TEST BANK
ESSENTIAL CELL BIOLOGY
6TH EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 1. CELLS: THE FUNDAMENTAL UNITS OF LIFE
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Living systems are incredibly diverse in size, shape, environment, and behavior. It is
estimated that there are between 10 million and 100 million different species. Despite this
wide variety of organisms, it remains difficult to define what it means to say something is
alive. Which of the following can be described as the smallest living unit?
a. DNA
b. cell
c. organelle
d. protein
ANS: b
2. The central dogma provides a framework for thinking about how genetic information is
copied and used to produce structural and catalytic components of the cell. From the
choices below, select the order of components and biochemical processes that best
correlates with the tenets of the central dogma.
a. DNA [transcription] RNA [translation] protein
b. protein [translation] RNA [transcription] DNA
c. DNA [translation] RNA [transcription] protein
d. RNA [transcription] protein [translation] DNA
ANS: a
3. Proteins are important architectural and catalytic components within the cell, helping to
determine its chemistry, shape, and ability to respond to changes in the environment.
Remarkably, all the different proteins in a cell are made from the same 20 __________.
By linking them in different sequences, the cell can make protein molecules with different
, conformations and surface chemistries, and therefore different functions.
a. nucleotides
b. sugars
c. amino acids
d. fatty acids
ANS: c
4. Which statement is FALSE about mutations?
a. A mutation is a change in the DNA that can generate offspring less fit for survival
than their parents.
b. A mutation can be a result of imperfect DNA replication.
c. A mutation is a result of sexual reproduction.
d. A mutation is a change in the DNA that can generate offspring that are as fit for
survival as their parents are.
ANS: c
5. Changes in DNA sequences from one generation to the next may result in offspring that
are altered in fitness compared with their parents. The process of change and selection
over the course of many generations is the basis of
a. mutation.
b. evolution.
c. heredity.
d. reproduction.
ANS: b
6. Select the option that best finishes the following statement: Evolution is a process
a. that can be understood based on the principles of mutation and selection.
b. that results from repeated cycles of adaptation over billions of years.
c. by which all present-day cells arose from four to five different ancestral cells.
d. that requires hundreds of thousands of years.
, ANS: a
7. A cell’s genome
a. is defined as all the genes being used to make protein.
b. contains all of a cell’s DNA.
c. constantly changes, depending upon the cell’s environment.
d. is altered during embryonic development.
ANS: b
8. Which statement is FALSE about the events/conclusions from studies during the mid-
1800s surrounding the discovery of cells?
a. Cells came to be known as the smallest universal building block of living
organisms.
b. Scientists concluded that new cells can form spontaneously from the remnants of
ruptured cells.
c. Light microscopy was essential in demonstrating the commonalities between plant
and animal tissues.
d. New cells arise from the growth and division of previously existing cells.
ANS: b
9. What unit of length would you generally use to measure a typical plant or animal cell?
a. centimeters
b. nanometers
c. millimeters
d. micrometers
ANS: d
10. Cell biologists employ targeted fluorescent dyes or modified fluorescent proteins in both
standard fluorescence microscopy and confocal microscopy to observe specific details in
the cell. Even though fluorescence permits better visualization, the resolving power is
essentially the same as that of a standard light microscope because the resolving power of
, a fluorescent microscope is limited by the __________ of visible light.
a. absorption
b. intensity
c. filtering
d. wavelength
ANS: d
11. What is the smallest distance two points can be separated and still resolved using light
microscopy?
a. 20 nm
b. 0.2 μm
c. 2 μm
d. 200 μm
ANS: b
12. Which of the following reagents should you recommend to your colleague if she is
attempting to add contrast to a specimen that she intends to prepare for transmission
electron microscopy?
a. fluorescein
b. formaldehyde
c. osmium tetroxide
d. methylene blue
ANS: c
13. Prokaryotic cells do not possess
a. a nucleus.
b. replication machinery.
c. ribosomes.
d. membrane bilayers.
ANS: a
ESSENTIAL CELL BIOLOGY
6TH EDITION
CHAPTER NO. 1. CELLS: THE FUNDAMENTAL UNITS OF LIFE
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Living systems are incredibly diverse in size, shape, environment, and behavior. It is
estimated that there are between 10 million and 100 million different species. Despite this
wide variety of organisms, it remains difficult to define what it means to say something is
alive. Which of the following can be described as the smallest living unit?
a. DNA
b. cell
c. organelle
d. protein
ANS: b
2. The central dogma provides a framework for thinking about how genetic information is
copied and used to produce structural and catalytic components of the cell. From the
choices below, select the order of components and biochemical processes that best
correlates with the tenets of the central dogma.
a. DNA [transcription] RNA [translation] protein
b. protein [translation] RNA [transcription] DNA
c. DNA [translation] RNA [transcription] protein
d. RNA [transcription] protein [translation] DNA
ANS: a
3. Proteins are important architectural and catalytic components within the cell, helping to
determine its chemistry, shape, and ability to respond to changes in the environment.
Remarkably, all the different proteins in a cell are made from the same 20 __________.
By linking them in different sequences, the cell can make protein molecules with different
, conformations and surface chemistries, and therefore different functions.
a. nucleotides
b. sugars
c. amino acids
d. fatty acids
ANS: c
4. Which statement is FALSE about mutations?
a. A mutation is a change in the DNA that can generate offspring less fit for survival
than their parents.
b. A mutation can be a result of imperfect DNA replication.
c. A mutation is a result of sexual reproduction.
d. A mutation is a change in the DNA that can generate offspring that are as fit for
survival as their parents are.
ANS: c
5. Changes in DNA sequences from one generation to the next may result in offspring that
are altered in fitness compared with their parents. The process of change and selection
over the course of many generations is the basis of
a. mutation.
b. evolution.
c. heredity.
d. reproduction.
ANS: b
6. Select the option that best finishes the following statement: Evolution is a process
a. that can be understood based on the principles of mutation and selection.
b. that results from repeated cycles of adaptation over billions of years.
c. by which all present-day cells arose from four to five different ancestral cells.
d. that requires hundreds of thousands of years.
, ANS: a
7. A cell’s genome
a. is defined as all the genes being used to make protein.
b. contains all of a cell’s DNA.
c. constantly changes, depending upon the cell’s environment.
d. is altered during embryonic development.
ANS: b
8. Which statement is FALSE about the events/conclusions from studies during the mid-
1800s surrounding the discovery of cells?
a. Cells came to be known as the smallest universal building block of living
organisms.
b. Scientists concluded that new cells can form spontaneously from the remnants of
ruptured cells.
c. Light microscopy was essential in demonstrating the commonalities between plant
and animal tissues.
d. New cells arise from the growth and division of previously existing cells.
ANS: b
9. What unit of length would you generally use to measure a typical plant or animal cell?
a. centimeters
b. nanometers
c. millimeters
d. micrometers
ANS: d
10. Cell biologists employ targeted fluorescent dyes or modified fluorescent proteins in both
standard fluorescence microscopy and confocal microscopy to observe specific details in
the cell. Even though fluorescence permits better visualization, the resolving power is
essentially the same as that of a standard light microscope because the resolving power of
, a fluorescent microscope is limited by the __________ of visible light.
a. absorption
b. intensity
c. filtering
d. wavelength
ANS: d
11. What is the smallest distance two points can be separated and still resolved using light
microscopy?
a. 20 nm
b. 0.2 μm
c. 2 μm
d. 200 μm
ANS: b
12. Which of the following reagents should you recommend to your colleague if she is
attempting to add contrast to a specimen that she intends to prepare for transmission
electron microscopy?
a. fluorescein
b. formaldehyde
c. osmium tetroxide
d. methylene blue
ANS: c
13. Prokaryotic cells do not possess
a. a nucleus.
b. replication machinery.
c. ribosomes.
d. membrane bilayers.
ANS: a
