Biology 120 Mock Midterm Examination
Student Learning Services and Biology 120 Peer Mentors
Tuesday, October 11th, 2016
Time: 5:30-6:30pm (60 mins)
Location: HLTH 1150
Important note: This mock midterm was written by your Biology Peer Mentors (not your
professors)! It is designed to help you test yourself on topics and concepts covered in class and
should not in any way be considered a “preview” of the actual midterm.
You have 50 minutes to complete this exam. You are required to remain in your seat for 15
minutes, but are free to leave the room after 5:45pm. No talking. No use of electronic devices
(i.e. cell phones, laptops). The peer mentors will go over the mock midterm afterwards.
Be sure to read the questions and all possible answers carefully. Choose the best answer.
Select only one answer per question.
Please don’t start the exam until instructed to do so. The questions begin on the other side of
this page.
Structured Study Session information
Mondays 4:30-5:50pm – Room 102 in the Murray Library (Alexa)
Tuesdays 11:30am-12:50pm – Room G3 in the Murray Library (Mars)
Wednesdays 10:30-11:50am – Room 1430 in the Health Sciences Library (Dakoda)
Wednesdays 3:00-4:20pm – Room 265 in the Geology Building (Hayley)
Thursdays 4:00-5:20pm – Room G3 in the Murray Library (Tara)
Fridays 1:30-2:50pm – Room G3 in the Murray Library (Maryam)
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
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1. You are one of the first humans to colonize Mars. While out for a morning walk,
you notice some odd objects on the ground. Curious about finding life on Mars,
you bring several of them back to your lab for observation. Which of the following
should you not watch for as a characteristic that the objects are living?
a. Movement
b. Reproduction
c. Reaction to stimuli
d. Growth
2. The mitotic spindle is composed of…
a. Microtubules
b. Microfilaments
c. Intermediate filaments
d. Both A and C
3. The theory of endosymbiosis suggests the origin of which two organelles?
a. Endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus
b. Lysosomes and chloroplasts
c. Nucleus and mitochondria
d. Chloroplasts and mitochondria
4. Which of the following statements is false regarding the cells in your skin and the
muscle of your heart?
a. They have different genomes
b. They are specialized for different functions
c. They express the genome differently
d. They all contain the entire genome of the organism
5. LUCA is supported by which of the following:
a. Protein assembly from amino acids using mRNA and tRNA
b. The breakdown of glucose by a conserved pathway to create ATP
c. Reliance on proteins as the major structural and catalytic molecule
d. A and B only
e. A and C only
f. All of the above
6. You are shrunk down to microscopic size and sent into a eukaryotic cell on a
mission to find working ribosomes. You could find functioning ribosomes in all of
the following locations except…
a. On the cytoplasmic side of the outer nuclear envelope
b. On the rough endoplasmic reticulum
c. Loose in the cytoplasm
d. Within the nucleus
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
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7. Which of the following is not amphipathic?
a. Phospholipids
b. Soap
c. Water
d. Proteins
8. All of the following are pieces of evidence that support the endosymbiotic theory,
except:
a. Mitochondria contain their own DNA
b. Mitochondria have their own ribosomes
c. Mitochondria and chloroplasts reproduce independently of the cell
d. Chloroplasts contain their own nucleus
9. The centromere:
a. Holds together homologous chromosomes
b. Attaches chromosomes to the spindle fibers during division
c. Holds together sister chromatids
d. Originates at the centrioles
10. All of the following are differences between the rough and smooth endoplasmic
reticulum, except:
a. The rough ER has ribosomes on its surface, the smooth ER does not
b. The smooth ER is involved in lipid biosynthesis, the rough ER is not
c. The rough ER is involved in detoxification, the smooth ER is not
d. The rough ER has similar function and structure to the nuclear membrane,
the smooth ER does not
11. Which of the following statements is true based on the 3 tenets of cell theory?
a. The spontaneous formation of a liposome from phospholipids in water is
required for the formation of a new cell.
b. The nucleus is an example of a basic functional unit of life.
c. Amoeba can replicate themselves, so can be considered cells.
d. A rock could be considered alive because new rocks are usually formed
by dividing a bigger rock.
12. You are looking at a cell through a microscope and notice that it has no nucleus
and appears to be rod-shaped. With this information you can determine that it will
probably be missing ________ as well.
a. DNA
b. A Plasma membrane
c. Ribosomes
d. Mitochondria
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
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13. The following image illustrates:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Prophase
Interphase
Telophase
Telophase II
14. Adenosine triphosphate is regenerated within a cell through:
a. An endergonic reaction combining ADP and Pi
b. An exergonic reaction combining ADP and Pi
c. An endergonic hydrolysis of ATP
d. An exergonic hydrolysis of ATP
15. Which of the following statements concerning mitosis and meiosis is true?
a. Meiosis occurs in eukaryotes, while mitosis occurs in prokaryotes.
b. Meiosis produces diploid cells, while mitosis produces haploid cells.
c. Meiosis produces somatic cells, while mitosis produces gametes.
d. Meiosis produces genetically diverse cells, while mitosis produces
genetically identical cells.
16. The increase in clutter that builds on your desk while you’re studying for
midterms is an example of which law of thermodynamics?
a. The First Law, which states that energy cannot be created nor destroyed
b. The Second Law, which states that energy cannot be created not
destroyed.
c. The First Law, which states that the entropy (and thus, disorder) of a
system is always increasing.
d. The Second Law, which states that the entropy (i.e. disorder) of a system
is always increasing.
17. Which of the following best describes the cellular activities that occur during the
last phase of nuclear division in all eukaryotic cells?
a. The chromosomes de-condense and the spindle disassembles.
b. The DNA is replicated and condense into homologous pairs.
c. The plasma membrane furrows, followed by cytokinesis.
d. The chromosomes condense and align in the center of the cell.
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
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18. Your professor gives you a sample of unidentified cells. After some investigation,
you find evidence of linear chromosomes, mitochondrial DNA, phospholipids,
ribosomes, and the polysaccharide cellulose. What can you tell your professor
about the sample?
a. It contains bacterial cells
b. It contains plant cells.
c. It contains archaea cells.
d. It contains animal cells.
19. Which of the following was one of the first forms of life on Earth?
a. Cyanobacteria
b. An amoeba
c. A virus
d. A vesicle
20. All of the following affect cell size, except…
a. The surface area to volume ratio
b. Rates of diffusion
c. Ploidy
d. Lifespan
21. Mitosis is responsible for all of the following except…
a. Replication of sperm cells
b. Growth and development of organisms
c. Replacement of old or damaged cells
d. Multiple nuclei in a single cell
22. How does an enzyme catalyze biochemical reactions?
a. By changing the reaction equilibrium to favour the products
b. By changing Gibb’s free energy to make the reaction more exothermic
c. By lowering the activation energy of the reaction
d. By changing Gibb’s free energy to make the reaction more exergonic
23. A plant cell wall is not primarily composed of:
i. Chitin
ii. Cellulose
iii. Phospholipids
a. ii
b. ii and iii
c. i and iii
d. i
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
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24. A ______ is the cellular structure that binds to an enzyme’s _______
a. Active site; substrate
b. Substrate; active site
c. Ligand; enzymatic complex
d. Enzymatic complex; ligand
25. Which of the following does NOT correctly describe microtubules?
a. They are made of actin dimers
b. They associate with the motor proteins dynein and kinesin
c. They form the centrioles in animal cells
d. All of the above describe microtubules
26. Which of the following describes the function or roles of the kinetochore?
a. It functions as the main microtubule organizing center
b. It works to condense chromosomes and helps regulate cell division
c. It allows microtubules to attach to chromosomes
d. None of the above is a function of the kinetochore
27. The characteristics of life are said to be emergent because:
a. They emerge from LUCA and later from the primordial soup
b. They emerge from the interactions of simple molecules
c. They emerge in every known order of life
d. None of the above
28. A student in a lab conducts an experiment in which enzyme concentration is
kept constant but substrate is continuously being added. The limiting factor on
the rate of catalysis in this experiment is:
a. The substrate concentration
b. The product concentration
c. The enzyme concentration
d. The concentration of yeast
29. Which of the following are not the result of mitotic cellular division?
i. Two daughter cells
ii. Crossing over
iii. Daughter cells with half the number of chromosomes
a. i and ii
b. ii and iii
c. I only
d. i, ii, and iii
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
6
30. You are instructed to observe liver cells under a microscope. Based on your
knowledge that the primary function of the liver is to detoxify harmful substances,
which of the following are you likely to observe?
a. The cells contain a lot of smooth endoplasmic reticulum
b. The cells contain many lysosomes
c. The cells contain few ribosomes
d. The cells’ plasma membranes contain many transport proteins
31. Which of the following statements about gametes is false?
a. In plants, they are produced by mitosis
b. They are only produced by meiosis in animals
c. They are always motile
d. They are always haploid cells
32. Which of the following is the source of the earliest direct evidence of life?
a. Stromatolites
b. Iron Bands
c. Carbon dating
d. Mitochondrial DNA tracing techniques
33. A diploid plant cell with 22 chromosomes undergoes meiosis. How many
chromosomes does each daughter cell have and are the chromosomes in
homologous pairs?
a. 22, unpaired
b. 22, paired
c. 11, unpaired
d. 11, paired
34. Which of the following statements best describes the cellular movements during
Anaphase I?
a. sister chromatids move toward opposite poles
b. homologous chromosomes move toward opposite poles
c. terminal chiasmata move toward opposite poles
d. replicated chromosomes move toward the same pole
35. An anabolic pathway _____________
a. consumes energy to break down complex molecules
b. builds complex molecules, releasing energy
c. breaks down complex molecules, releasing energy
d. consumes energy to build complex molecules
36. Identify the exergonic reaction.
a. A + B  C
ΔG= -7.2 kJ/mol
b. Q + S  R
ΔH= -3.3 kJ/mol
c. A + B  C + D
ΔG= +11.4 kJ/mol
d. D + F  G + I
ΔS= +2.7 J/K∙mol
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
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37. If a cell is trying to build many copies of a molecule through a biological reaction
with a high activation energy (Ea), the reaction will probably:
a. Never occur
b. Happen spontaneously
c. Require an enzyme and ATP to occur
d. Require only ATP to occur
38. Hydrolysis of ATP involves the:
a. Removal of an adenine from ATP to release free energy
b. Addition of water to ATP to release free energy
c. Removal of water from ATP to release free energy
d. Addition of an adenine to ATP to release free energy
39. As part of your work as a summer student in a lab, you are tasked with
observing the mitotic divisions of a sample of whitefish embryo. You find a pair of
cells just finished pinching apart. Which stage of the cell cycle have these cells
entered?
a. S
b. G1
c. G2
d. Mitosis
40. How does a nuclear protein arrive in the nucleus?
a. mRNA remains in the nucleoplasm and is transcribed at the nucleolus.
b. The nuclear proteins are transcribed by nucleus-specific ribosomes that
contain nucleus localization signals.
c. Nuclear proteins contain a nuclear localization region that moves it
through the nuclear pore complex.
d. Transcription occurs across the nuclear pore complex, so the fully formed
nuclear protein is made in the nucleus.
Student Learning Services (SLS) is a unit of the University Library. You can find information about the
following services for students SLS website: http://library.usask.ca/studentlearning
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Study Skills
Writing Help
Math & Stats Help
Find a Tutor
Workshops on topics such as tech help, library skills, and more
Also, visit the University Library webpage http://library.usask.ca for information on other Library
services and programs.
Questions and answers for the mock midterm will be posted after the session at:
http://library.usask.ca/sss
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