Sample Exam Questions - Exam 1

 These sample questions are only multiple choice. There will also be T/F, fill-in-the-blank, genetics problems, and a meiosis problem on the exam. However, I have found that students seem to find the multiple choice the most challenging, so here are some to try. Please don't look at the answers until you have tried the questions! Your textbook has genetics problems at the end of Chapter 14 - try #1, 4, 6, 8, 15, and 17. At the end of Chapter 15, try #1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 10. (The answers are in the appendix. The answers to the Chapter 15 questions are not in correct numerical order... I will post the correct order in the answers)

 1. Which of these organisms are not multicellular?

A. Animals.

B. Plants.

C. Prokaryotes.

D. Fungi

E. All of the above are multicellular organisms.

 2. If there are 20 centromeres in a cell, how many chromosomes are there?

A. Ten.

B. Twenty.

C. Forty.

D. You can’t tell without knowing where the cell is in the cell cycle.

3. In the cell cycle, chromosomes become condensed and visible under the light microscope during:

A. G1 phase.

B. S phase.

C. G2 phase.

D. mitotic (M) phase.

E. None of the above. Chromosomes are visible throughout the cell cycle.

 4. What cellular process leads to independent assortment?

A. The random arrangement of homologous pairs in Metaphase I.

B. The segregation of alleles in Anaphase I.

C. The separation of chromatids in Anaphase II.

D. The random arrangement of homologous pairs in Metaphase II.

 5. A sexually reproducing animal has two unlinked genes, one for head shape and one for tail length. Its genotype is HhTt. . Assuming that meiosis occurs normally, which of the following gametes would it be possible for this organism to produce?

A. HT

B. Tt

C. HhTt

D. Hh

E. T

 6. Sickle-cell anemia is the result of a single recessive allele in the homozygous state (ss), yet this disease has a complex set of symptoms that affect many parts of the body. Which genetic term is most applicable to these multiple phenotypic effects?

A. Pleiotropy.

B. Penetrance.

C. Epistasis.

D. Incomplete dominance.

E. Polygenic inheritance.

 7. Which of the following terms describes a cross between an individual of unknown genotype and a homozygous recessive individual?

A. A self-cross.

B. A testcross.

C. A dihybrid cross.

D. A reciprocal cross.

E. A monohybrid cross.

8. In Drosophila, miniature wings are caused by a recessive allele at a gene that is on the X chromosome. A female fly with miniature wings is crossed to a male fly with wildtype wings. Her male offspring will:

A. all have miniature wings.

B. show a phenotypic ratio of 50% wildtype wings, 50% miniature wings.

C. all have wildtype wings.

D. show a phenotypic ration of 75% wildtype wings, 25% miniature wings.

 9. Genes A and B are completely linked on a chromosome so that no crossing over occurs between them. If an AaBb individual who produces only Ab and aB gametes is crossed to an individual with the genotype aabb, which of the following genotypes will you see in their offspring?

A. AaBb and aabb.

B. Aabb and aaBb.

C. Only aabb.

D. Aabb, aaBb and aabb.

 10. During meiosis, sister chromatids separate in:

A. Anaphase I.

B. Anaphase II.

C. Anaphase I and II.

D. None of the above. Sister chromatids never separate.

11. In snapdragons, heterozygotes have pink flowers, while red and white flowered individuals both are homozygotes. When plants with red flowers are crossed to plants with white flowers, what proportion of the offspring will have pink flowers?

A. 0 %

B. 25 %

C. 50 %

D. 75 %

E. 100 %

12. A man with type "B" blood marries a woman with type "B" blood. Which of the following blood types would you expect to see in their children?

A. Type O would be possible.

B. Type B would be possible.

C. Type A would be possible.

D. Type AB would be possible.

E. Answers A and B both are correct.

Use the information below to answer the next two questions:

The recessive mutations b (black body) and vg (vestigial wings) identify two autosomal genes on the second chromosome of Drosophila melanogaster. When females heterozygous for these genes were crossed with black bodied, vestigial winged males, the following classes and numbers of progeny (out of 1000) were obtained:

wildtype body, wildtype wings 90

black body, wildtype wings 410

wildtype body, vestigial wings 420

black body, vestigial wings 80

13. The map distance between the b and vg genes is estimated to be

A. 8.5 map units

B. 17 map units

C. 41.5 map units

D. 83 map units

E. greater than 50 units because all four classes of offspring were observed

 14. Which homozygous parent stocks could be used to produce the heterozygous females for the above cross?

A. wildtype body, wildtype wings X black body, vestigial wings

B. black body, wildtype wings X wildtype body, vestigial wings

C. wildtype body, wildtype wings X wildtype body, wildtype wings

D. black body, vestigial wings X black body, vestigial wings

E. It is not possible to tell without information from the reciprocal crosses.

15. In the semiconservative model of DNA replication, each new DNA molecule consists of ____ strand(s) of DNA, _____________________.

A. two; both from the original DNA molecule

B. one; newly synthesized

C. two; one from the original DNA molecule and one newly synthesized

D. two; each composed of pieces of both the old and newly synthesized molecules

E. two; both are newly synthesized

16. The major purpose of RNA in the cell is to:

A. transmit genetic information to offspring.

B. function in the synthesis of proteins.

C. make a copy of itself, thus insuring genetic continuity.

D. act as template for DNA synthesis.

17. Aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases are important in protein synthesis because they catalyze:

A. synthesis of mRNA.

B. the formation of peptide bonds.

C. control of transcription of tRNA genes.

D. the excision of exons from RNA transcripts.

E. the charging of tRNAs with amino acids.

18. Given this DNA template strand, what would be the sequence of nucleotides in the newly synthesized DNA strand?

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