NURS 331 PHARMACOLOGY – EXAM 1 INTENSIVE
MCQ REVIEW (QUESTIONS 1–61)
1. Which statement best defines a drug?
A. Any substance that alters mood or perception
B. A chemical used only for disease treatment
C. A chemical that affects living processes with therapeutic application
D. A synthetic compound approved by the FDA
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A drug is defined broadly as any chemical capable of affecting living systems, with
pharmacology focusing on therapeutic use.
2. Pharmacology is best defined as the study of:
A. Drug manufacturing and marketing
B. Drugs and their interactions with living systems
C. Medication administration techniques
D. Drug regulations and approvals
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Pharmacology encompasses physical, chemical, biochemical, and physiologic drug
effects and interactions.
3. Clinical pharmacology focuses on:
A. Drug development in laboratories
B. Animal testing of medications
C. Drug effects and interactions in humans
D. Pharmacokinetic modeling only
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Clinical pharmacology studies how drugs interact with people, emphasizing safety
and effectiveness.
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4. Therapeutics primarily involves:
A. Studying adverse drug effects
B. Drug marketing strategies
C. Using drugs to diagnose, prevent, or treat disease
D. Evaluating placebo responses
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Therapeutics applies pharmacologic knowledge to patient care, including disease
prevention and pregnancy prevention.
5. Pharmacokinetics refers to:
A. What drugs do to the body
B. Drug receptor interactions
C. Processes determining drug concentration at the site of action
D. Genetic variability in drug response
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Pharmacokinetics describes absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion
(ADME).
6. Which are the four core pharmacokinetic processes?
A. Absorption, binding, metabolism, clearance
B. Absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion
C. Activation, binding, action, elimination
D. Delivery, storage, effect, removal
Correct Answer: B
7. Pharmacodynamics describes:
A. Drug movement through the body
B. Plasma drug concentrations
C. The biochemical and physiologic effects of drugs
D. Routes of drug administration
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Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Pharmacodynamics explains what drugs do to the body, including tolerance and
placebo effects.
8. Which property is MOST important for an ideal drug?
A. Low cost
B. Predictability
C. Effectiveness
D. Chemical stability
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A drug must produce the intended therapeutic effect to be clinically useful.
9. Drug safety means:
A. The drug has no side effects
B. The drug does not cause unacceptable harm at therapeutic doses
C. The drug is effective at low doses
D. The drug is non-toxic
Correct Answer: B
10. Selectivity refers to a drug’s ability to:
A. Be metabolized quickly
B. Elicit only the desired therapeutic response
C. Avoid hepatic metabolism
D. Eliminate drug interactions
Correct Answer: B
11. Why do most drugs fail to meet all “ideal drug” criteria?
A. FDA restrictions
B. Poor drug design