Pitts' Biology 120 Exam
Number 2
Spring 2003
Place all answers on the attached answer
sheet. On multiple choice questions,
select only one answer and write the letter that corresponds to your answer on
the answer sheet. If I have difficulty
reading your answer, I must mark it wrong.
1. True or False. Viruses are living organisms.
2. True or False. One of the essential components of a virus is
a nucleic acid.
3. Name one example of a retrovirus.
4. Viruses are typically measured in
units called _?_
A. meters; B. centimeters; C. millimeters; D. micrometers; E. nanometers
5. Which
of the following best describes a virus that is in the lytic or vegetative
stage?
A. virus is
reproducing; B. virus is being
replicated by a host cell; C. virus is
not inside a host cell and is doing nothing;
D. none of the previous answers are correct since viruses cannot have a
free particle stage
6. True or False When a viral lytic cycle is completed, the
host cell will be lysed.
7. Polio virus will attack only nerve
cells because nerve cells:
A. do not have any
receptors to block the entry of viruses;
B. have the appropriate receptors for polio viruses; C. cannot divide; D. are the most numerous type of cell in the
human body
8. Which of the following is present in
retroviruses but not in other types of viruses?
A. flagella; B. capsule;
C. reverse transcriptase; D. DNA (= deoxyribonucleic acid)
9. True
or False: the viral nucleic acid that is attached to a host cell chromosome in
the lysogenic cycle is usually inactive for some period of time, perhaps
decades.
10. Although
the exact number of cells is not known, each of us has several body cells that
contain viral nucleic acid that is in the provirus stage. This situation:
A. is totally
harmless, since the viruses never become active; B. is a "time bomb" just waiting
for the appropriate signal to activate it;
C. is usually beneficial to the host cell since the viruses reduce the
number of harmful mutations; D. almost
always causes the host cell to mutate at a faster rate.
11. Which
of the following is a viral disease that is transmitted by mosquitoes and
caused the death of many residents of Martin during the late 1800's.
A. yellow fever; B. kuru;
C. histoplasmosis; D. polio; E. AIDS
12. True
or False Because viruses are active only
when they are inside a host cell and because the host cell's membranes and
cytoplasm protect the viruses, antibiotics are not effective against viruses.
13. Antibiotics are most effective against
diseases caused by which of the following?
A. prions; B. viruses;
C. bacteria; D. fungi
14. A spore:
A. is a reproductive
cell; B. must be fertilized by another
cell in order to germinate; C. can
germinate without being fertilized; D.
all of these are correct; E. only A and
C are correct.
15. True or False Bacteria are prokaryotic; therefore, bacteria
do not have a nuclear membrane.
16. Name one example, of many, of a human
disease that is caused by a non-living structure.
17. A newly discovered medication breaks down
reverse transcriptase. Which of the
following would be most affected by this new medicine?
A. prions; B. retroviruses; C. smallpox;
D. Gram negative bacteria
18. Each HIV particle contains about 9,500
nucleotides that make up
A. cell wall; B. receptors;
C. capsule; D. protein coat of
virus
19. Each human cell contains approximately
40,000 genes. In contrast to human
cells, one prion contains:
A. many more than
40,000 genes; B. less than 100
genes; C. no genes
20. The
latent period of HIV is defined as the time from exposure to HIV until a person
shows definite symptoms of AIDS. The
average length of this latent period is:
A. ten minutes; B. six months; C. one year;
D. 10 years
21. During the latent phase of HIV, the
lytic cycle (also called the vegetative stage):
A. does not take
place; B. is occurring, but very
slowly; C. is occuring rapidly, but lost
host cells are quickly replaced.
22. The
fact that HIV is _?_ during the latent period is bad news, because this means
that mutations that enable the virus to evade medications can occur and be
selected for.
A. active (in the
vegetative stage or lytic cycle); B.
inactive (in the provirus or lysogenic cycle)
23. Which of the following is an infectious
agent that does not contain any nucleic acid?
A. prion; B. retrovirus; C. Clostridium tetani; D.
endospores of anthrax
24. Yeasts, molds, and mushrooms are all
members of which kingdom of living organisms?
A. Monera; B. Animal;
C. Plant; D. Fungi; E. Protista
25 Name the kingdom for the organism that causes
histoplasmosis.
26. True or False Histoplasmosis is not transmitted by birds,
but bird feces do provide a suitable environment for the growth of
histoplasmosis.
27. True or false
Histoplasmosis can be acquired by breathing in the spores of
histoplasmosis.
28. The primary way in which prions are
transferred from one animal to another animal is by:
A. wind; B. contaminated water; C. physical contact; D. eating food contaminated with muscle cells
from an animal that has a prion disease;
E. eating food contaminated with nerve cells from an animal that had a
disease cause by a prion
29. Kuru was transmitted from one person to
another by the practice of:
A. eating the brains
of deceased relatives; B. drinking the
blood of ancestors; C. living in caves
where one's ancestors had also lived
30. The best way to avoid acquiring a
prion-caused disease is to:
A. get vaccination
against the disease; B. take strong
antibiotics as soon as the disease is diagnosed; C. eat no meat; D. avoid all contact with birds
31. How many people lived in
32. How many people died due to food
shortage in
33. Name the kingdom for the organism that
causes late blight in potatoes.
34. Name the most successful (in a biological
sense) type of organisms that now live on Planet Earth.
A. viruses; B. bacteria;
C. plants; D. humans
35. Sketch the outline of a bacterium that is
described as being a bacillus.
36. Which type of bacterium is more likely
to cause a serious disease?
A. Gram +; B. Gram -;
C. Gram + and Gram - are equally likely to cause disease
37. Which of these does not have a
protective capsule composed of lipopolysaccharides?
A. Gram +
bacteria; B. Gram - bacteria; C. all bacteria
38. The most numerous living organisms on Planet Earth
are:
A. prions; B. viruses;
C. bacteria; D. fungi; E. plants
39. Structures called _?_ best enable bacteria to survive periods of
environmental stress.
A. nuclear
membranes; B. capsules; C. cell walls; D. endospores
40. Alexander Fleming was the first
microbiologist to:
A. see Penicillium; B. observe that Penicillium frequently
contaminated bacterial cultures grown in laboratories; C. observe, demonstrate, and understand the
fact that Penicillium inhibited the growth of some bacterial colonies; D. prove that penicillin could kill all types
bacteria.
41. Anthrax is caused by:
A. bacteria; B. virus;
C. prion; D. fungus
42. Humans usually acquire anthrax by :
A. coming in contact
with endospores; B. eating food
containing actively growing anthrax organisms;
C. drinking water that contains anthrax;
D. sexual contact with a person who has anthrax
43. Which of the following routes of entry
usually results in the most severe cases of anthrax?
A. digestive
tract; B. skin; C. lungs;
D. all are equally deadly
44. The antibiotic penicillin received its
name from:
A. a fungus; B. a bacterium; C. a virus;
D. a plant
44. True or False Fortunately, the late blight disease of
potatoes has been conquered and is no longer a threat to potatoe crops.
45. Which of the following is capable of
reproducing without assistance of other organisms?:
A. viruses; B. bacteria;
C. prions
46. How can a person be infected with
smallpox?
A. breathing air that
contains the virus; B. physical contact
with someone who has smallpox; C.
physical contact with a non-living object (e.g., a blanket or clothing) that is
contaminated with the smallpox virus; D.
mosquito bite; E. all of these are
correct; F. Answers A, B, and C are
correct, but D is not correct.
47. What material was most commonly used for
inoculation against smallpox before 1790?
A. active smallpox
virus; B. cowpox virus; C. dead cells from a smallpox victim
48. In what year did the last known case of
smallpox occur?
49. Since the discovery of the
effectiveness of vaccination, what has been the greatest barrier to be
elimination of smallpox as a human disease?
A. not enough smallpox
virus; B. not enough cowpox virus; C. mutation of the virus; D. public attitudes
50.
Name the first human disease to be controlled
by intentionally administering a substance that would cause a person to be
immune to that disease.