Campbell Biology Ch. 6 - 7 Test Bank Question
and Answer (2026) | Newest Update Verified
Answers with Detailed Rationales | A+ Verified
1) When biologists wish to study the internal ultrastructure of cells, they can
achieve the finest resolution by using
A) a phase-contrast light microscope.
B) a scanning electron microscope.
C) a transmission electronic microscope.
D) a confocal fluorescence microscope.
E) a super-resolution fluorescence microscope. -✓✓C
2) The advantage of light microscopy over electron microscopy is that
A) light microscopy provides for higher magnification than electron microscopy.
B) light microscopy provides for higher resolving power than electron microscopy.
C) light microscopy allows one to view dynamic processes in living cells.
D) light microscopy provides higher contrast than electron microscopy.
E) specimen preparation for light microcopy does not produce artifacts. -✓✓c
3) A primary objective of cell fractionation is to
A) view the structure of cell membranes.
B) sort cells based on their size and weight.
C) determine the size of various organelles.
D) separate the major organelles so that their particular functions can be
determined.
E) separate lipid-soluble from water-soluble molecules. -✓✓Answer: D
,4) In the fractionation of homogenized cells using centrifugation, the primary
factor that determines whether a specific cellular component ends up in the
supernatant or the pellet is
A) the relative solubility of the component.
B) the size and weight of the component.
C) the percentage of carbohydrates in the component.
D) the presence or absence of nucleic acids in the component.
E) the presence or absence of lipids in the component. -✓✓B
5) Which of the following correctly lists the order in which cellular components
will be found in the pellet when homogenized cells are treated with increasingly
rapid spins in a centrifuge?
A) ribosomes, nucleus, mitochondria
B) chloroplasts, ribosomes, vacuoles
C) nucleus, ribosomes, chloroplasts
D) vacuoles, ribosomes, nucleus
E) nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes -✓✓E
6) Green fluorescent protein (GFP) can be used to fluorescently label a specific
protein in cells by genetically engineering cells to synthesize the target protein
fused to GFP. What is the advantage of using GFP fusions to visualize specific
proteins, instead of staining cells with fluorescently labeled probes that bind to the
target protein?
A) GFP fusions enable one to track changes in the location of the protein in living
cells; staining usually requires preserved cells.
B) GFP fusions enable higher resolution than staining with fluorescent probes.
,C) GFP permits the position of the protein in the cell more precisely than
fluorescent probes.
D) GFP permits visualization of protein-protein interactions; fluorescent probes do
not.
E) GFP fusions are not subject to artifacts; fluorescent probes may introduce
background artifacts. -✓✓A
7) What is the reason that a modern electron microscope (TEM) can resolve
biological images to the subnanometer level, as opposed to tens of nanometers
achievable for the best super-resolution light microscope?
A) The focal length of the electron microscope is significantly longer.
B) Contrast is enhanced by staining with atoms of heavy metal.
C) Electron beams have much shorter wavelengths than visible light.
D) The electron microscope has a much greater ratio of image size to real size.
E) The electron microscope cannot image whole cells at one time. -✓✓C
8) What technique would be most appropriate to use to observe the movements of
condensed chromosomes during cell division?
A) light microscopy
B) scanning electron microscopy
C) transmission electron microscopy
D) confocal fluorescence microscopy
E) super-resolution fluorescence microscopy -✓✓A
9) All of the following are part of a prokaryotic cell except
A) DNA.
B) a cell wall.
, C) a plasma membrane.
D) ribosomes.
E) an endoplasmic reticulum. -✓✓E
10) The volume enclosed by the plasma membrane of plant cells is often much
larger than the corresponding volume in animal cells. The most reasonable
explanation for this observation is that
A) plant cells are capable of having a much higher surface-to-volume ratio than
animal cells.
B) plant cells have a much more highly convoluted (folded) plasma membrane
than animal cells.
C) plant cells contain a large vacuole that reduces the volume of the cytoplasm.
D) animal cells are more spherical, whereas plant cells are elongated.
E) plant cells can have lower surface-to-volume ratios than animal cells because
plant cells synthesize their own nutrients. -✓✓C
11) A mycoplasma is an organism with a diameter between 0.1 and 1.0 µm. What
does the organism's size tell you about how it might be classified?
A) It must be a single-celled protist.
B) It must be a single-celled fungus.
C) It could be almost any typical bacterium.
D) It could be a typical virus.
E) It could be a very small bacterium. -✓✓E
12) Which of the following is a major cause of the size limits for certain types of
cells?
A) limitation on the strength and integrity of the plasma membrane as cell size
increases
and Answer (2026) | Newest Update Verified
Answers with Detailed Rationales | A+ Verified
1) When biologists wish to study the internal ultrastructure of cells, they can
achieve the finest resolution by using
A) a phase-contrast light microscope.
B) a scanning electron microscope.
C) a transmission electronic microscope.
D) a confocal fluorescence microscope.
E) a super-resolution fluorescence microscope. -✓✓C
2) The advantage of light microscopy over electron microscopy is that
A) light microscopy provides for higher magnification than electron microscopy.
B) light microscopy provides for higher resolving power than electron microscopy.
C) light microscopy allows one to view dynamic processes in living cells.
D) light microscopy provides higher contrast than electron microscopy.
E) specimen preparation for light microcopy does not produce artifacts. -✓✓c
3) A primary objective of cell fractionation is to
A) view the structure of cell membranes.
B) sort cells based on their size and weight.
C) determine the size of various organelles.
D) separate the major organelles so that their particular functions can be
determined.
E) separate lipid-soluble from water-soluble molecules. -✓✓Answer: D
,4) In the fractionation of homogenized cells using centrifugation, the primary
factor that determines whether a specific cellular component ends up in the
supernatant or the pellet is
A) the relative solubility of the component.
B) the size and weight of the component.
C) the percentage of carbohydrates in the component.
D) the presence or absence of nucleic acids in the component.
E) the presence or absence of lipids in the component. -✓✓B
5) Which of the following correctly lists the order in which cellular components
will be found in the pellet when homogenized cells are treated with increasingly
rapid spins in a centrifuge?
A) ribosomes, nucleus, mitochondria
B) chloroplasts, ribosomes, vacuoles
C) nucleus, ribosomes, chloroplasts
D) vacuoles, ribosomes, nucleus
E) nucleus, mitochondria, ribosomes -✓✓E
6) Green fluorescent protein (GFP) can be used to fluorescently label a specific
protein in cells by genetically engineering cells to synthesize the target protein
fused to GFP. What is the advantage of using GFP fusions to visualize specific
proteins, instead of staining cells with fluorescently labeled probes that bind to the
target protein?
A) GFP fusions enable one to track changes in the location of the protein in living
cells; staining usually requires preserved cells.
B) GFP fusions enable higher resolution than staining with fluorescent probes.
,C) GFP permits the position of the protein in the cell more precisely than
fluorescent probes.
D) GFP permits visualization of protein-protein interactions; fluorescent probes do
not.
E) GFP fusions are not subject to artifacts; fluorescent probes may introduce
background artifacts. -✓✓A
7) What is the reason that a modern electron microscope (TEM) can resolve
biological images to the subnanometer level, as opposed to tens of nanometers
achievable for the best super-resolution light microscope?
A) The focal length of the electron microscope is significantly longer.
B) Contrast is enhanced by staining with atoms of heavy metal.
C) Electron beams have much shorter wavelengths than visible light.
D) The electron microscope has a much greater ratio of image size to real size.
E) The electron microscope cannot image whole cells at one time. -✓✓C
8) What technique would be most appropriate to use to observe the movements of
condensed chromosomes during cell division?
A) light microscopy
B) scanning electron microscopy
C) transmission electron microscopy
D) confocal fluorescence microscopy
E) super-resolution fluorescence microscopy -✓✓A
9) All of the following are part of a prokaryotic cell except
A) DNA.
B) a cell wall.
, C) a plasma membrane.
D) ribosomes.
E) an endoplasmic reticulum. -✓✓E
10) The volume enclosed by the plasma membrane of plant cells is often much
larger than the corresponding volume in animal cells. The most reasonable
explanation for this observation is that
A) plant cells are capable of having a much higher surface-to-volume ratio than
animal cells.
B) plant cells have a much more highly convoluted (folded) plasma membrane
than animal cells.
C) plant cells contain a large vacuole that reduces the volume of the cytoplasm.
D) animal cells are more spherical, whereas plant cells are elongated.
E) plant cells can have lower surface-to-volume ratios than animal cells because
plant cells synthesize their own nutrients. -✓✓C
11) A mycoplasma is an organism with a diameter between 0.1 and 1.0 µm. What
does the organism's size tell you about how it might be classified?
A) It must be a single-celled protist.
B) It must be a single-celled fungus.
C) It could be almost any typical bacterium.
D) It could be a typical virus.
E) It could be a very small bacterium. -✓✓E
12) Which of the following is a major cause of the size limits for certain types of
cells?
A) limitation on the strength and integrity of the plasma membrane as cell size
increases
