together and solidify
c. When tiny raindrops are pushed back to the clouds and freeze
d. When tiny raindrops freeze as they approach the ground
e. When rain puddles in the ground freeze
24. The following image shows the weather radar of an aircraft. According to the instrument,
the aircraft is heading in which type of weather?

a. A high-pressure area
b. An area with low humidity
c. An area of thunderstorm
d. An area with low likelihood of turbulence
e. An area of clear turbulence

25.Kepler’s third law states that:

a. Period equals semimajor axis

b. Period cubed equals semimajor axis cubed
c. Period squared equals semimajor axis cubed
d. Period squared equals semimajor axis cubed
e. None of the above
26.You observe a spectrum of a star and notice how strong hydrogen lines and neutral lines
tend to be weaker than their ionized counterparts. Which class of star is this most likely to
be?

a. O
b. A
c. F
d. M
e. None of the above

27.Which of these elements are you LEAST likely to find in the core of a white dwarf?

a. carbon
b. oxygen
c. magnesium
d. neon
e. iron

28.Which of the following is NOT one of the four fundamental forces at work in the universe?

a. strong force
b. weak force
c. electromagnetic force
d. gravitational force
e. kinetic force
29.When the third quarter moon rises, approximately what time is it?

a. 12 midnight
b. 6 am
c. 6 pm
d. 9 pm
e. 3 pm

30.How far away are the nearest stars, excluding the sun?

a. At least 4 light years away

b. At least 40 light years away
c. At least 1 light years away
d. At least 10 light years away
e. At least 100 light years away