Practice Questions - Midterm 1

• The 2 major types of protein secondary structures are:

  • ionic and covalent
  • elementary and primary
  • residual and permanent
  • amino and carboxyl
  • helix and sheet

  Helix and sheet
• a cell wanting to move Ca+ ions across a lipid bilayer against its concentration gradient would use:

  • a lipid carrier
  • a protein channel
  • a protein pump
  • simple diffusion
  • aquaporin

  A protein pump
• A cell wanting to move Ca+ ions across a lipid bilayer down its concentration gradient would use:

  • a lipid carrier
  • a protein channel
  • a protein pump
  • simple diffusion
  • aqauporin

  A protein channel
• which of the following type of fatty acids would likely participate in the most van der waals forces with other fatty acids?

  • Short tails and high saturation
  • Short tails and low saturation
  • long tails and high saturation
  • long tails and low saturation

  Long tails and high saturation
• In response to seasonal changes in temperature, organisms alter their membranes to maintain fluidity. With warmer temperatures, what would you expect to observe?

  • a decrease in phospholipid fatty acid chain length and decrease in chain saturation
  • a decrease in phospholipid fatty acid chain length and increase in chain saturation
  • an increase in phospholipid fatty acid chain length and a decrease in chain saturation
  • an increase in phospholipid fatty acid chain length and an increase in chain saturation

  An increase in phospholipid fatty acid chain length and an increase in chain saturation
• which term(s) refer to the movement of water across a membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration?

  • diffusion and osmosis
  • diffusion and active transport
  • diffusion only
  • active transport and osmosis

  diffusion and osmosis
• A peptide bond is:

  • an ionic bond responsible for maintaining a tertiary structure
  • an indication that a protein has a quaternary structure
  • a covalent bond between amino acids in a polypeptide
  • a hydrogen bond responsible for maintaining secondary structures

  A covalent bond between amino acids in a polypeptide
• which of the following is not a component of a phospholipid?

  • a 3-carbon glycerol backbone (anchor)
  • a phosphate group
  • 2 fatty acid tails
  • a core of 4 fused carbon rings

  a core of 4 fused carbon rings
• how are integral and peripheral proteins similar to each other?

  • they both consist of saturated fatty acids
  • they both function at the membrane
  • they both consist of a mixture of polar and non polar amino acids
  • they both interact with the hydrophobic region of the membrane

  they both function at the membrane
• Skip this card
• why does the enzyme rate of reaction increase when the substrate concentration is increased?

  • reactants dont need a catalyst to react at high concentrations
  • reactants and enzymes collide more often
  • the reactants have greater energy
  • the increased concentration supplies more energy for activation

  Reactants and enzymes collide more often
• how are membranes able to stay viscous at very hot temperatures?

  • by increasing the proportion of unsaturated phospholipids
  • by increasing the proportion of saturated phospholipids
  • by increasing the proportion of steroid molecules
  • A and C
  • B and C

  B and C
• the consequences of a protein becoming denatured is:

  • Increased reaction rates
  • inactivation
  • loss of specificity
  • changes to the primary structure

  Inactivation
• what is the main reason that phospholipids form lipid bilayers?

  • hydrophobic tails interact favourably with water
  • hydrophobic tails interact favourably with each other
  • hydrophilic heads interact favourably with hydrophobic tails
  • hydrophobic head interact favourably with water

  hydrophobic tails interact favourably with each other
• If an amino acid‘s R-group contains a Hydroxyl (OH-) group and hydrogen/carbon atoms, predict its behaviour:

  • its amphipathic
  • impossible to tell
  • its hydrophilic
  • its hydrophobic

  Its hydrophilic
• pick the level of protein structure that applies to “covalent bonds among each peptide backbone residue form distinct polypeptides”

  • quanternary
  • secondary
  • primary
  • tertiary

  primary
• If you left a raisin in water for 4 hours, water moved into the raisin by:

  • osmosis
  • facilitated diffusion
  • primary active transport
  • A and B
  • all of the above

  A and B
• Sucrose at room temp, does not immediately break down into monomers (fructose and glucose) because:

  • ATP is required to break bonds
  • sugars dont undergo chemical reactions
  • bonds between glucose and fructose are stable
  • thermal Energy does not influence chemical reactions


  Bonds between glucose and fructose are stable
• in a cell lining the lung, large quantities of oxygen pass into its cytoplasm which contain lower concentrations of oxygen. what type of transport is being used?

  • Secondary active antiport
  • facilitated diffusion
  • secondary active symport
  • primary active transport
  • simple diffusion

  Simple diffusion
• which is considered an intergral transmembrane protein?

  • protein associated with the inside of a cell membrane
  • protein with one end in the cytosol and the other in the extracellular space
  • protein associated with the outside of A cell membrane
  • protein capable of diffusing throughout the cytosol of a cell

  protein with one end in the cytosol and the other in the extracelluar space
• The events of the theory of endosymbiosis was a key feature in the evolution of:

  • archaea
  • prokaryotes
  • chemoorganoheterotrophs
  • eukaryotes

  Eukaryotes
• which of the following has the greatest SA:V ratio?

  • eukaryotes
  • archaea
  • bacteria
  • B and C
  • A and C

  B and C
• for a reaction to be spontaneous:

  • the entropy of the universe must increase
  • product molecules must be smaller than reactant molecules
  • the reaction must come to equilibrium
  • the entropy of the universe must decrease

  the entropy of the universe must increse
• phosphate bonds in ATP are easily breakable, why?

  • they are close to the destabilizing nitrogenous base adenosine
  • positive charges on amino groups repel each other
  • negative charges on phosphate groups repel each other
  • high acidity attacks bonds between amino acids
  • high alkalinity attacks bonds between phosphate groups

  negative charges on amino groups repel each other
• which of the following is true for autotrophs?

  • they obtain carbon from inorganic molecules (CO2)
  • they obtain carbon by consuming organic molecules synthesized by other organisms
  • they obtain energy from the absorption of solar energy
  • they obtain energy from inorganic molecules (SO4)
  • they obtain carbon from the absorption of solar energy

  they obtain carbon from inorganic molecules (CO2)
• in biological systems, what types of bonds contain “high energy electrons”?

  • polar covalents
  • non-polar covalents
  • hydrogen
  • ionic

  non-polar covalents
• organisms that use photons for energy and C6H12O6 for carbon are classified as:

  • chemoorganoheterotrophs
  • photoautotrophs
  • photoheterotrophs
  • chemolithoautotrophs
  • chemolithoheterotrophs

  photoheterotrophs
• Which cant divide by binary fission?

  • archaea
  • chloroplasts
  • protists
  • all of the above
  • A and B
  • A and C

  A and B
• a system where energy and matter arent moving between the system and surroundings is known as:

  • closed system
  • isolated system
  • metric system
  • open system

  isolated system
• mitochondria, like prokaryotic cells, replicate by:

  • meiosis
  • binary fission
  • mitosis
  • spontaneous generation

  binary fission
• which has a greater entropy: a cell with a hundred individual amino acids or a cell with one polypeptide that is 100 amino acids long?

  a cell with a hundred individual amino acids
• which of the kingdoms contains mostly unicellular prokaryotic cells?

  • monera
  • plantae
  • protista
  • fungi

  monera
• what does it mean to say a system has a ∆G equal to 0?

  • total potential energy in the system is 0
  • the system does not release of absorb heat
  • the system is at equilibrium
  • the system is perfectly ordered (no entropy)

  the system is at equilibrium
• according to the endosymbiotic theory: why is it beneficial for the host cell to keep the symbiont cell alive?

  • symbiont provided host cell with ATP
  • symbiont allowed host cell to metabolize glucose
  • symbiont provided host cell with carbon
  • symbiont provided host cell with nucleus
  • symbiont allowed host cell to survive without oxygen


  symbiont provided host cell with ATP
• what characteristic must a molecule possess in order to be a good source of energy for cells?

  • many non polar covalent bonds
  • abundant C=O bonds
  • covalent bonds involving electronegative molecules
  • high molecular weight
  • few electrons/H atoms

  many non polar covalent bonds
• what makes a reaction endothermic?

  • it releases heat
  • it absorbs heat
  • its spontaneous
  • its non spontaneous
  • A and D
  • B and C

  it absorbs heat
• an organism that uses C6H12O6 for energy and CO2 for carbon is classified as:

  • chemoorganoheterotroph
  • chemolithoheterotroph
  • chemoorganoautotroph
  • chemolithoautotroph

  chemoorganoautotroph
• the term ”hetero“ means:

  • self
  • inorganic
  • light
  • other

  other
• which of the following does not describe eukaryotic cells?

  • their cytoplasm contains cytosol and organelles
  • they possess a plasma membrane
  • their DNA is organized into linear chromosomes
  • their genetic material is localized in the cytoplasm
  • they possess ribosomes

  their genetic material is localized in the cytoplasm
• Archaea and bacteria used to be grouped in the same category. How were archaeons first distinguished from other prokaryotes?

  • differences in ribosomal gene sequences
  • archaeons have linear chromosomes not circular ones
  • differences in cell size and shape
  • archaeons have plasma membranes and not cell walls

  Differences in ribosomal gene sequences