Final Practice Exam

True or false: the optic nerve is a mixed nerve, carrying both sensory and motor axons.

True or false.

• True
• False

In an illustrative simulation, a muscle fiber runs out of ATP partway through a contraction while its myosin heads are attached to actin. What happens to the heads?

Select one.

• They stay locked on, since ATP binding is what frees a head
• They let go at once, since no power stroke can hold them
• They keep cycling, since Ca²⁺ alone powers each stroke
• They detach, since tropomyosin slides back over actin

A neuron rests at −70 mV, and during an action potential it peaks at +30 mV. How large is the swing from rest to the peak?

Select one.

• 40 mV
• −100 mV
• 70 mV
• 100 mV

Select each of the three regions that together make up the brainstem, the part of the brain that regulates heart and breathing.

Select every option that applies.

• The pons
• The hypothalamus
• The medulla oblongata
• The midbrain
• The occipital lobe

A figure shows the right forearm in the anatomical position, with the palm facing forward. Which forearm bone lies on the side nearer the body's midline?

Select one.

• The radius, because the thumb points toward the midline
• The ulna, because the radius holds the lateral, thumb side
• The humerus, because it is the bone nearest the trunk
• The tibia, because it is the medial bone of a limb

The fluid inside a synovial joint's cavity lubricates the bone ends and feeds their cartilage. Which part of the joint produces that fluid?

Select one.

• The fibrous connective tissue of the articular capsule
• The synovial membrane that lines the capsule
• The articular cartilage covering each bone end
• The ligaments that hold the bones together

True or false: as a sarcomere shortens, its Z discs move closer together while the A band keeps its width.

True or false.

• True
• False

In an illustrative toe-tap fatigue series, five 15-second trials gave 42, 38, 33, 30, and 27 taps. What is the average number of taps per trial?

Select one.

• 34.5 taps per trial
• 33 taps per trial
• 15 taps per trial
• 34 taps per trial

Which of these are jobs of the skeletal system? Select all that apply.

Select every option that applies.

• Sensing touch at the body surface
• Storing and releasing calcium and phosphorus
• Supporting the body
• Making melanin as a UV shield
• Making movement possible

True or false: an adult's bone keeps remodeling for life, with osteoclasts removing bone and osteoblasts building it in response to mechanical stress.

True or false.

• True
• False

True or false: a muscle converts pyruvate to lactic acid mainly during a slow, steady walk, when easy breathing supplies all the oxygen the fibers need.

True or false.

• True
• False

A scan slice separates the body into an anterior portion and a posterior portion. Which plane made that cut?

Select one.

• The transverse (horizontal) plane
• The midsagittal plane
• The frontal (coronal) plane
• The sagittal plane

True or false: the lens does all of the eye's focusing, and the cornea only lets the light in.

True or false.

• True
• False

The thick skin of the palms and soles carries an extra epidermal layer that thin skin lacks. Which layer is it, and where does it sit?

Select one.

• Stratum basale, a second copy below the first
• Stratum spinosum, on top of the corneum
• The reticular layer, lent by the dermis
• Stratum lucidum, between granulosum and corneum

In a kitchen demonstration, one atom passes an electron to a neighbor, and the two charged particles that result hold together. Which bond type is this?

Select one.

• Ionic bond
• Nonpolar covalent bond
• Hydrogen bond
• Polar covalent bond

Under a microscope, a band of brain tissue turns out to be packed with myelinated axons. What is this tissue called, and what is its role?

Select one.

• Gray matter, the wiring that links regions
• White matter, the wiring that links regions
• White matter, where signals are processed
• Gray matter, where signals are processed

A study group writes four sentences about the body. Which sentence is a physiology statement, about how a part works, rather than an anatomy statement about where a part is?

Select one.

• The diaphragm separates the thoracic and abdominopelvic cavities.
• The brain is housed in the cranial cavity.
• Shivering produces heat that warms a cold body.
• The spinal cord runs through the vertebral cavity.

In a taste-without-smell test, a piece of fruit chewed with the nose pinched seems only faintly sweet and hard to name; releasing the nose brings the flavor back. What best explains the change?

Select one.

• The taste buds switch back on as soon as the nose is released
• Pinching the nose stops the thalamus from relaying taste
• Aroma reaches the olfactory epithelium, and flavor is mostly smell
• Releasing the nose lets the cochlea sense the sound of chewing again

Where in the cell does the stage that splits glucose into two pyruvate take place?

Select one.

• In the mitochondrial matrix
• Inside the nucleus
• On the inner mitochondrial membrane
• In the cytoplasm

In an illustrative pulse log, one person's own average right after a stair climb is 104 beats per minute, and one minute later it is 80 beats per minute. What is the fall, and which branch produces it?

Select one.

• 24 beats per minute, from the sympathetic branch, the fight-or-flight one
• 24 beats per minute, from the parasympathetic branch re-engaging
• 184 beats per minute, from the parasympathetic branch
• 80 beats per minute, from the parasympathetic branch

Which membrane-to-location pairings are accurate? Select all that apply.

Select every option that applies.

• Serous membrane — a closed cavity and the organs in it
• Mucous membrane — the cavity of a freely movable joint
• Synovial membrane — the cavity of a freely movable joint
• Cutaneous membrane — a closed body cavity
• Mucous membrane — a passage open to the outside

An illustrative model cell holding 300 mOsm/L is dropped into a 450 mOsm/L solution. Which reading is correct from the cell's side?

Select one.

• Hypotonic bath, water moves in, the cell swells
• Hypertonic bath, water moves out, the cell shrinks
• Hypertonic bath, water moves in, the cell swells
• Isotonic bath, no net movement, no change

A bare foot steps on a sharp pebble and lifts away before the pain is felt. Which sequence traces this reflex arc?

Select one.

• Receptor → motor neuron → spinal interneuron → sensory neuron → effector
• Receptor → sensory neuron → spinal interneuron → motor neuron → effector
• Receptor → sensory neuron → motor cortex in the brain → motor neuron → effector
• Effector → motor neuron → spinal interneuron → sensory neuron → receptor

A muscle cell must make more of its contractile fibers, which are proteins. Which organelle assembles the protein chains?

Select one.

• The lysosome
• The smooth ER
• The ribosome
• The mitochondrion

Walking along a narrow curb, a hiker keeps adjusting each step to stay balanced. Which brain region compares the intended movement with feedback from the body and fine-tunes each step?

Select one.

• The thalamus
• The occipital lobe
• The cerebellum
• The medulla oblongata

On a hot afternoon walk, several things happen in the body at once. Which one is an autonomic command rather than a somatic one?

Select one.

• Glands in the skin releasing sweat
• Swinging the arms in time with each step
• Turning the head to read a street sign
• Choosing to cross to the shady side

Select every statement that is true of the sodium-potassium pump in a neuron's membrane.

Select every option that applies.

• Spending 2 ATP, it moves 6 Na⁺ out of the cell and 4 K⁺ in
• It is the channel through which Na⁺ rushes in during depolarization
• It runs in the background, keeping more Na⁺ outside and more K⁺ inside
• Spending 2 ATP, it moves 4 Na⁺ out of the cell and 6 K⁺ in
• It needs ATP because it moves ions against their gradients

After a large meal at rest, which autonomic branch keeps digestion active, and where do its neurons leave the central nervous system?

Select one.

• The sympathetic division, from the thoracic and upper lumbar cord
• The sympathetic division, from the brainstem and the sacral cord
• The parasympathetic division, from the thoracic and upper lumbar cord
• The parasympathetic division, from the brainstem and the sacral cord

A muscle-action table lists six muscle-and-action pairs. Select every pair that matches the muscle to its main action.

Select every option that applies.

• Biceps brachii: extends the forearm
• Deltoid: abducts the arm
• Gastrocnemius: plantar flexes the foot
• Tibialis anterior: plantar flexes the foot
• Gluteus maximus: flexes the hip
• Quadriceps femoris: extends the knee

A cross-section from the thick wall of a femur's diaphysis is examined under magnification. Which description matches the compact bone seen there?

Select one.

• A lattice of trabeculae with red marrow between
• Osteons of concentric lamellae around central canals
• Hyaline cartilage spread across the surface
• A fibrous membrane wrapped around the outside

During a set of stair climbs, a thigh muscle fiber contracts and then relaxes. Select every step of that cycle that spends ATP.

Select every option that applies.

• Myosin heads swinging through the power stroke
• Acetylcholine drifting across the synaptic cleft
• Calcium pumps refilling the sarcoplasmic reticulum
• Calcium ions attaching to troponin
• Each myosin head letting go of actin

Which of these statements about organic molecules and their building blocks are accurate? Select all that apply.

Select every option that applies.

• Nucleotides are the building blocks of carbohydrates
• A triglyceride is glycerol joined to fatty acids
• Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins
• Monosaccharides are the building blocks of nucleic acids
• Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids

A command leaves the spinal cord along a nerve and makes a calf muscle contract. How is that signal described?

Select one.

• Afferent, because it arrives at a muscle
• Afferent, because spinal nerves carry sensory axons
• Efferent, because it exits the central nervous system
• Autonomic, because the calf muscle contracts without any thought

Which structure is a cluster of nuclei whose main job is holding the body's internal conditions steady?

Select one.

• The hypothalamus
• The thalamus
• The cerebellum
• The midbrain

At the top of an action potential's rising phase, about what value does the membrane potential reach?

Select one.

• About −70 mV, with the inside negative
• About −55 mV, with the inside negative
• About +30 mV, with the inside positive
• About +55 mV, with the inside positive

A metacarpal, one of the slender bones of the palm, is far smaller than the femur. Which shape class holds it?

Select one.

• Long bone
• Short bone
• Flat bone
• Sesamoid bone

Reading the thick skin of the sole from the surface inward, which list gives the epidermal strata in order?

Select one.

• Corneum, lucidum, granulosum, spinosum, basale
• Basale, spinosum, granulosum, lucidum, corneum
• Corneum, granulosum, lucidum, spinosum, basale
• Lucidum, corneum, granulosum, basale, spinosum

Muscle names encode features of the muscle. Which two kinds of clue does the name quadriceps femoris carry?

Select one.

• Size and shape
• Attachments and fiber direction
• Attachments and size
• Number of origins and location

Stepping barefoot onto a cold tile floor, which receptor class detects the cold?

Select one.

• Thermoreceptor
• Nociceptor
• Photoreceptor
• Mechanoreceptor

A sheet of tightly packed cells forms the outer layer of the skin, and another sheet of the same primary type lines the stomach. Which primary tissue type is it?

Select one.

• Epithelial tissue
• Connective tissue
• Nervous tissue
• Muscle tissue