Question Type: Multiple Choice
1) Which of the following requirements must be met by a substance in order to be considered
hereditary material?
1. The material must be able to replicate or be replicated
2. The material must encode information regarding the structure and function of the organism.
3. The material must be able to change over time.
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 1 and 2 only
e) All of these
Answer: e
Section: 1.1 An Invitation
Difficulty: Easy
2) In 1953 the structure of _____ was determined, as well as its role as the hereditary material for
various organisms.
a) Amino acids
b) DNA
c) Protein
d) Carbohydrates
e) Lipids
Answer: b
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
3) Which of the following persons contributed greatly to the understanding of the field of modern
genetics?
a) Gregor Mendel
b) James Watson
c) Francis Crick
d) B and C only
e) All of these
Answer: e
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
Page 1
,4) Which of the following is considered a milestone in the field of genetics?
a) The Human Genome Project
b) The discovery of the rules of inheritance
c) The discovery of the structure of DNA
d) All of these
e) None of these
Answer: d
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
5) The heritable factors that Mendel studied are now known as:
a) Nucleic acids
b) Amino acids
c) Genes
d) Unit factors
e) Peptides
Answer: c
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
6) How did Mendel discover the rules of inheritance?
a) He interbred plants that showed different traits
b) He interbred animals that showed similar traits
c) He crossbred protists that showed different traits
d) All of these
e) None of these
Answer: a
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
7) Different forms of the same gene are known as:
a) Peptides
b) Amino acids
c) Proteins
d) Alleles
e) Gene differences
Anwer: d
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
,8) Mendel proposed that each individual organism (i.e. pea plants) carried how many alleles, or
copies of a gene?
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 4
e) 5
Answer: b
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
9) Which of the following is not a principle of inheritance discovered by Mendel’s garden pea
experiments?
1. Each individual organism carries 2 copies of a gene in its normal state
2. Each individual organism randomly passes down one copy of each gene in its gametes (egg or
sperm cell)
3. Each gene is inherited independently of the others and is a discrete entity
a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 2 and 3 only
e) All of these
Answer: e
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Medium
10) The building blocks of genes are:
a) Proteins
b) Amino acids
c) Nucleic acids
d) Lipids
e) Carbohydrates
Answer: c
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
11) Nucleic acids are composed of a series of:
a) Amino acids
b) Nucleotides
c) Nucleic chromosomes
d) Peptide chains
e) Sugars
Answer: b
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
, 12) Nucleotides are composed of which of the following?
a) Pentose sugar, phosphate molecule, and a nitrogenous base
b) Pentose sugar, nucleic acid, and a nitrogenous base
c) Hexane molecule, muramic acid, and a phosphorylated base
d) Amino acid, phosphate molecule, and a nitrogenous base
e) DNA, RNA, and amino acid chain
Answer: a
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
13) Which of the following is the sugar found in RNA?
a) Deoxyribose
b) Ribose
c) Sucrose
d) Fructose
e) Glucose
Answer: b
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
14) Which of the following is not a nitrogenous base found in DNA?
a) Cytosine
b) Adenine
c) Guanine
d) Uracil
e) Thymine
Answer: d
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy
15) Which of the following individuals are credited with the discovery of the structure of DNA?
a) James Watson and Arthur Kornberg
b) Francis Crick and Arthur Kornberg
c) Paul Erlich and James Watson
d) James Watson and Francis Crick
e) Francis Crick and Paul Erlich
Answer: d
Section: 1.2 Three Great Milestones in Genetics
Difficulty: Easy