Science Bowl Practice Questions - Biology

What organelle functions to isolate a human cell's chromosomes from the cytoplasm?

nucleus

What is the primary oxygen-carrying protein found in red blood cells?

hemoglobin

How many permanent teeth does a normal adult human have?

32

How many canine teeth does a typical human adult have?

4

In the taxonomical name Homo sapiens, what taxonomical rank does sapiens represent?

species

Most of the heart is composed of which of the following types of tissues:

W) epithelial

X) connective

Y) nervous

Z) muscle

muscle

What is generally considered the basic unit of life?

the cell

In what organelle of a plant cell does photosynthesis occur?

chloroplast

What is the scientific name for the white of a cooked egg?

albumen

What term is generally used for biological catalysts?

enzymes

How many limbs are tetrapods typically considered to have?

4

Which of the following is the most common source of energy for brain cells in humans:

W) nucleic acids

X) proteins

Y) glucose

Z) pectins

glucose

What is the ultimate energy source for nearly all life on Earth?

the sun

What is the environmental factor most directly involved in phototropism?

light

What is the scientific name of the human windpipe?

trachea

The organ of Corti is directly involved in what human sense?

hearing

Which of the following is the closest synonym for motile:

W) having a motor

X) using energy

Y) able to move

Z) living in water

able to move

Which of the following terms is used by microbiologists for a bacterium with a rod shape:

W) tubular

X) bacillus

Y) trichome

Z) cylindrical

bacillus

What is the common name of the members of the Class Aves?

birds

Of the following groups of animals, which is invertebrate: amphibians; reptiles; gastropods?

gastropods

What is the abbreviation for the most common term for the biological polymer found in chromosomes that stores genetic information?

DNA

Inside what human cell organelle does replication of the chromosomal DNA in preparation for mitosis occur?

nucleus

What is the mass, in grams to the nearest whole number, of one cubic centimeter of pure water at standard temperature and pressure

1

Of the following 3 choices, which would a physicist not consider to be a simple machine: bicycle; lever; ramp?

bicycle

What specific structure is most directly responsible for the motility of bacteria?

flagella

If an animal has 42 chromosomes in its normal, non-gamete or somatic cells, what term would be given to the gametes that have 21 chromosomes:

W) somatic

X) unigentic

Y) haploid

Z) solitary

haploid

What is the most common term for the symbiotic relationship where one organism benefits and the other is harmed?

parasitism

What is the most common term for the type of symbiosis where one organism benefits and the other is neither significantly harmed nor helped by the interaction?

commensalism

What is the scientific term for the biting structures of spiders?

chelicerae

In what structure of a nucleated cell are ribosomes assembled into their subunits?

nucleolus

Which of the following is part of the nephron in the kidney:

W) islet cells

X) ureter

Y) amygdala

Z) glomerulus

glomerulus

The human body is most commonly described as having what type of symmetry?

bilateral

In which of the following places would meiosis most likely occur in a mammal:

W) skin

X) liver

Y) heart

Z) ovary

ovary

What are the most common names of the gametes produced by a human male and female, respectively?

sperm, hot

What anatomical structures in humans function by connecting muscles to bones?

tendons

What is the light-yellow fluid that makes up the fluid portion of normal circulating human blood?

plasma

Most biological catalysts are:

W) proteins

X) vitamins

Y) carbohydrates

Z) lipids

proteins

Which of the following best describes a bacteriophage:

W) a bacterial virus

X) a stage in the development of most bacteria

Y) the release of disease-causing bacteria from a host organism Z) a very small bacteria

a bacterial virus

Which of the following plants is sometimes called a fiddlehead when it is immature:

W) maple tree

X) tulip

Y) moss

Z) fern

fern

Of the following 4 groups of animals, which aren't reptiles: lizards; snakes; frogs; crocodiles?

frogs

How many pairs of walking legs do spiders have?

4

Of the following 4 organisms, which are bivalves: squid; clams; snails?

clams

Which of the following is NOT a structure found in human cells:

W) mitochondrion

X) cell wall

Y) lysosome

Z) peroxisome

cell wall

Which of the following is closest to the meaning of intercellular:

W) from within cells

X) between cells

Y) inside of cells

Z) underneath cells

between cells

What is the name of the blood vessels in vertebrate bodies where most of the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs?

capillaries

What specific part of the human brain is most responsible for regulating body temperature?

hypothalamus

Which of the following describes the shape of a bacterial pilus:

W) a solid sphere

X) a cuboidal shaped cell

Y) a thin tube

Z) a helical thick solid fiber

a thin tube

Of the following 4 groups of plants, which aren't legumes: peas; rice; soy beans; peanuts?

rice

Which of the following is the location of the human thymus gland:

W) upper chest

X) inguinal canal

Y) abdomen

Z) brain

upper chest

What is the most common globular protein in red blood cells?

hemoglobin

Which of the following is NOT found in prokaryotes:

W) DNA

X) RNA

Y) ribosomes

Z) golgi

golgi

Of the following 4 groups of organisms, which aren't insects: flies; beetles; crayfish; moths?

crayfish

Which of the following anatomical structures is missing in the hagfish:

W) heart

X) brain

Y) notocord

Z) jaw

jaw

Of the following 4 organisms, which are echinoderms: squid; snails; starfish; lobsters?

starfish

What is the most common term used for the biological process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into a form readily available for use in organisms?

nitrogen fixation

Which of the following groups of organisms is most commonly associated with the ability to fix nitrogen:

W) plants

X) animals

Y) plants and animals

Z) bacteria

bacteria

Which of the following is a lipid:

W) lipase

X) myoglobin

Y) trypsin

Z) corn oil

corn oil

Which of the following organisms contains the most chitin by percent of body weight:

W) leopard

X) ant

Y) squid

Z) whale

ant

What parts of a flower make up the corolla?

petals

How many chambers does the heart of a shark have?

2

Of the following 4 groups of organisms, in which doesn't mitosis occur: birds; reptiles; mollusks; bacteria?

bacteria

Which of the following anatomical structures do sharks NOT possess:

W) gill covers or opercula

X) lateral lines

Y) cartilaginous skeletons

Z) livers

gill covers or opercula

What scientist is sometimes considered the father of genetics because of his extensive studies on the patterns of inheritance?

Gregor Mendel

How many phalanges are in a human thumb?

2

Which of the following terms is most often used to describe a biochemical reaction where the forward reaction is at the same rate as the reverse reaction:

W) isothermic

X) isotropic

Y) equilibrium

Z) homeotropic

equilibrium

In which of the following areas of the human body is the frontal bone found:

W) pelvis

X) spine

Y) shoulder

Z) head

head

In which of the following areas of the human body is the ileum bone found:

W) pelvis

X) wrist

Y) shoulder

Z) head

pelvis

In what organelle do parenchymal cells store most of a plant's cellular fluid?

vacuole

Of the following 3 groups of plants, which have no xylem: mosses; ferns; conifers?

mosses

What glands of the human body are most responsible for producing what is sometimes called the stress hormone cortisol?

adrenals

Which of the following terms do biologists most often use to describe animals that do not move by their own design or effort:

W) saprophytic

X) instar

Y) motile

Z) sessile

sessile

What is the base nucleotide to which adenine binds on its opposing strand in DNA?

thymine

What anatomical structure in boney fish allows them to adjust their buoyancy and stay afloat without swimming?

swimbladder

What is the most common name for the fluid in a spider that serves a similar function to blood in vertebrates?

haemolymph

What organelle with attached ribosomes is most directly responsible for the translation of proteins destined to be transported out of the cell?

rough endoplasmic reticulum

What is the most common name of the plant pigments that give fruits and many plant parts their orange color?

carotenoids

Which of the following organisms has an archegonium:

W) moss

X) bird

Y) frog

Z) oak tree

moss

How many pairs of wings do beetles typically have?

2

How many cervical vertebrae are found in most mammals?

7

What is the most common name for the junctions across which nerve cells carry chemical messages from cell to cell?

synapse

What is the most common name of the part of a neuron that takes its name from the Greek word for tree, and functions to carry electrical messages from other nerve cells to the soma?

dendrite

In which of the following cells would myelin most likely be found:

W) oocyte

X) red blood cell

Y) neuron

Z) skin cell

neuron

Of the following 4 choices of eukaryotic sub-cellular structures, which do NOT have their own specific membrane: chloroplast; lysosome; centriole; golgi?

centriole

What is the most important function of fiber tracheids in woody plants:

W) energy storage

X) structural support

Y) sugary sap movement

Z) absorption of nutrients from the soil

structural support

Which of the following is the smallest object that a typical student compound light microscope is able to allow a person to see:

W) mRNA

X) ribosomes

Y) E.coli

Z) polio virus

E.coli

Adipose tissue stores mostly:

W) lipid

X) protein

Y) starch

Z) glycogen

lipid

Which of the following biological molecules make up the main part of the bilayer and hydrophobic region of the plasma cell membrane:

W) oligosaccharides

X) carbohydrates

Y) phospholipids

Z) proteins

phospholipids

Keratins are considered structural proteins. This is because they are most often arranged in which of the following shapes:

W) long thin fibers

X) spherical and smooth

Y) short and irregular

Z) small, irregular, and hydrophilic

long thin fibers

Cartilage belongs to which of the following animal tissues types:

W) epithelial

X) connective

Y) nervous

Z) muscle

connective

Of the following 3 chemicals, which are NOT amino acids: glycine; methionine; adenine?

adenine

How many chromosomes does a normal human gamete have?

23

Which of the following is most directly responsible for the exchange of genes during meiosis:

W) crossing over

X) kinetochores division

Y) cytokinesis

Z) alleles

crossing over

What base nucleotide is replaced by uracil in RNA?

thymine

What functional group of amino acids joins with amino to form a peptide bond in a protein?

carboxyl

Which of the following is the botanical term for the haploid generation in moss plants:

W) gametophyte

X) archegonia

Y) style

Z) ovule

gametophyte

What staining method is used to generally divide bacteria into two groups?

gram stain

Which of the following terms is MOST commonly used to refer to the copying of DNA during the cell cycle:

W) duplication

X) replication

Y) translation

Z) complementation

replication

What is the most common term for a random change in the nucleotide base sequence in DNA?

mutation

Which of the following is the most common long-term storage form of energy for vertebrate animals:

W) nucleic acids

X) proteins

Y) starch

Z) lipids

lipids

What is the name for the structures in plants that regulate air entering the plant through stems and leaves?

stomata