Essential Cell Biology, 6th Edition — Chapter 01
Name: ____________________ Class: ____________________ Date: __________
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: c
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, 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.
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: d
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, 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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: c
13. Prokaryotic cells do not possess
a. a nucleus.
b. replication machinery.
c. ribosomes.
d. membrane bilayers.
ANSWER: a
14. Which three characteristics best support the rapid evolution of prokaryotic populations?
a. microscopic, motile, anaerobic
b. aerobic, motile, rapid growth
c. no organelles, cell wall, can exchange DNA
d. large population, rapid growth, can exchange DNA
ANSWER: d
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, 15. The world of prokaryotes is divided into two domains (bacteria and archaea), each as different from the other as
from eukaryotes. Select the observable characteristic that best distinguishes archaea from bacteria.
a. can metabolize inorganic substances
b. are found in extremely harsh environments
c. thrive in anaerobic conditions
d. are photosynthetic organisms
ANSWER: b
16. After 12 years of painstaking work, researchers managed to grow in a laboratory bioreactor an archaeon species that
belongs to the lineage of archaea with the most eukaryotic-like genes. Which of the following characteristics of this
organism is most relevant to our understanding of the evolution of eukaryotes?
a. cellular protrusions extending from the cell body
b. native to hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor
c. required methane gas for growth in bioreactor
d. originally identified off the coast of Greenland
ANSWER: a
17. The __________ is made up of two concentric membranes and is continuous with the membrane of the endoplasmic
reticulum.
a. plasma membrane
b. Golgi network
c. mitochondrial membrane
d. nuclear envelope
ANSWER: d
18. The nucleus, an organelle found in eukaryotic cells, confines the __________, keeping them separated from other
components of the cell.
a. lysosomes
b. chromosomes
c. peroxisomes
d. ribosomes
ANSWER: b
19. Which of the following organelles has both an outer and an inner membrane?
a. endoplasmic reticulum
b. mitochondrion
c. lysosome
d. peroxisome
ANSWER: b
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Name: ____________________ Class: ____________________ Date: __________
Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: c
Copyright © 2023 Page 1
, 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.
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: 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.
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: d
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, 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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: 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
ANSWER: c
13. Prokaryotic cells do not possess
a. a nucleus.
b. replication machinery.
c. ribosomes.
d. membrane bilayers.
ANSWER: a
14. Which three characteristics best support the rapid evolution of prokaryotic populations?
a. microscopic, motile, anaerobic
b. aerobic, motile, rapid growth
c. no organelles, cell wall, can exchange DNA
d. large population, rapid growth, can exchange DNA
ANSWER: d
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, 15. The world of prokaryotes is divided into two domains (bacteria and archaea), each as different from the other as
from eukaryotes. Select the observable characteristic that best distinguishes archaea from bacteria.
a. can metabolize inorganic substances
b. are found in extremely harsh environments
c. thrive in anaerobic conditions
d. are photosynthetic organisms
ANSWER: b
16. After 12 years of painstaking work, researchers managed to grow in a laboratory bioreactor an archaeon species that
belongs to the lineage of archaea with the most eukaryotic-like genes. Which of the following characteristics of this
organism is most relevant to our understanding of the evolution of eukaryotes?
a. cellular protrusions extending from the cell body
b. native to hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor
c. required methane gas for growth in bioreactor
d. originally identified off the coast of Greenland
ANSWER: a
17. The __________ is made up of two concentric membranes and is continuous with the membrane of the endoplasmic
reticulum.
a. plasma membrane
b. Golgi network
c. mitochondrial membrane
d. nuclear envelope
ANSWER: d
18. The nucleus, an organelle found in eukaryotic cells, confines the __________, keeping them separated from other
components of the cell.
a. lysosomes
b. chromosomes
c. peroxisomes
d. ribosomes
ANSWER: b
19. Which of the following organelles has both an outer and an inner membrane?
a. endoplasmic reticulum
b. mitochondrion
c. lysosome
d. peroxisome
ANSWER: b
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