D441 Pharmacology - Week 1 Practice Quiz 2026 |WGU
1. Which term describes the study of what the body does to a drug?
A. Pharmacodynamics
B. Pharmacotherapeutics
C. Pharmacokinetics
D. Pharmacognosy
Answer: C
Rationale: Pharmacokinetics is the study of drug movement through the body, including
absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME).
2. A drug’s half-life is 4 hours. If a patient takes 200 mg of the drug, how much
will remain in the body after 12 hours?
A. 100 mg
B. 25 mg
C. 50 mg
D. 12.5 mg
Answer: B
Rationale: After 4 hours (1 half-life), 100 mg remains; after 8 hours (2 half-lives), 50 mg
remains; after 12 hours (3 half-lives), 25 mg remains.
,3. Which physiological factor in elderly patients most significantly affects drug
metabolism?
A. Reduced liver enzyme activity
B. Decreased renal blood flow
C. Increased gastric pH
D. Increased body fat percentage
Answer: A
Rationale: Metabolism primarily occurs in the liver; reduced liver mass and blood flow in
the elderly lead to decreased enzyme activity.
4. What is the primary site of drug excretion?
A. Liver
B. Lungs
C. Small Intestine
D. Kidneys
Answer: D
Rationale: While drugs can be excreted through various routes, the kidneys are the
primary organ responsible for eliminating drug metabolites.
5. A drug that binds to a receptor and produces a maximal biological response is
called a(n):
A. Antagonist
B. Partial agonist
C. Agonist
D. Inverse agonist
Answer: C
Rationale: Agonists are drugs that mimic the body’s own regulatory molecules and
activate receptors to produce a response.
, 6. Which route of administration is subject to the ‘first-pass effect’?
A. Intravenous
B. Sublingual
C. Transdermal
D. Oral
Answer: D
Rationale: Orally administered drugs are absorbed from the GI tract into the portal
circulation and metabolized by the liver before reaching systemic circulation.
7. Which Controlled Substance Schedule includes drugs with a high potential for
abuse but have an accepted medical use?
A. Schedule I
B. Schedule II
C. Schedule III
D. Schedule IV
Answer: B
Rationale: Schedule II drugs have high abuse potential (e.g., morphine, oxycodone) but are
legally prescribed for medical purposes.
8. A patient with low serum albumin levels is at risk for which drug-related
complication?
A. Delayed drug excretion
B. Reduced drug absorption
C. Drug toxicity
D. First-pass metabolism
Answer: C
Rationale: Albumin is a major binding protein. Low levels mean more ‘free’ drug is
available in the blood, increasing the risk of toxicity.
1. Which term describes the study of what the body does to a drug?
A. Pharmacodynamics
B. Pharmacotherapeutics
C. Pharmacokinetics
D. Pharmacognosy
Answer: C
Rationale: Pharmacokinetics is the study of drug movement through the body, including
absorption, distribution, metabolism, and excretion (ADME).
2. A drug’s half-life is 4 hours. If a patient takes 200 mg of the drug, how much
will remain in the body after 12 hours?
A. 100 mg
B. 25 mg
C. 50 mg
D. 12.5 mg
Answer: B
Rationale: After 4 hours (1 half-life), 100 mg remains; after 8 hours (2 half-lives), 50 mg
remains; after 12 hours (3 half-lives), 25 mg remains.
,3. Which physiological factor in elderly patients most significantly affects drug
metabolism?
A. Reduced liver enzyme activity
B. Decreased renal blood flow
C. Increased gastric pH
D. Increased body fat percentage
Answer: A
Rationale: Metabolism primarily occurs in the liver; reduced liver mass and blood flow in
the elderly lead to decreased enzyme activity.
4. What is the primary site of drug excretion?
A. Liver
B. Lungs
C. Small Intestine
D. Kidneys
Answer: D
Rationale: While drugs can be excreted through various routes, the kidneys are the
primary organ responsible for eliminating drug metabolites.
5. A drug that binds to a receptor and produces a maximal biological response is
called a(n):
A. Antagonist
B. Partial agonist
C. Agonist
D. Inverse agonist
Answer: C
Rationale: Agonists are drugs that mimic the body’s own regulatory molecules and
activate receptors to produce a response.
, 6. Which route of administration is subject to the ‘first-pass effect’?
A. Intravenous
B. Sublingual
C. Transdermal
D. Oral
Answer: D
Rationale: Orally administered drugs are absorbed from the GI tract into the portal
circulation and metabolized by the liver before reaching systemic circulation.
7. Which Controlled Substance Schedule includes drugs with a high potential for
abuse but have an accepted medical use?
A. Schedule I
B. Schedule II
C. Schedule III
D. Schedule IV
Answer: B
Rationale: Schedule II drugs have high abuse potential (e.g., morphine, oxycodone) but are
legally prescribed for medical purposes.
8. A patient with low serum albumin levels is at risk for which drug-related
complication?
A. Delayed drug excretion
B. Reduced drug absorption
C. Drug toxicity
D. First-pass metabolism
Answer: C
Rationale: Albumin is a major binding protein. Low levels mean more ‘free’ drug is
available in the blood, increasing the risk of toxicity.
