Cell Biology Exam Practice Questions
Cells were first seen by the end of the sixteenth century with compound microscopes. What
characterizes a compound microscope?
a. It has a moveable stage
b. It has two lenses
c. Its lens is double the size of the original microscopes
d. The lens has two different colors
e. They have two different light sources - correct answer b. It has two lenses
Which of the following numbered statements pertain to Cell Theory?
1. All organisms are composed of one or more cells
2. The cell is the structural unit of life
3. Cells can arise only by division from a preexisting cell
4. Cells divide only by fission
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 1, 2, and 3 - correct answer e. 1, 2, and 3
Which of the following characteristics is (are) a basic property of cells?
a. Cells are highly complex and organized
b. Cells possess a genetic program and the means to use it
c. Cells are capable of producing more of themselves
d. Cells acquire and utilize energy
e. All of these are correct - correct answer e. All of these are correct
,What factor or factors discovered with electron microscopy distinguished prokaryotic from eukaryotic
cells?
1. their size
2. their color
3. the types of their internal structures or organelles
4. their fragility
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 1 and 3 - correct answer e. 1 and 3
What characteristics distinguish prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
a. Eukaryotes have membrane-bound organelles; prokaryotes do not
b. Prokaryotes have relatively little DNA; eukaryotes generally have much more
c. Eukaryotic chromosomes are linear; prokaryotic chromosomes are circular
d. Prokaryotic DNA is "naked" relative to eukaryotic DNA, which is heavily chromatinized
e. All of these are correct - correct answer e. All of these are correct
What is the most appropriate unit of measurement for macromolecular complexes including ribosomes
and microfilaments?
a. picometers
b. angstroms
c. nanometers
d. micrometers
e. centimeters - correct answer c. nanometers
Which of these represent cells assimilated via endosymbiotic events?
a. Proteobacterial ancestor of the mitochondrion
,b. Cyanobacterial ancestor of the plastid (called the chloroplast in plants)
c. Rhodophyte ancestor of some secondary (higher-order) eukaryotic hosts
d. Chlorophyte ancestor of some secondary eukaryotic hosts
e. All of the above - correct answer e. All of the above
Outside of a living cell, the virus exists as a particle called a(n) ______, which is little more than a
macromolecular package.
a. virulent
b. virusette
c. virulant
d. virion
e. infectoid - correct answer d. virion
Which of these is a term for sphere-shaped prokaryotic cells?
a. Amoebas (or Amoebae)
b. Bacilli
c. Cocci
d. Spirilli
e. All of the above - correct answer c. Cocci
What kind of enzyme is the Ras protein?
a. an ATPase
b. a kinase
c. a phosphodiesterase
d. a GTPase
e. a phosphatase - correct answer d. a GTPase
How is Ras activity turned off?
a. It is turned off by phosphorylation
, b. It is turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GTP to GDP
c. It is turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GDP to GTP
d. It is turned off by an allosteric inhibitor
e. It is turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GTP to GMP - correct answer b. It is
turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GTP to GDP
Accessory proteins that bind to inactive monomeric G proteins and stimulate dissociation of the bound
GDP are called:
a. GAPs
b. GEFs
c. GDIs
d. RASps
e. MAPs - correct answer b. GEFs
Specificity in MAP kinase pathways is sometimes achieved by spatial localization of the pathway's
component proteins. Spatial localization of these components is done by structural (i.e., non-enzymatic)
proteins called _____________.
a. sequestration proteins
b. partitioning proteins
c. scaffolding proteins
d. framework proteins
e. spatial organization proteins - correct answer c. scaffolding proteins
What is the reason for the withdrawal of cells from the cell cycle after exposure to stressful stimuli, like
X-rays and damaging chemicals?
a. It gives the cell time to repair damage resulting from such adverse conditions
b. It allows the cell to initiate programmed cell death
c. It allows cells to initiate sodium transport
d. It allows the cell to secrete defensive chemicals
e. It gives the cell time to switch its developmental pathways - correct answer a. It
gives the cell time to repair damage resulting from such adverse conditions
Cells were first seen by the end of the sixteenth century with compound microscopes. What
characterizes a compound microscope?
a. It has a moveable stage
b. It has two lenses
c. Its lens is double the size of the original microscopes
d. The lens has two different colors
e. They have two different light sources - correct answer b. It has two lenses
Which of the following numbered statements pertain to Cell Theory?
1. All organisms are composed of one or more cells
2. The cell is the structural unit of life
3. Cells can arise only by division from a preexisting cell
4. Cells divide only by fission
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 1, 2, and 3 - correct answer e. 1, 2, and 3
Which of the following characteristics is (are) a basic property of cells?
a. Cells are highly complex and organized
b. Cells possess a genetic program and the means to use it
c. Cells are capable of producing more of themselves
d. Cells acquire and utilize energy
e. All of these are correct - correct answer e. All of these are correct
,What factor or factors discovered with electron microscopy distinguished prokaryotic from eukaryotic
cells?
1. their size
2. their color
3. the types of their internal structures or organelles
4. their fragility
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4
e. 1 and 3 - correct answer e. 1 and 3
What characteristics distinguish prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
a. Eukaryotes have membrane-bound organelles; prokaryotes do not
b. Prokaryotes have relatively little DNA; eukaryotes generally have much more
c. Eukaryotic chromosomes are linear; prokaryotic chromosomes are circular
d. Prokaryotic DNA is "naked" relative to eukaryotic DNA, which is heavily chromatinized
e. All of these are correct - correct answer e. All of these are correct
What is the most appropriate unit of measurement for macromolecular complexes including ribosomes
and microfilaments?
a. picometers
b. angstroms
c. nanometers
d. micrometers
e. centimeters - correct answer c. nanometers
Which of these represent cells assimilated via endosymbiotic events?
a. Proteobacterial ancestor of the mitochondrion
,b. Cyanobacterial ancestor of the plastid (called the chloroplast in plants)
c. Rhodophyte ancestor of some secondary (higher-order) eukaryotic hosts
d. Chlorophyte ancestor of some secondary eukaryotic hosts
e. All of the above - correct answer e. All of the above
Outside of a living cell, the virus exists as a particle called a(n) ______, which is little more than a
macromolecular package.
a. virulent
b. virusette
c. virulant
d. virion
e. infectoid - correct answer d. virion
Which of these is a term for sphere-shaped prokaryotic cells?
a. Amoebas (or Amoebae)
b. Bacilli
c. Cocci
d. Spirilli
e. All of the above - correct answer c. Cocci
What kind of enzyme is the Ras protein?
a. an ATPase
b. a kinase
c. a phosphodiesterase
d. a GTPase
e. a phosphatase - correct answer d. a GTPase
How is Ras activity turned off?
a. It is turned off by phosphorylation
, b. It is turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GTP to GDP
c. It is turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GDP to GTP
d. It is turned off by an allosteric inhibitor
e. It is turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GTP to GMP - correct answer b. It is
turned off by hydrolysis of its bound GTP to GDP
Accessory proteins that bind to inactive monomeric G proteins and stimulate dissociation of the bound
GDP are called:
a. GAPs
b. GEFs
c. GDIs
d. RASps
e. MAPs - correct answer b. GEFs
Specificity in MAP kinase pathways is sometimes achieved by spatial localization of the pathway's
component proteins. Spatial localization of these components is done by structural (i.e., non-enzymatic)
proteins called _____________.
a. sequestration proteins
b. partitioning proteins
c. scaffolding proteins
d. framework proteins
e. spatial organization proteins - correct answer c. scaffolding proteins
What is the reason for the withdrawal of cells from the cell cycle after exposure to stressful stimuli, like
X-rays and damaging chemicals?
a. It gives the cell time to repair damage resulting from such adverse conditions
b. It allows the cell to initiate programmed cell death
c. It allows cells to initiate sodium transport
d. It allows the cell to secrete defensive chemicals
e. It gives the cell time to switch its developmental pathways - correct answer a. It
gives the cell time to repair damage resulting from such adverse conditions
