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This was the second midterm examination of the course in the Fall of 2011. Be mindful
that one instructor was different, and the materials covered and emphasized were slightly
different. Some questions here may concern areas not discussed in the current semester.
Fall 2011
Biology 105
Fall 2011
Biology 105
12. The genetic disease blue sclera is determined by an autosomal dominant allele.
The eyes of individuals with this allele have bluish sclera. These same individuals
may also suffer from fragile bones and deafness. This is an example of:
a. incomplete dominance.
b. pleiotropy.
c. epistasis.
d. codominance.
e. linkage.
13. A linkage group corresponds to:
a. a group of genes on different chromosomes.
b. the linear order of centromeres on a chromosome.
c. the length of a chromosome.
d. a group of genes on the same chromosome.
e. None of the above
14. What is the pattern of inheritance for a rare dominant allele?
a. Every affected person has an affected parent.
b. Unaffected parents can produce children who are affected.
c. Affected parents do not produce affected children.
d. Unaffected mothers have affected sons and daughters who are carriers.
e. None of the above
15. Chargaffs rule states that:
a. DNA must be replicated before a cell can divide.
b. viruses enter cells without their protein coat.
c. only protein from the infecting phage can also be detected in progeny phage.
d. only nucleic acids enter the cell during infection.
e. the amount of cytosine equals the amount of guanine.
16. The strands that make up DNA are antiparallel. This means that:
a. one strand is positively charged, and the other is negatively charged.
b. the base pairings create unequal spacing between the two DNA strands.
c. the 5-to-3 direction of one strand is counter to the 5-to-3 direction of the other
strand.
d. the twisting of the DNA molecule has shifted the two strands.
e. purines bond with purines and pyrimidines bond with pyrimidines.
17. Mutations are:
a. heritable changes in the sequence of DNA bases that produce an observable
phenotype.
b. heritable changes in the sequence of DNA bases.
c. mistakes in the incorporation of amino acids into proteins.
d. heritable changes in the mRNA of an organism.
e. None of the above
Fall 2011
Biology 105
18. At the end of DNA replication, two DNA molecules are produced, each one
consisting of a parental DNA strand and a new DNA strand. This process is
known as:
a. semiconservative replication.
b. conservative replication.
c. dispersive replication.
d. fission.
e. the transforming principle.
19. Ideally, PCR _______ increases the amount of DNA during additional cycles.
a. additively
b. gradually
c. linearly
d. systematically
e. exponentially
20. One strand of DNA has the sequence 5-ATTCCG-3 The complementary strand
for this is:
a. 5-TAAGGC-3
b. 5-ATTCCG-3
c. 5-ACCTTA-3
d. 5-CGGAAT-3
e. 5-GCCTTA-3
21. After irradiating Neurospora, Beadle and Tatum collected mutants that would:
a. not grow on a minimal medium but would grow on a minimal medium with
arginine.
b. grow on any minimal medium.
c. not grow on any minimal medium.
d. grow on a minimal medium but would not grow on a minimal medium with
arginine.
e. None of the above
22. The central dogma of molecular biology states that:
a. information flow between DNA, RNA, and protein is reversible.
b. information flow in the cell is unidirectional, from protein to RNA to DNA.
c. information flow in the cell is unidirectional, from DNA to RNA to protein.
d. the DNA sequence of a gene can be predicted if we know the amino acid sequence
of the protein it encodes.
e. the genetic code is ambiguous but not degenerate.
23. Imagine that a novel life-form is found deep within Earths crust. Evaluation of
its DNA yields no surprises. However, it is found that a codon for this life-form is
just two bases in length. How many different amino acids could this organism be
composed of?
a. 4
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Biology 105
Fall 2011
b. 8
c. 16
d. 32
e. 64
24. Exons are:
a. spliced out of the original transcript.
b. spliced together from the original transcript.
c. spliced to introns to form the final transcript.
d. much larger than introns.
e. larger than the original coding region.
25. The binding of snRNPs to consensus sequences is necessary for:
a. gene duplication.
b. the addition of a poly A tail.
c. capping an hnRNA.
d. RNA splicing.
e. transcription.
26. What events must take place to ensure that the protein made is the one specified
by mRNA?
a. tRNA must read mRNA correctly.
b. tRNA must carry the amino acid that is correct for its reading of the mRNA.
c. Covalent bonding between the base pairs must occur.
d. Both a and b
e. All of the above
27. mRNA is synthesized in the _______ direction, which corresponds to the _______
of the protein.
a. 5 to 3; N terminus to C terminus
b. 3 to 5; C terminus to N terminus
c. 5 to 3; C terminus to N terminus
d. 3 to 5; N terminus to C terminus
e. Examples of all of the above have been found.
28. The three basic parts of an operon are the:
a. promoter, the operator, and two or more structural genes.
b. promoter, the structural genes, and the termination codons.
c. promoter, the mRNA, and the termination codons.
d. structural genes, the mRNA, and the tRNAs.
e. None of the above
29. Which operon is turned off in response to molecules present in the
environment of the cell?
a. Repressible
b. Suppressible
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Biology 105
c. Impressible
d. Inducible
e. Degraded
30. Which of the following is not a DNA binding motif?
a. Helix-straight-helix
b. Helix-turn-helix
c. Helix-loop-helix
d. Leucine zipper
e. Zinc finger
31. The drought stress response in plants is an example of:
a. a transcription factor.
b. coordinated gene expression.
c. a way to increase water intake.
d. Both a and b
e. None of the above
32. The interphase cells of normal female mammals have a stainable nuclear body
called a Barr body. This body is:
a. an inactive X chromosome.
b. made of fat droplets.
c. made of fragments of mRNA.
d. made of extra chromosomal pieces.
e. None of the above
33. A chemical modification that adds methyl groups to cytosine residues in some
genes acts to:
a. enhance transcription.
b. amplify the gene.
c. inactivate the gene.
d. stabilize the mRNA.
e. None of the above
34. What would happen initially to cells that lack a functional ubiquitin?
a. Nothing would happen.
b. Transcriptional initiation would increase.
c. Protein degradation would decrease.
d. Histone modifications would increase.
e. Translation of proteins would be more efficient.
35. Which of the following is the correct ranking of stem cells with respect to the
number of cell types into which they can differentiate (from greatest to least)?
a. Multipotent> pluripotent > totipotent
b. Pluripotent > totipotent >multipotent
c. Pluripotent >multipotent> totipotent
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Fall 2011
Biology 105
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Biology 105
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