SAMPLE EXAM
Correct answers are given in boldface.
Note this sample is intended to give you a sense of what types of questions I ask. Actual exam questions may differ in difficulty and subject.
1. This organism can rely exclusively on its outer body surface for respiration:
a. Paramecium
b. Grass hopper
c. Elephant
d. Green hydra
e. None of the above
The answer is parameciuim since the others have additional surfaces, i.e. tracheal system, lungs, gastrovascular cavity
2. During cellular respiration
a. Ammonia is produced, carbon dioxide is consumed
b. Carbon dioxide is produced, oxygen is consumed
c. Oxygen is produced
d. glucose is produced
3. Circulatory systems help transport molecules and cells in the following processes:
a. Gas exchange
b. Immune responses
c. Digestion
d. All of the above
e. None of the above
Circulatory sytems are important for all of the processes
4. Insect tracheal systems are used for:
a. Gas exchange
b. Immune responses
c. Digestion
d. Gas exchange and digestion
e. all of the above
5. The two basic types of circulatory systems are:
a. open and closed
b. vertebrate and invertebrate
c. fast and slow
d. tidal and air sacs
6. The three main types of blood vessels are:
a. vein, artery, and capillary
b. lymph vessel, node, and heart
c. duodenum, cecum, and esophagus
d. atrium, ventricle, valve
7. If you are a cell in the circulatory system of an organism, what organism are you inside of if the path you follow is: heart, vessel, sinus, ostia, heart
a. insect
b. paramecium
c. fish
d. amphibian
e. human
8. When you hold your breath, which of the following blood gas changes first leads to the urge to breathe:
a. rising oxygen
b. falling oxygen
c. rising carbon dioxide
d. falling carbon dioxide
e. rising pH
a. rising oxygen does not occur, b. falling oxygen does not occur, but this is not what the body senses; c. rising carbon dioxide does occur and causes a drop in pH that is sensed by the body; d. falling carbon dioxide does not occur; e. rising pH does not occur
9. You are a guest surgeon on the show ER and Dr. Romano is hassling you to tell him whether the patient is bleeding out of a vein or artery. Which of the following would NOT be a way to test whether the blood vessel is a vein or artery:
a. oxygen content of the blood coming out of it
b. thickness of the smooth muscle layer
c. presence of valves
The oxygen content of the blood can be high in a vein returning from the lungs to the heart. Therefore it is not a sure way to distinguish between a vein and artery
10. How long does it take for oxygen to diffuse 1 micron (µm) in liquid?
a. 10-4 seconds
b. 100 seconds
c. 1 minute
d. 1 hour
e. 1 day
11. How long does it take for oxygen to diffuse 1 millimeter (mm) in liquid?
a. 10-4 seconds
b. 100 seconds
c. 1 minute
d. 1 hour
e. 1 day
12. The "speed" (distance per unit time) of diffusion is how many times faster over a distance of 1 µm compared with 1 mm?
a. 100 times faster
b. 1000 times faster
c. 10,000 times faster
d. 100,000 times faster
For 1 µm (10-4 seconds per µm) speed is 0.0001 seconds per µm. For 1 mm (1000 µm) the speed is 100 seconds per 1000 µm or 0.1 second per micron. 0.1 divided by 0.0001 is 1000.
13. In the drawing above, the structures labeled A are tiny sacs at the end of extensive branches in the vertebrate lung. They are called:
a. lymph nodes
b. tracheoles
c. alveoli
d. trachea
14. In the drawing above, which of the labeled structures is generally the site of absorption of nutrients.
a. A
b. B
c. C
d. none of the above
e. all of the above
The absorptive area e.g., small intestine generally follows the storage area (or stomach)
15. These organisms will have relatively long alimentary canals.
a. autotrophs
b. heterotrophs
c. carnivores
d. herbivores
e. omnivores
The organisms above with the relatively longest alimentary canal will be herbivores. Herbivores>omnivores>carnivores>autotrophs
16. Which of the following is a characteristic of the environment in the stomach
a. high pH
b. turbulent mixing
c. full of symbiotic bacteria
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
Digestion in the stomach is via mechanical mxiing, low pH, and pepsin. Therefore, high pH (a) is not true. Symbiotic bacteria (b) are not involved, the stomach is actually a hostile environment for bacteria
17. Which of the following is an enzyme that breaks down food in the small intestine:
a. procarboxypeptidase
b. trypsin
c. chymotrypsinogen
d. pepsin
a&c are enzyme precursors, pepsin is secreted into the stomach
18. The microvilli of the small intestine and gill lamellae share this in common:
a. they are not well supplied with capillaries
b. they are both involved in oxygen uptake
c. they use countercurrent exchange
d. they are structures that increase surface area
a is not true, b is true for gill lamellae only, c is true for gill lamellae (but this wasn't covered in lecture)
19. Which of the following is a true statement about the large intestine:
a. the majority of digestion and absorption occurs here
b. it contains a large number of symbiotic bacteria
c. it functions in the secretion of water into feces
d. it is longer than the small intestine
a is not true the small intestine is the major site of digestion and absorption. C is not true, the large intestine absorbs water. D is not true, the small intestine is longer
20. Which of the following is a true statement about the cecum:
a. It is located at the junction of the stomach and small intestine
b. food enters and exits it via a single opening
c. it is not present in humans
d. it is larger in carnivores compared with herbivores
a is not true it is at the junction of the small and large intestines. C is not true, it is present in humans. D is not true, it is larger in herbivores
21. Pepsinogen is converted to pepsin by:
a. enteropeptidase
b. gastric pits
c. HCl
d. mucus
e. peristalsis
22. In the image above of the hydra digesting its prey, the prey is inside the:
a. alimentary canal
b. stomach
c. gastrovascular cavity
d. mouth
23. Intracellular digestion would result in breakdown of the cell if it were not for the presence of:
a. vacuoles
b. villi
c. proteases
d. symbiotic bacteria
24. The giant tubeworm Riftia pachyptila from deep-sea hydrothermal vents is a(n):
a. carnivore
b. herbivore
c. omnivore
d. autotroph
I refer to the tubeworm in lecture as being an autotroph. The bacteria are part of the worm and are not "eaten". Therefore, the worm is a self-suffient entity and is by definition an autotroph.
25. In the four chambered ruminant stomach, this chamber absorbs water in the food before it passes to the abomasum:
a. intestine
b. omasum
c. rumen
d. reticulum
e. esophagus
26. Which of the following is a feature of alimentary canals that is not found in gastrovascular cavities.
a. presence of digestive enzymes
b. food enters and exits via the same opening
c. specialized compartments for mechanical processing, storage, and absorption
d. extracellular digestion
a is present in both. B is only true for the gastrovascular cavity. D occurs in both.
27. Trypsinogen is secreted into the small intestine by the:
a. microvilli brush border
b. stomach
c. pancreas
d. gall bladder
28. Which of the following is not an enzyme that works as part of the "team" of enzymes breaking down protein:
a. disaccharidase
b. dipeptidase
c. aminopeptidase
d. pepsin
Disachharidase breaks down carbohydrate
29. Which of the following is a feature of villi of the small intestine:
a. surface thickness of around one hundred cells
b. low surface area to volume ratio
c. located several centimeters from circulatory system vessels
d. epithelial cells on the surface of villi have a brush border that increases surface area.
a. is not true, the surface thickness is only one cell layer
B is not true, there is high surface area and low volume
C is not true, the circulatory system vessels are very close to the surface of the villi
45. The surface area of an organism and its organs is important in which of the following functional requirements:
a. gas exchange
b. digestion and absorption
c. plant nutrient uptake
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
46. Four chambered hearts are a "better" engineering design compared with three chambered hearts because:
a. they can pump via muscular contraction
b. blood is pumped to the gas exchange organs (e.g., lungs)
c. oxygenated blood does not mix with deoxygenated blood
d. they have valves
48. This animal can grow without eating particulate food.
a. green hydra
b. many species of corals
c. hydrothermal vent tubeworms
d. all of the above
e. none of the above
49. This organism is a parasite that lives off of female deep-sea angler fish.
a. symbiotic algae
b. giant squid
c. tubeworms
d. male angler fish
50. Deep-sea angler fish are "sit and wait" predators that are not very active swimmers. Which of the following is likely to be true about their physiology:
a. they have an open circulatory system
b. they have a relatively high gill surface area
c. they have a relatively low gill surface area
d. they do not have cellular respiration
A is not true, open circulatory systems are not found in fishes. D is not true almost all organisms have cellular respiration. To distinguish between B and C recall the lecture showing the different species of fishes and their gill surface areas. Active swimmers have high gill surface area whereas, non active swimmers have low gill surface areas. Since the angler fish sits and waits for its prey to come to the lure, it does not have to swim much. Therefore C is the answer.
51. You have test version "A". Please mark A on your answer sheet.