Name: __________________________
Biology 449 - Animal Physiology
Fall 2011
Midterm 2
Fill in your scantron form as follows:
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Write and bubble in your name in the upper left (last name first).
Sign your form on the upper right. By so doing you verify that you are abiding
by Creighton’s policy on academic honesty.
Multiple choice: As always, choose the best answer for each multiple-choice question.
Answer on your scantron form. Each question is worth 3 points.
1. Steroid hormones are released from the
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
adrenal medulla.
gonads.
thyroid gland.
Two of the above
All of the above
2. Which of the following is not a common effect of hormones? (Note that “hormones”
includes lipophobic and lipophilic hormones.)
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Changing membrane potential.
Activating or deactivating enzymes to influence biochemical pathways.
Altering gene expression rates.
Only one of the above is a common effect of hormones.
All of the above are common effects of hormones.
3. Which of the following is not (as far as we know) a tropic hormone?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Adrenocorticotropic hormone
Gonadotropin releasing hormone
Growth hormone
Prolactin
Thyroid stimulating hormone
4. One of the major effects of the hormone cortisol is to
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
increase cardiac output.
increase the strength of the immune response
mobilize energy for use by the body.
suppress anxiety.
make money for people selling bogus cortisol blockers on late-night TV.
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5. Thyroid hormones help to increase body temperature by
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
increasing shivering rates.
increasing vasoconstriction.
increasing Na+/K+ ATPase activity.
increasing temperature setpoint.
decreasing the rate of sweat production.
6. Which of the following best describes the process by which long bones, like your femur,
grow in length at the epiphyseal plates?
a. Chondrocytes lengthen the diaphysis (shaft) by producing cartilage on the side of the
plate closest to the end of the bone; osteoblasts later replace the cartilage with bone.
b. Chondrocytes lengthen the diaphysis by producing cartilage on the side of the plate
closest to the end of the bone; osteoclasts later replace the cartilage with bone.
c. Chondrocytes lengthen the diaphysis by producing cartilage on the side of the plate
closest to the middle of the bone; osteoblasts later replace the cartilage with bone.
d. Chondrocytes lengthen the diaphysis by producing cartilage on the side of the plate
closest to the middle of the bone; osteoclasts later replace the cartilage with bone.
e. Hint : Do not choose answer e. It is not correct.
7. Which of the following gives the correct sequence of muscle components ordered from
smallest to largest?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Sarcomere, thick filament, myofibril
Sarcomere, myofibril, thick filament
Myofibril, sarcomere, thick filament
Thick filament, myofibril, sarcomere
Thick filament, sarcomere, myofibril
8. Imagine a muscle fiber with a mutant form of troponin that never changes conformation from
its non-activated state. Which of the following best describes the first problem that would be
encountered when this muscle is stimulated by a motor neuron?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
The fiber would not be able to generate action potentials.
The sarcoplasmic reticulum would not be able to release Ca2+.
The Ca2+ would not reach the myofibrils.
Cross-bridge cycling would not occur.
The fiber would not be able to stop contracting.
9. During the cross-bridge cycle in muscles, which step occurs immediately before ATP
attaches to myosin?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
The myosin head moves from the low- to high-energy conformation.
The myosin head moves from high- to low-energy conformation.
The ATP is hydrolyzed to form ADP and Pi.
The myosin attaches to actin.
The myosin dissociates from actin.
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10. Consider the following graph showing an isometric twitch contraction in a muscle, triggered
by an action potential at time t = 0.
Force (N)
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
20
40
60
80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300
Time (ms)
For this contraction, the latent period is about
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
0 ms.
80 ms.
100 ms.
260 ms.
280 ms.
11. Consider a muscle required to lift differing amounts of weight during a twitch contraction
under isotonic conditions. Which of the following best describes the expected pattern as the
weights increase?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Shortening velocity increases, distance shortened decreases.
Shortening velocity increases, distance shortened remains constant.
Shortening velocity decreases, distance shortened decreases.
Shortening velocity decreases, distance shortened remains constant.
Shortening velocity remains constant, distance shortened remains constant.
12. Which of the following statements about motor units is false
a.
b.
c.
d.
A motor unit is innervated by a single motor neuron.
All the fibers in a motor unit are activated at the same time.
It is not possible to activate some fibers in a motor unit and not others.
Motor units containing oxidative fibers are normally activated before ones with
glycolytic fibers.
e. Motor units with oxidative fibers generally have more fibers per motor unit than those
with glycolytic fibers.
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13. Which of the following best describes the pattern as blood passes through the capillaries?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Pressure averages about 100 torr; blood velocity is relatively fast
Pressure averages about 100 torr; blood velocity is relatively slow.
Pressure averages about 25 torr; blood velocity is relatively fast.
Pressure averages about 25 torr; blood velocity is relatively slow.
Pressure averages about 5 torr; blood velocity is relatively slow.
14. During a heartbeat, the closing of the atrioventricular valves is caused by
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
pressure generated by atrial filling of the ventricles.
pressure generated by the ventricles at the start of ventricular contraction.
pressure in the arteries as ventricular pressure drops during ventricular relaxation.
contraction of smooth muscle in the atrioventricular valves.
insertion of a size 2 rubber stopper.
15. During a heartbeat in a person at rest, most of the movement of blood into the ventricles
occurs during
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
ventricular systole.
ventricular diastole prior to atrial systole.
atrial systole.
I can’t think of any more possible answers.
Wait, I’ll make one up – ventricular fantastole.
16. Which of the following substances normally moves across the capillary endothelium by
vesicular transport (endocytosis and exocytosis)?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
Oxygen and carbon dioxide
Na+ and K+
Water
Steroid hormones
Proteins other than plasma proteins
17. The movement of lymph through the lymphatic system is accomplished by
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
peristaltic contraction of the lymphatic vessels.
compression of the lymphatic vessels by the surrounding skeletal muscles.
beating of the two-chambered lymphatic heart.
Two of the above.
All of the above.
18. In the lungs, the major location of gas exchange with the blood is the
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
trachea.
bronchi.
bronchioles.
alveoli.
More than one of the above is important in gas exchange.
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19. An adult male’s tidal volume is 750 ml and his ventilation frequency is 20 breaths per
minute. What is his approximate alveolar ventilation rate? [I hope you can calculate this by
hand, but if you need a calculator please ask me. Do not use your own calculator without my
okay.]
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
500 ml/min
750 ml/min
1000 ml/min
1200 ml/min
1500 ml/min
20. During a forceful exhalation, which of the following muscles would be activated?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
The diaphragm
External intercostals
Internal intercostals
a and b
a and c
Short answer: Write a concise answer to each of the following questions. Your answers
should fit in the spaces provided. Diagrams may be used but must be
accompanied by written explanations. Each question is worth 8 points.
21. Complete the following table by indicating the relative value of each characteristic of muscle
fibers in fast glycolytic versus slow oxidative fibers.
Characteristic
Fast glycolytic
Slow oxidative
Force production
___________________
___________________
Myosin-ATPase activity
___________________
___________________
Predominant metabolism
___________________
___________________
Mitochondrial density
___________________
___________________
Myoglobin content
___________________
___________________
Glycogen stores
___________________
___________________
Rate of fatigue
___________________
___________________
Fiber diameter
___________________
___________________
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22. Describe or diagram the hormonal pathway associated with growth hormone release. Be
certain that general effects of each hormone in the pathway are clear. (You do not need to
detail all the effects of growth hormone.)
What would be the expected effects in an adult of a tumor that resulted in the release of
excessive growth hormone? Answer with regard to both the hormonal pathway you
diagrammed above and bone growth.
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23. Describe the electrical events in the heart during a normal heartbeat. Include a brief
indication of the muscular activity that results. You do not need to describe the resulting
blood movements.
What are the effects of the sympathetic and parasympathetic systems on pacemaker cells, to
the level of detail we discussed in class? (This answer should be fairly short!)
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24. Two questions relating to blood flow and pressure:
a. Provide Poiseuille’s law, explaining what each variable is. Which variable normally has the
strongest effect on flow (or changes in flow) in the circulatory system?
b. Qualitatively, what would be the effect on mean arterial pressure if one set of blood vessels
vasodilates and no other changes occur in the cardiovascular system? Then, what are the
expected responses in the cardiovascular system in a normal individual?
25. During a normal, resting inhalation, what are the expected changes in the intrapleural
pressure and alveolar pressure? Briefly, what causes these changes, and what is the effect of
each change?
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