Cell Practice Questions

1. The fluid mosaic model of the cell membrane states that 7. Mitochondria are thought to be descendants of
endosymbiotic bacterial cells. Which of the following
A) the hydrophobic zone consists of the
statements best supports this statement?
hydrophobic, nonpolar tails of phospholipids
located in between hydrophilic, polar heads of A) Mitochondria and bacteria possess similar
phospholipids ribosomes and DNA.
B) the hydrophobic zone consists of the hydrophilic, B) Both mitochondria and bacteria have cristae.
nonpolar tails of phospholipids located in between C) Neither mitochondria nor bacteria possess
hydrophobic, polar heads of phospholipids chloroplasts.
C) the hydrophilic zone consists of the hydrophobic, D) Glycolysis occurs in both mitochondria and
nonpolar tails of phospholipids located in between bacteria.
hydrophilic, polar heads of phospholipids
8. Base your answer to the following question on Base your
D) the hydrophilic zone consists of the hydrophobic, answer to the following question on the picture below.
nonpolar tails of phospholipids located in between
hydrophobic, polar heads of phospholipids
2. Selective permeability of the cell membrane results from
A) receptor proteins B) channel proteins
C) phospholipids D) a, b and c
Base your answers to questions 3 and 4 on
the diagram of the cell membrane below.

Indicate the structure(s) thought to be descendant of

endosymbiotic bacterial cells.
A) A only B) C only
C) A and C D) A and B
9. All of the following are evidence for the endosymbiotic
theory EXCEPT
A) Mitochondria and chloroplasts reproduce by
3. These protein molecules are involved in cell transport. depending on their eukaryotic host cell by a
A) A B) B C) D D) E process similar to the binary fission of bacteria.
B) Ribosomes of mitochondria and chloroplasts
4. Which of the following refers to the hydrophobic portion
resemble those of bacteria and cyanobacteria, with
of the lipid molecule?
respect to size and nucleotide sequence.
A) A B) B C) C D) D C) The thylakoid membranes of chloroplasts resemble
the photosynthetic membranes of cyanobacteria.
5. Which of the following is NOT a component in an D) Mitochondria and chloroplasts reproduce
animal cell membrane? independently of their eukaryotic host cell by a
A) Nucleotides B) Carbohydrates process similar to the binary fission of bacteria.
C) Proteins D) Microtubules
6. Fluidity of the cell membrane is caused by
A) phospholipids B) receptor proteins
C) saponification D) water
 Cell Practice Questions

10. The endosymbiont theory proposes that mitochondria
descended from endosymbiotic bacteria that lived
inside other cells. Which of the following statements
would best support that theory?
A) Both bacteria and mitochondria possess similar
ribosomes and genetic material.
B) Both bacteria and mitochondria possess similar
nuclei.
C) Neither bacteria nor mitochondria have nuclear
membranes.
D) Microtubules are present in both bacteria and
mitochondria.
11. Which of the following is NOT true regarding water
potential?
A) At atmospheric pressure, the water potential of
pure water is zero.
B) Tension is negative water potential.
C) Water moves from areas of low water potential
to high water potential.
D) A cell wall applies pressure potential.
12. Which of the following is the direction water moves
across a selectively permeable membrane?
A) Water will move from a region of lower water
potential to an area of higher water potential.
B) Water will move from a region of higher water
potential to an area of lower water potential.
C) Water will not move across the membrane.
D) Water will only move if the water potentials are
above a certain threshold.
13. What values are used to calculate water potential?
A) Atmospheric potential and pressure potential
B) Osmotic pressure and water pressure
C) Pressure potential and osmotic potential
D) Pressure potential and water pressure
14. In a laboratory on diffusion and osmosis the following
results were obtained:
15. Which of the following statements about water
potential is NOT true?
A) Negative water potential is called tension.
B) Water potential can be positive or negative.
C) Pressure potential is zero unless some external
force is applied.
D) The higher the concentration of solutes, the
more positive the osmotic potential.
16. If a plant cell is immersed in a solution having higher
water potential than the cell, which of the following
will occur?
A) The cell wall will break down.
B) Osmotic uptake of the water will cause the cell
to swell.
C) The plant cell will be crushed due to the water
pressure.
D) Nothing will occur because the plant cell wall is
impermeable to water.
17. Diffusion of material involves which of the following?
A) The movement of a substance up its concentration
gradient.
B) The movement of water with the current.
C) The movement of a substance from a low
concentration to a high concentration.
D) The movement of a substance from a high
concentration to a low concentration.
18. The movement of water out of a cell that results in the
collapse of the cell is called
A) plasmolysis B) dialysis
C) facilitated diffusion D) simple diffusion

What would the water potential be for this experiment?

A) –1 bar B) 0 bars
C) 1 bar D) 5 bars
E) 6 bars
 Cell Practice Questions

Base your answers to questions 19 through 21 on 26. Base your answer to the following question on
the choices below. the picture below. (Before and after pictures of a cell
placed in a particular solution.)
(A) Active transport
(B) Vesicular transport
(C) Countercurrent exchange
(D) Simple diffusion
(E) Bulk flow
19. The diffusion of substances between two regions in
which substances are moving by bulk flow in opposite
directions
Cell A was placed in a solution that is
20. Net movement of substances from an area of higher
concentration to an area of lower concentration A) hypotonic B) isotonic
C) flaccid D) supertonic
21. Collective movement of substances in the same
direction in response to a force or pressure 27. Due to osmosis, a cell that is hypertonic to its
environment, will eventually

22. Active transport differs from facilitated diffusion A) enlarge

because B) shrink
C) become unable to undergo lysis
A) active transport can only move certain solutes
D) decrease its number of intracellular solute particles
B) facilitated diffusion requires the cell to expend its
own metabolic energy 28. Base your answer to the following question on
C) active transport moves solutes down a gradient the image below.
D) facilitated diffusion moves solutes from higher
to lower
23. An erythrocyte placed in a hypertonic solution will
A) shrink
B) expand
C) remain the same
D) undergo diffusion of solutes out of the cell
24. Turgor pressure in plant cells is maintained in part by
A) hypertonic internal environment
B) osmosis
C) all of the above Solution X must be
D) none of the above A) hypertonic to the cell
25. A cell at equilibrium with its environment is B) isotonic to the cell
C) distilled H 20
A) hypertonic B) hypotonic
D) cytosol
C) isobaric D) isotonic
29. The cytoplasm of a cell is composed of 20% solutes and
80% water. If the cell itself is in a solution composed
of 95% water, then the intracellular environment can be
described as _______ to the extracellular environment.
A) hypotonic B) hypertonic
C) isotonic D) supertonic
 Cell Practice Questions

30. During osmosis, water will move from a hypotonic 34. Which of the following characteristics of enzymes is
solution to NOT correct?
A) the isotonic solution A) The substrate is the substance or substances upon
B) a cell with greater osmotic pressure which the enzyme acts.
C) a hypertonic solution B) The induced-fit model describes how enzymes
D) the solution with more aquaporins work.
C) An enzyme is unchanged as a result of a reaction.
31. A cell is placed in a solution. Below is a diagram listing
D) The efficiency of an enzyme is not affected by
molarity.
temperature.
35. The most accepted model of enzyme function is the
A) conformational hypothesis
B) substrate model
C) induced fit hypothesis
D) none of the above
36. A cofactor may bind to the allosteric site of an enzyme
with
The cell is which of the following relative to the
solution? A) hydrogen bonds B) glycoside bonds
A) Hypotonic B) Hypertonic C) peptide bonds D) none of the above
C) Isotonic D) Isosmotic 37. Which of the following characteristics of enzymes is
E) None of the above NOT correct?
32. Which of the following types of bonds would not be A) The substrate is the substance upon which the
used to bind a substrate molecule to the active site of an enzyme acts.
enzyme? B) The induced-fit or lock and key model describes
how enzymes work.
A) ionic bond
C) An enzyme is unchanged as a result of a reaction.
B) van der Waals interactions
D) The efficiency of an enzyme is not affected by
C) hydrophobic interactions
temperature.
D) peptide bonds
38. Base your answer to the following question on
33. A reaction is regulated by regulating its enzyme. In
the graph below.
competitive inhibition,
A) a substance that mimics the substrate inhibits
an enzyme by occupying the active site
B) the inhibitor changes the shape of the enzyme
which disables its enzymatic activity
C) an enzyme becomes more receptive to additional
substrate molecules after one substrate molecule
attaches to an active site
D) the inhibitor binds to an enzyme at locations other Which statement about the graph of enzyme activity is
than an active or allosteric site correct?
A) All four enzymes can work together at a certain
pH.
B) Enzyme D works best at the most acidic pH.
C) Enzyme D works best at the most alkaline pH.
D) Enzyme A works best at the most basic pH.
 Cell Practice Questions

39. E1 E2 E3
A B C D

In the series of enzyme reactions shown above, product

C is able to occupy the active site of enzyme E 1.
Product C can therefore inhibit the production of
A) E1 B) A C) C D) E2 E) B
40. A reaction that requires an enzyme is being conducted
in the laboratory. Which of the following statements is
correct?
A) The reaction can continue even if the enzyme is
denatured.
B) Reaction rates can be influenced by product
concentration.
C) Reaction rates are not influenced by substrate
concentration.
D) Reaction rates can be influenced by pH or
temperature.
41. Base your answer to the following question on the diagram below.

The catabolic activity of the enzyme depicted on molecule D illustrates

A) catabolic theory B) conformational change
C) enzyme specificity D) allostery
42. All of the following are functions of an allosteric 44. Base your answer to the following question on
enzyme EXCEPT the following diagram:
A) the allosteric site serves as the active site in the
presence of competitive inhibitors
B) the binding of a substrate may stabilize the
inactive conformation
C) they control key reactions in metabolic pathways
D) their activity changes in response to fluctuating
concentrations of regulators
43. The activation energy of a reaction can be altered by the
addition of The activation energy of the above reaction is indicated
by
A) substrates B) heat energy
C) enzymes D) ADP A) 1 B) 2 C) 3 D) 4
 Cell Practice Questions

45. Base your answer to the following question on the diagram below.

The reaction depicted above

A) involves dehydration synthesis B) is an anabolic reaction
C) shows peptide bond formation D) all of the above
E) none of the above
46. The formation of a peptide bond involves
A) release of nitrogen
B) addition of nitrogen
C) dehydration synthesis
D) condensation reaction
47. The formation of a peptide bond requires a reaction
between
A) carbonyl and amide groups
B) carboxyl and amino groups
C) nitryl and amino groups
D) nitro and amino groups
48. The attraction between the hydrogen of one H 2O
molecule and an oxygen of another H2O molecule is an
example of
A) a hydrogen bond
B) a polar covalent bond
C) Van der Waals forces
D) a hydrophobic interaction
 Answer Key
Cell (Exam) Practice Questions

1. A 37. D
2. D 38. C
3. A 39. E
4. D 40. D
5. A 41. C
6. A 42. A
7. A 43. C
8. B 44. B
9. A 45. D
10. A 46. C
11. C 47. B
12. B 48. A
13. C
14. D
15. D
16. B
17. D
18. A
19. C
20. D
21. E
22. D
23. A
24. C
25. D
26. A
27. A
28. A
29. B
30. C
31. A
32. D
33. A
34. D
35. C
36. A