Some thoughts on the reputation of A&P as being a [tough class].
There are several different types of exam questions you may encounter in your A&P classes. To see a large bank of exam questions that have been written by your instructor, go to the exam questions page [Exam Questions]. To see a small number of dissected questions, go to [Sample Questions] below.
Here we present examples of different types of questions, and possible approaches you could use to arrive at the correct answer. These questions came from various sources, including study guides, instructor manuals, end of chapter questions, and our own exam questions. The best strategy, of course, is to actually understand the material. But, we know that taking exams is stressful, and sometimes we blank out even when we do know the answer. This guide is intended to help you read the questions carefully and eliminate as many wrong answers as you can, to increase your chances of answering correctly.
We will start with multiple choice (MC) questions. Generally there are 4 or 5 options from which to choose. If there are 100 questions with 5 options each, randomly answering (guessing on) all the questions (e.g., answer "a" for every one) should result in a score of 20. Professors become very frustrated when they see such scores! In Zool. 251, with 32 MC questions worth 2.5 points each, guessing results in a score of 6 out of 32, or 16 out of 80.
Many students think (sometimes wrongly) that MC questions are the easiest. A well-written MC question should not prominently display the correct answer among ridiculous options, so that even a person who never attended class and knows no science could eliminate the wrong answers. Neither should the choices be so close in meaning to each other that only another professor would be able to identify the subtle differences necessary to determine the right answer. Often a good, fair, MC question is as challenging as an essay question.
We will follow with suggestions on how to approach short answer/essay questions.
SAMPLE EXAM QUESTIONS, dissected and explained.
[Multiple choice - straight from class]
[Multiple choice - synthesizing knowledge]
MULTIPLE CHOICE - straight from class
Some multiple choice questions require knowledge of only one concept, but some require knowledge of several. It is not always obvious to a beginning student just how much thought might need to go into arriving at the correct answer.
Example 1: Carbohydrates are used for:
a) insulation, b) fuel, c) constructing cell membranes, d) making or breaking chemical bonds, e) source of water molecules
This is a single-concept question. Do you know the main function of carbohydrates? They are used for fuel. If you have forgotten that, you may be able to do a process of elimination, assuming you know what some of the other types of organic molecules do. Lipids are used for insulation and constructing cell membranes. Enzymes (protein) make or break chemical bonds. Water molecules are gained from the diet, or during the general metabolism of organic molecules. If you can't remember what any of the organic molecules are used for (shame on you!), you will have to guess! Over-analyzing could lead you to struggle to eliminate c and e, because some membrane lipids and proteins have a small carbohydrate group attached, and water molecules are produced by the hydrolysis degradation of any organic molecules, including carbohydrates. B is still the best answer, because fuel is the main contribution of carbohydrates.
Example 2: Human somatic cell nuclei contain ____ pairs of chromosomes.
a) 8, b) 16, c), 23, d) 46.
This is a single-concept question, but because there are several terms, there are multiple things you have to know to answer this question.
1 - the difference between a somatic and a germ cell. Somatic cells have diploid nuclei, germ cells have haploid nuclei, and thus half the number of chromosomes as the somatic cell nuclei.
2 - how to count chromosomes. Somatic cell nuclei contain 46 chromosomes (in humans), but each chromosome is the member of a pair (there are 23 pairs).
3 - definitions of somatic and chromosome.
The questions asks about pairs, not about single chromosomes. So, while there are 46 chromosomes, d) is not the correct answer, because these 46 chromosomes exist as 23 pairs.
When an instructor writes the list of options, she designs the list to be able to eliminate students that are only half-heartedly involved in the class. A passive student may remember that there are 46 of something in a cell, and choose that option because it is a number that sounds familiar. But such a student deserves to miss this question, because she relied upon passive recall instead of true knowledge. The numbers 8 and 16 have probably been mentioned at some point in the class, so some students will probably choose those too.
MULTIPLE CHOICE - synthesizing knowledge
Example 3: Generally, vesicles of any type do what?
a) contain enzymes, b) transport their contents to a new location, c) make protein, d) make ATP, e) contain RNA
I included this question to show you how to handle a statement that wasn't explicitly made in lecture. Professors like these types of questions, because they distinguish between students who can synthesize and apply the classroom knowledge to a novel situation. This skill is part of the ability to think critically, and critical thinking is what science is all about. The vesicles covered in class were transport vesicles that take proteins from the RER to the Golgi for processing, vesicles of endo- and exo-cytosis, which export or import substances, and lysosomes and peroxisomes, which dump their contents into vesicles containing substances to be destroyed. In all cases, the vesicles are moving their contents to a new location, thus b) is correct. Some vesicles contain enzymes, but not all. The other options are functional or structural facts of ribosomes, mitochondria, and ribosomes, respectively.
Example 4: The number of genes you have is the same as the number of different _____________________.
a) types of organic molecules, b) chromosomes in each nucleus, c) types of histones, d) types of proteins, e) types of amino acids
I may or may not have told you how many genes there are, but I probably told you there are 100,000 or so different proteins. Since genes code for proteins, it is logical that there are 100,000 different genes. There are only 4 classes of organic molecule (lipid, carbohydrate, protein, nucleic acid), 46 chromosomes per nucleus, I don't know how many types of histones there are, and there are 20 types of amino acids.
Example 5: Bone cells make more proteins than fat cells, thus bone cells have more:
a) nuclei, b) mitochondria, c) ribosomes, d) centrioles, e) microvilli
This question could just as easily be worded, which organelles make protein? The answer is ribosomes.
Example 6: The rate of a chemical reaction is influenced by:
a) the presence of catalysts, b) the temperature, c) the concentration of reactants (substrates), d) a & b, e) all of the above
Students hate this type of question, where more than one may be correct. Professors like them because they test knowledge, not just recall. In this case, all statements are correct. Catalysts such as enzymes increase rates. Higher temperatures also increase rates, as does having more reactants present.
Example 7: All membrane transport processes involve binding of the transported molecule to a membrane molecule.
a) true, b) false
Anytime you see absolutes such as "all" or "none" or "always" or "never," be extra-careful. Is there even one exception? If so, what are the exceptions? Simple diffusion, osmosis, and vesicular transport occur without any solute binding, thus this is a false statement.
Some questions require that you determine the truth or falsity of each of five statements. One way to approach these questions is to ask yourself how to make each false statement true (if you are asked to spot the true one), or specify `what is wrong with each false statement (if you are asked to spot the false one).
Example 8: Select the TRUE statement.
a. a metabolite is an element obtained from the diet.
[This is the definition of nutrient, not metabolite. As it sounds familiar, though, some students would choose it!]
b. water is an organic compound
[Water lacks carbon, so it can not be organic. Water is so important to life, though, so some students would choose it.]
c. inorganic molecules consist of a series of similar monomers strung together
[Monomers forming polymers is characteristic of organic, not inorganic, molecules.]
d. the oxygen that you breathe is used in the construction of organic molecules
[Oxygen is used only in the processing of fuel molecules for ATP production. The oxygen in organic molecules made by the cell comes from organic molecules that are enzymatically broken down.]
e. polymers are produced by dehydration synthesis.
[Yes. Polymers are destroyed by hydrolysis degradation.]
Example 9: Choose the FALSE statement.
a) enzymes are unchanged by the chemical reactions they catalyze
[True, thus enzymes are free to continue the reaction on other substrate molecules.]
b) given enzyme can either make or break a chemical bond between substrates
[True, though usually either making or breaking bonds is favored by other circumstances.]
c) enzymes are globular proteins
[True; fibrous proteins are usually structural, and globular proteins are functional, such as enzymes, membrane transport proteins, receptor molecules, cell junction proteins...]
d) enzymes exhibit specificity
[True, thus they only act on a small number of substrates.]
e) an enzyme can perform a chemical reaction that otherwise could not occur
[False, enzymes just make reactions happen faster than they would happen without an enzyme.]
THIS IS TO THAT, AS THAT IS TO THIS
Example 10: Glucose is to glycogen as ___________________ is to DNA.
a) an adenine deoxyribonucleotide, b) an amino acid, c) phosphate, d) deoxyribose, e) any nucleotide base
First, what is the relationship between glucose and glycogen? Glycogen is a polymer of glucose; they are carbohydrates. DNA is a polymer of nucleotides, and a) is the only nucleotide.
This question is a little more complex for several reasons. First, the term adenine in choice a) is irrelevant; any of the DNA nucleotide bases could be used. Second, nucleotides have a complex structure, consisting of a base, a phosphate, and a deoxyribose; c), d), and e) are all components of a nucleotide, but they do not comprise the monomer by themselves. Amino acids are polymers of protein, not nucleic acids such as DNA.
A simpler way to word the question would be, "what is the monomer of DNA?" You may wonder why the professor chose a more complicated wording. Simply put, to better distinguish between students who understand the material, and students who rely on passive recall to answer questions.