Sample Questions, Midterm Exam, Bio 2021, Feb 2010

WARNING: This is not a complete study guide. These questions do not cover all of the topics that may be on the exam. This is only a sample of the kind of questions that may be asked. DO NOT use this as a study outline. Each question has only one best answer. There are 35 questions and all questions are worth equal weight. Five figures are on the last two pages. 1. What technique was used to visualize the cell in Figure A? a. Fluorescence microscopy b. Bright-field microscopy c. Phase contrast microscopy d. Transmission electron microscopy e. Scanning electron microscopy 2. Bright-field microscopy is an excellent technique for observing which of the following? a. organelles in cells that have been fixed and stained b. live, transparent cells that have not been stained c. structures less than 100 nm in size (the size of a virus or ribosome) d. cells that have been stained with fluorescent probes e. all of the above f. none of the above 3. Which explanation best describes why cellular phospholipids spontaneously form a bilayer in water? a. They are firmly connected to each other by covalent bonds between the fatty acid groups. b. Their fatty acid tails are repelled by water. c. Their headgroups are repelled by water. d. Their fatty acid groups are strongly attracted to one another by non-covalent attractions. e. Their headgroups are strongly attracted to one another by ionic attractions. 4. Which of the following movements of lipids in a lipid bilayer is very slow and rarely happens spontaneously? a. lateral diffusion in the plane of the membrane b. flexion of the fatty acid tails c. rotation of lipids within the leaflet d. flip-flop of lipids from one leaflet to the other e. a, b and c only

Bio 2021 Midterm, Sample Questions, 2010 5. Which of the following would you never find on the inner (cytosolic) leaflet of the plasma membrane of a eukaryotic cell? a. cholesterol b. phosphatidylserine c. glycoproteins d. integral membrane proteins e. reduced cysteines (-SH groups) in membrane proteins f. b and e only 6. Identify the molecule in Figure B. a. phosphatidylcholine b. sphingomyelin c. cholesterol d. glycolipid e. chlorophyll 7. Which of the following statements about peripheral membrane proteins is(are) TRUE? a. They can be found as members of complexes that include integral membrane proteins. b. They can only be removed from the membrane by disrupting it with detergent. c. They form covalent bonds with integral membrane proteins. d. They can associate with the membrane by being covalently attached to a fatty acid inserted into the membrane. e. All of the above are true. f. None of the above are true. 8. What do alpha helix transmembrane proteins and beta barrel transmembrane proteins have in common? a. They are both found only in bacteria, mitochondria, and chloroplasts, and almost never found in eukaryotic plasma membranes. b. Both structures are stabilized by hydrogen bonding between the polar groups of the peptide bonds. c. They can both function as membrane transport proteins. d. All of the above. e. a and b only f. b and c only 9. What information can you get from the technique of FRAP (fluorescence recovery after photobleaching)? a. the ratio of protein to lipid weight in a membrane b. the amount of glycosylation of membrane proteins c. the diffusion rate of membrane proteins d. the lipid composition of a membrane e. the rate at which a transport protein transports ions across a membrane

Bio 2021 Midterm, Sample Questions, 2010 10. What does the following equation describe? G = -RT ln (Co/Ci) a. the free energy available for work due to the membrane potential b. the electrical portion of the electrochemical gradient c. the total electrochemical gradient d. the chemical portion of the electrochemical gradient e. the total change in entropy when an ion crosses a membrane 11. In what ways are membrane transport proteins similar to enzymes? a. They are specific for certain solutes. b. The rate of transport saturates at high solute concentrations. c. They can be inhibited by small molecule inhibitors. d. all of the above e. a and b only f. none of the above 12. During transcellular transport of glucose across epithelial cells from the intestine to the bloodstream, what is the energy source for the import of glucose into the cell from the intestine? a. No energy source is needed- glucose moves passively down its concentration gradient. b. hydrolysis of ATP by the glucose transporter c. absorption of a photon of light by the glucose transporter d. the Na+ electrochemical gradient e. the K+ electrochemical gradient 13. Which of the following statements about ion channels is(are) TRUE? a. Ion channels undergo a conformational change every time an ion is transported. b. Ion channels can switch between two conformations, either open or closed. c. An ion channel forms a hydrophilic pore through the membrane that acts as a selectivity filter. d. all of the above e. a and c only f. b and c only 14. Which of the following is(are) required for propagating an action potential along the axon of a typical mammalian neuron? a. Voltage-gated K+ channels amplify the signal through positive feedback. b. Voltage-gated Na+ channels have an inactive, refractory conformation. c. Voltage-gated Na+ channels open in response to a local (nearby) depolarization. d. all of the above e. a and b only f. b and c only

Bio 2021 Midterm, Sample Questions, 2010 15. In your research laboratory at York University, you have been investigating ion channels involved in taste in cells from the human tongue. You have discovered a new ligand-gated ion channel that opens in response to chocolate. When you isolate the channel protein and test it for specificity, you find that both Na+ and K+ can pass though the channel at equal rates when it is open. However, when you measure the flow of ions in isolated tongue cells exposed to chocolate, you find only a net flow of Na+ into the cell. Why? (Assume that tongue cells have the typical ion concentrations of typical mammalian cells.) a. K+ does not flow because it is at equal concentrations on both sides of the membrane. b. Na+ flowing in through the channel blocks the movement of K+ through the channel. c. There is no net movement of K+ because it is already at electrochemical equilibrium across the membrane. d. K+ does flow through the channel but its concentrations both inside and outside are much lower than Na+ so the flow is not significant. e. a and c only 16. What happens at a typical synapse in the central nervous system? a. An electrical charge jumps across the synapse from the presynaptic cell to the postsynaptic cell. b. The membrane of the presynaptic cell directly contacts the membrane of the postsynaptic cell. c. Signals typically pass in either direction from axon terminals to dendrites, or from dendrites to axon terminals. d. Calcium ions released into the synaptic cleft cause the release of neurotransmitter from the postsynaptic cell. e. All of the above. f. None of the above. 17. What do tetanus toxin, botulinum toxin (Botox), nerve gases like Sarin, and insecticides like Malathion all have in common? a. They all prevent the release of neurotransmitters in the central nervous system. b. They all cause muscle paralysis by acting at the neuromuscular junction. c. They all act in the central nervous system to enhance the effects of neurotransmitters on their receptors. d. They all inhibit the breakdown of acetylcholine by cholinesterase. 18. The lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum is topologically equivalent to which other space(s)? a. the lumen of the Golgi b. the lumen of secretory vesicles c. the lumen of lysosomes d. the extracellular space e. all of the above f. a and d only

Bio 2021 Midterm, Sample Questions, 2010 19. What happens to proteins that have no sorting signal? a. They are rapidly degraded in the cytosol. b. They remain in the cytosol after synthesis. c. They are rapidly exported from the cell. d. They are imported into mitochondria. e. They remain in the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum. 20. What is the energy source for gated import of proteins into the nucleus? a. hydrolysis of GTP by Ran GTPase b. the membrane potential across the nuclear membrane c. hydrolysis of ATP by chaperone proteins d. b and c only e. none of the above; it is a spontaneous process 21. What is the role of HSP70 chaperone proteins during protein translocation into mitochondria? a. recognizing the signal sequence on the newly-synthesized protein b. forming a pore through the outer mitochondrial membrane c. binding to the newly synthesized protein to prevent it from folding d. forming a pore across the inner mitochondrial membrane e. cleaving off the signal sequence in the intermembrane space 22. What is the role of the signal recognition particle during co-translational import of proteins? a. translate messenger RNA into protein b. bind to the signal sequence and cause translation to stop c. cleave off the signal peptide when translation is finished d. bind to the signal recognition particle receptor in the endoplasmic reticulum membrane e. b and d only 23. How would the plasma membrane protein in Figure C get inserted into a membrane? a. It would be synthesized in the cytosol, folded correctly with the help of hsp70, and inserted directly into the plasma membrane. b. It would be made by co-translational import on membrane-bound ribosomes at the endoplasmic reticulum. c. It would be inserted into the membrane by a single start-transfer sequence and a single stop-transfer sequence. d. It would be translocated completely into the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum through a protein translocator and would insert into the plasma membrane after fusion of a transport vesicle with the plasma membrane. e. none of the above

Bio 2021 Midterm, Sample Questions, 2010 24. What prevents misfolded and unfolded proteins from leaving the endoplasmic reticulum? a. calnexin binds to glucose on the N-linked oligosaccharide b. proteins in the endoplasmic reticulum get ubiquitylated c. misfolded proteins get degraded by the proteasome while still inside the endoplasmic reticulum d. Nothing prevents them from leaving: they are rapidly removed in vesicles. 25. Where does the energy come from to form a clathrin coat on a clathrin-coated vesicle? a. The energy is stored in the structure of the free clathrin proteins so the coat forms spontaneously. b. ATP hydrolysis by HSP70 proteins is needed at the time the coat forms. c. GTP hydrolysis by Sar1 is needed to force clathrin molecules together to form the coat. d. GTP hydrolysis by dynamin is required at the time the coat begins to form. 26. What markers give a vesicle its identity so that the right vesicle fuses with the right target compartment? a. phosphoinositides b. coat-recruitment GTPases such as Arf and Sar1 c. Rab proteins and Rab effector proteins d. identical v-SNARES on both vesicle and target 27. What is typically required for a soluble protein to be exported from the endoplasmic reticulum in a vesicle? a. a transmembrane cargo receptor that binds to the soluble protein b. an exit signal on the cargo receptor c. a coat protein that binds to the cargo receptor d. all of the above 28. In Figure D, what is the white arrow pointing to? a. vesicles moving towards the cis face of the Golgi b. rough endoplasmic reticulum c. secretory vesicle moving away from the trans face of the Golgi d. medial Golgi cisterna e. early endosome moving away from the nuclear envelope 29. Where would you be most likely to find degradative enzymes including acid hydrolases such as nucleases, proteases, and lipases, and an acid pH environment? a. secretory vesicles b. some plant and fungal vacuoles c. vesicular tubular clusters d. Golgi cisternae e. lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum

Bio 2021 Midterm, Sample Questions, 2010 30. During the development of atherosclerosis, cholesterol becomes deposited on artery walls, clogging blood flow. What could cause this to happen? a. a defect in the binding of LDL receptors to adaptor proteins (adaptins) b. too many LDL receptors in the membranes of cells c. a mutation in LDL receptors that prevents them from binding to LDL d. all of the above e. a and c only f. none of the above 31. Which of the following statements about exocytosis is TRUE? a. All exocytosis pathways require a signal to trigger exocytosis. b. Proteins for exocytosis will travel to the plasma membrane in an autophagosome. c. Proteins carrying a mannose-6-phosphate tag are packaged into secretory vesicles. d. Only a few specialized cells in animals will use the constitutive secretory pathway. e. All of the above are true. f. None of the above are true. 32. During photosynthesis in chloroplasts, what are the reactants? a. carbohydrates and O2 b. CO2 and H2O c. NADH and ATP d. H2O and carbohydrates e. CO2 and O2 33. In Figure E. what process(es) is(are) likely to be happening in the membranes that the black lines are pointing to? a. chemiosmosis b. electron transfer c. ATP synthesis d. resonance energy transfer e. all of the above f. b and c only 34. During photosynthesis, which of the following pumps H+ across a membrane? a. cytochrome b6-f complex b. water-splitting enzyme c. plastoquinone d. plastocyanin e. ferredoxin-NADP reductase 35. During carbon fixation in chloroplasts, what is the immediate acceptor for CO2? a. sucrose b. glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate c. ribulose 1,5-bisphosphate d. 3-phosphoglycerate e. NADPH 7

Bio 2021 Midterm, Sample Questions, 2010

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