General Science Practice Questions 1

Chromosomes align along the cell’s equatorial plane (metaphase plate) as spindle fibers attach from opposite poles. In prophase they condense, in anaphase sister chromatids separate, and in telophase nuclei reform.

Lysosomes contain hydrolytic enzymes that digest worn-out organelles, macromolecules, and pathogens. Golgi modifies/packages, ribosomes synthesize protein, and the nucleus houses DNA.

Tissue repair uses mitosis—somatic cell division producing genetically identical cells. Meiosis makes gametes, and differentiation changes cell type, not total cell number.

Prostaglandins can dilate or constrict vessels depending on subtype/tissue. They’re produced in many tissues and help mediate inflammation, pain, and fever.

LDL stands for “low-density lipoprotein,” which transports cholesterol from the liver to peripheral tissues. Elevated LDL levels are associated with an increased risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

Arteriosclerosis is the general term for hardening and loss of elasticity of arterial walls. Venous stenosis affects veins, micro-circulation is a vessel network description, and hypertension is high blood pressure rather than arterial hardening.

The top number is systolic arterial pressure during ventricular contraction. The bottom number is diastolic, measured during cardiac relaxation.

Pulmonary surfactant, secreted by type II alveolar cells, reduces surface tension within the alveoli. Lower surface tension prevents alveolar collapse, making inflation easier during inhalation and improving gas exchange.

The classic renal processes are filtration, reabsorption, and secretion. Filtration occurs at the glomerulus. Many solutes and water are then reabsorbed back into the blood, and additional wastes can be secreted into the tubule. The term transport is too general and is not listed as one of the primary renal processes.

The nephron is the functional unit of the kidney. Each nephron includes a renal corpuscle (with the glomerulus) and a tubular system. Together, these structures filter blood, adjust solute and water content, and ultimately produce urine.

The esophagus is the muscular tube that connects the pharynx to the stomach and moves food by peristalsis. It is part of the digestive tract between the throat and the stomach. The trachea is part of the respiratory system, the spinal column is skeletal, and the hepatic duct carries bile, not food.

The lock and key model states that an enzyme’s active site is complementary in shape to its substrate, explaining why enzymes act on specific substrates. This specificity underlies efficient catalysis.

Enzymes function as catalysts. They lower activation energy and are not consumed by the reactions they catalyze, so they can be reused. Most enzymes are proteins, and each has an optimal pH range that supports maximum activity.

Therefore, the statement that enzymes are destroyed during chemical reactions is the one that is not true.

Acids turn blue litmus red and bases turn red litmus blue, so blue litmus remains blue in a base.

The ideal gas law is \(PV=nRT\).

Gases have mass, occupy volume, and exert pressure. Particles are what a gas consists of, not a macroscopic property.

Volatile liquids have high vapor pressures and evaporate readily. Viscosity is resistance to flow, not rate of evaporation.

Boyle’s and Charles’s laws concern gases, not buoyancy, and Anderson’s theorem isn’t about classical fluids.

Overtones are frequencies above the fundamental in a complex tone. A fundamental is the lowest frequency, and consonance/dissonance describe perceived harmony, not frequency range.

Michelson won the 1907 Nobel Prize in Physics for precision optical instruments and measurements. Einstein (1921) wasn’t the first, and Young and Grimaldi were European and pre-Nobel.