MMSC 490 Final Exam Questions with Correct Answers Latest Update 2025/2026
Which energy-producing process is thought to have come first during cellular evolution? -
Answers Glycolysis
The initial importance of a membrane enclosing self-replicating RNA molecules and associated
proteins was that it - Answers maintained these molecules as a unit capable of reproduction
and evolution.
Mitochondria and chloroplasts resemble bacteria in that they - Answers have their own DNA,
have their own ribosomes, reproduce by simple division into two.
Which of the following is a colonial organism closely related to the evolutionary precursors of
present-day plants? - Answers Volvox
The simplicity and clarity of Caenorhabditis elegans allowed researchers to - Answers trace the
developmental lineages of all cells in the adult.
Studies on which model experimental organism led to the initial discovery of important
mechanisms controlling the development of the animal body plan? - Answers Drosophila
melanogaster
Which of the following is not a unicellular eukaryote? - Answers Archaebacteria
The growth factor that stimulates fibroblasts to divide around a wound is released by - Answers
platelets.
In polysaccharides, sugars are linked together by means of .......... bonds - Answers glycosidic
Which of the following is not a basic amino acid? - Answers Glutamine
In the primary structure of a protein, amino acids are joined together by .......... bonds. - Answers
peptide
What is the major carbohydrate-storage molecule in plants? - Answers Starch
Cholesterol affects the fluidity of membranes by - Answers decreasing membrane fluidity at
high temperatures and increasing membrane fluidity at low temperatures
Cholesterol, a membrane lipid in animals, has a chemical structure similar to - Answers estradiol.
Our fundamental knowledge about mutation, genetic linkage, and the relationships between
genes and chromosomes was acquired largely from experiments on the - Answers fruit fly
Drosophila.
Which of the following would be used to express a human protein in E. coli? - Answers An
expression plasmid containing cDNA made from the mRNA for the protein
,When introduced into living cells, antisense RNA molecules bind - Answers to complementary
mRNA sequences and block protein synthesis.
In RNA interference experiments, siRNAs homologous to known mRNAs inhibit expression of
the proteins by what mechanism? - Answers They form double-stranded RNA molecules that
get degraded in the cytoplasm.
Which of the following statements about introns is true? - Answers They are a part of a gene,
but they are absent from the corresponding mRNA
The extended length of all the DNA in one human cell is about 2: - Answers Meters
Introns constitute about what percentage of the average human genome - Answers 90
The transfer of information from parent to progeny that is not based on DNA sequence is known
as - Answers Epigenetic inheritance
Simple sequence repeats - Answers Sediment unique bands in equilibrium density gradient
centrifugation
Are present in tandem arrays of thousands of copies
Reassociate more rapidly than non repeated sequences
Even though its much smaller, the plant Arabidopsis thaliana has about ___ genes, similar to the
amount a human has - Answers 26000
If the human gene is found to contain 5 intons, the mature mRNA encoded by that gene would
have how many exons - Answers Between 1 and 6 exons
Introns can encode: - Answers Small nuclear RNA
miRNA
Sequences that control RNA processing
Telomeres are - Answers Chromosome end structures required for correct replication of linear
chromosomes
During mitosis, highly condensed chromosomes consists of two sister chromatids joined at the
- Answers Centromere
A chromatosome is a complex of eight core - Answers Histones, one histone H1 and 166 bp of
DNA
The chromosomes of prokaryotes different than those of eukaryotes in that prokaryotic
chromosomes are - Answers Circular
, During the processing of mrRNA, which of the following cleaved the 5' 3' tails away from the
hairpin structure in the primary miRNA - Answers Drosha
In the nucleus, introns are removed from transcripts by - Answers Splicing
The DNA of eukaryotic cells is wrapped around histones to from structures called - Answers
Nucleosome
During metaphase in actively dividing cells, DNA is found in which of the following - Answers
Chromosomes
The genomes of salamanders contain ten times more DNA than the genomes of humans
because salamanders - Answers Have more noncoding DNA then humans have
Heterchormtin consists of: - Answers Highly condensed, transcriptionally inactive chromatin
A gene can be defined as a segment of DNA that codes for - Answers A functional product
What is not found in the nucleosome core particle - Answers One molecule of H1
Euchromatin consists of - Answers Decondensed transcriptionally active chromatin
Kinetochores are the - Answers Sites of spindle attachment to the chromosomes
Introns in mRNA coding genes are transcribed sequences: - Answers Between protein-coding
sequences
A gene family is - Answers A set of related but slightly different genes in one individual
Pseudogenes are - Answers Nonfunctional gene copies
Results of cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation on genomic DNA often reveal
relatively small peaks of DNA that separate from the main genomic DNA peak and consiots of
1000s of shirt repetitive sequences referred to as - Answers Satellite DNA
The human genome consists of 20000-25000 genes but can produce up to 100000 gene
products. WHY? - Answers Alternative splicing
Nuclease digestion of chromatin occurs at sites separated by approximately 200 bp because -
Answers Nucleosomes are placed 200 bp apart
Synthesis of different proteins from the same genes is due to - Answers Alternative splicing
During what phase does the nuclear membrane reform - Answers Telophase
What is the term used to describe protein encoding regions found completely within an intron -
Answers Nested genes
Which energy-producing process is thought to have come first during cellular evolution? -
Answers Glycolysis
The initial importance of a membrane enclosing self-replicating RNA molecules and associated
proteins was that it - Answers maintained these molecules as a unit capable of reproduction
and evolution.
Mitochondria and chloroplasts resemble bacteria in that they - Answers have their own DNA,
have their own ribosomes, reproduce by simple division into two.
Which of the following is a colonial organism closely related to the evolutionary precursors of
present-day plants? - Answers Volvox
The simplicity and clarity of Caenorhabditis elegans allowed researchers to - Answers trace the
developmental lineages of all cells in the adult.
Studies on which model experimental organism led to the initial discovery of important
mechanisms controlling the development of the animal body plan? - Answers Drosophila
melanogaster
Which of the following is not a unicellular eukaryote? - Answers Archaebacteria
The growth factor that stimulates fibroblasts to divide around a wound is released by - Answers
platelets.
In polysaccharides, sugars are linked together by means of .......... bonds - Answers glycosidic
Which of the following is not a basic amino acid? - Answers Glutamine
In the primary structure of a protein, amino acids are joined together by .......... bonds. - Answers
peptide
What is the major carbohydrate-storage molecule in plants? - Answers Starch
Cholesterol affects the fluidity of membranes by - Answers decreasing membrane fluidity at
high temperatures and increasing membrane fluidity at low temperatures
Cholesterol, a membrane lipid in animals, has a chemical structure similar to - Answers estradiol.
Our fundamental knowledge about mutation, genetic linkage, and the relationships between
genes and chromosomes was acquired largely from experiments on the - Answers fruit fly
Drosophila.
Which of the following would be used to express a human protein in E. coli? - Answers An
expression plasmid containing cDNA made from the mRNA for the protein
,When introduced into living cells, antisense RNA molecules bind - Answers to complementary
mRNA sequences and block protein synthesis.
In RNA interference experiments, siRNAs homologous to known mRNAs inhibit expression of
the proteins by what mechanism? - Answers They form double-stranded RNA molecules that
get degraded in the cytoplasm.
Which of the following statements about introns is true? - Answers They are a part of a gene,
but they are absent from the corresponding mRNA
The extended length of all the DNA in one human cell is about 2: - Answers Meters
Introns constitute about what percentage of the average human genome - Answers 90
The transfer of information from parent to progeny that is not based on DNA sequence is known
as - Answers Epigenetic inheritance
Simple sequence repeats - Answers Sediment unique bands in equilibrium density gradient
centrifugation
Are present in tandem arrays of thousands of copies
Reassociate more rapidly than non repeated sequences
Even though its much smaller, the plant Arabidopsis thaliana has about ___ genes, similar to the
amount a human has - Answers 26000
If the human gene is found to contain 5 intons, the mature mRNA encoded by that gene would
have how many exons - Answers Between 1 and 6 exons
Introns can encode: - Answers Small nuclear RNA
miRNA
Sequences that control RNA processing
Telomeres are - Answers Chromosome end structures required for correct replication of linear
chromosomes
During mitosis, highly condensed chromosomes consists of two sister chromatids joined at the
- Answers Centromere
A chromatosome is a complex of eight core - Answers Histones, one histone H1 and 166 bp of
DNA
The chromosomes of prokaryotes different than those of eukaryotes in that prokaryotic
chromosomes are - Answers Circular
, During the processing of mrRNA, which of the following cleaved the 5' 3' tails away from the
hairpin structure in the primary miRNA - Answers Drosha
In the nucleus, introns are removed from transcripts by - Answers Splicing
The DNA of eukaryotic cells is wrapped around histones to from structures called - Answers
Nucleosome
During metaphase in actively dividing cells, DNA is found in which of the following - Answers
Chromosomes
The genomes of salamanders contain ten times more DNA than the genomes of humans
because salamanders - Answers Have more noncoding DNA then humans have
Heterchormtin consists of: - Answers Highly condensed, transcriptionally inactive chromatin
A gene can be defined as a segment of DNA that codes for - Answers A functional product
What is not found in the nucleosome core particle - Answers One molecule of H1
Euchromatin consists of - Answers Decondensed transcriptionally active chromatin
Kinetochores are the - Answers Sites of spindle attachment to the chromosomes
Introns in mRNA coding genes are transcribed sequences: - Answers Between protein-coding
sequences
A gene family is - Answers A set of related but slightly different genes in one individual
Pseudogenes are - Answers Nonfunctional gene copies
Results of cesium chloride density gradient centrifugation on genomic DNA often reveal
relatively small peaks of DNA that separate from the main genomic DNA peak and consiots of
1000s of shirt repetitive sequences referred to as - Answers Satellite DNA
The human genome consists of 20000-25000 genes but can produce up to 100000 gene
products. WHY? - Answers Alternative splicing
Nuclease digestion of chromatin occurs at sites separated by approximately 200 bp because -
Answers Nucleosomes are placed 200 bp apart
Synthesis of different proteins from the same genes is due to - Answers Alternative splicing
During what phase does the nuclear membrane reform - Answers Telophase
What is the term used to describe protein encoding regions found completely within an intron -
Answers Nested genes
