Bio Practice Test Name: ______________________________________
1. The cell structure that is too small to be clearly seen under the light microscope is the
a. nucleus
b. vacuole
c. chloroplast
d. mitochondrion
2. What was an important difference between the microscopes used by Hooke and van
Leeuwenhoek?
a. Hooke’s contained an achromatic lens.
b. Van Leeuwenhoek’s produced a blurry image with a halo.
c. Hooke’s was a simple microscope and van Leeuwenhoek’s was a compound microscope.
d. Van Leeuwenhoek’s produced greater magnification than compound microscopes of that
time.
3. Pasteur presented convincing experimental evidence against the theory of spontaneous
generation. In Pasteur’s experiments it was observed that
a. meat open to air developed maggots.
b. a sealed flask containing boiled broth remained clear if all the air was removed.
c. a sealed flask containing boiled broth with air above it, developed micro-organisms.
d. a flask with an S-bend in the neck, open to the air, did not develop micro-organisms in
boiled broth.
4. The scientist or scientists who proposed that all plants and animals were composed of cells
was/were
a. Pasteur
b. Virchow
c. Schleiden and Brown
d. Schleiden and Schwann
5. Which of the following characteristics in the light microscope is limited by the wavelength of
light?
a. contrast
b. magnification
c. resolving power
d. size of the specimen
6. One disadvantage of the transmission electron microscope is that
a. The resolution is poor.
b. The specimens are non-living.
c. The area covered by the image is very large.
d. A three-dimensional picture of the cell is easily seen from thin sections.
7. skip
8. One technology used to determine the three-dimensional structure of molecules is
a. staining.
b. confocal technology.
c. transmission electron microscopy
d. scanning electron microscopy.
9. A cell is considered an open system because it exchanges
a. nothing with its surroundings
b. only matter with its surroundings.
c. only energy with its surroundings.
d. matter and energy with its surroundings.
10. Which statement is true?
a. The nucleus contains the DNA.
b. The cell wall is found only in animal cells.
c. The chloroplast is responsible for cellular respiration.
d. The cell membrane is a rigid frame providing strength.
11. The organelle that stores nutrients, water, products of secretion, and fats is the
a. vacuole.
b. lysosome.
c. ribosome.
d. Golgi apparatus.
12. Which statement is true about diffusion?
a. It is active transport.
b. It requires no energy.
c. Particles move from low to high concentration.
d. Particles move against/up a concentration gradient.
13. An egg has had the shell removed using vinegar. It is placed in a beaker of pure, distilled
water. What should happen?
a. The egg will swell.
b. The egg will shrink.
c. The egg will lose mass.
d. The egg will remain the same.
14. The process that produces a vesicle to enclose a large particle is termed
a. osmosis
b. dialysis
c. exocytosis
d. endocytosis
15. A starch solution is poured into a “model cell” formed by a zipper lock bag and placed upright
in a beaker of water containing iodine tincture. What will happen after a time?
a. Starch is found in the beaker of water.
b. No change is observed inside or outside the model cell.
c. Iodine ions pass into the model cell and the starch changes colour.
d. Iodine ions pass into the cell, starch passes out and the solutions inside and outside the cell
change colour.
16. Which of the following is an advantage of multicellular organisms over single-celled
organisms?
a. Specialized cells are less efficient in performing their tasks.
b. Single-celled organisms have a high surface to volume ratio.
c. Abnormal functioning of one cell type will affect the whole organism.
d. Internal transport systems allow movement of materials and therefore increased size.
17. Groups of cells that function together are called a/an
a. body.
b. organ.
c. tissue.
d. system.
18. Which of these is not one of the three main types of plant tissue?
a. dermal tissue
b. ground tissue
c. vascular tissue
d. epithelial tissue
19. Which statement is true about xylem tissue?
a. It moves sugar all around the plant.
b. The mature xylem tubes contain cytoplasm.
c. It moves water and minerals up the stem to the leaves.
d. It is formed from sieve tube cells that contain cytoplasm.
20. The cells responsible for cell division and growth in plants are found in the
a. epidermis
b. meristems
c. vascular tissue
d. palisade tissue
21. Which process produces oxygen in the leaves?
a. respiration
b. transpiration
c. phototropism
d. photosynthesis
22. Guard cells open the stomata because
a. their turgor pressure decreases.
b. water enters the cell by osmosis.
c. water leaves the cell by evaporation.
d. a hormone causes the cells to elongate.
23. Root pressure is the result of
a. transpiration moving water into the leaves
b. attraction of water molecules for each other
c. minerals in the root cells cause water to enter by osmosis
d. attraction of water molecules for other types of molecules
24. What is the loss of water through stomata and lenticels called?
a. adhesion
b. cohesion
c. plasmolysis
d. transpiration
25. How does a plant shoot produce a phototropic response?
a. Cells on the side away from the light shrink.
b. Cells on the side away from the light elongate.
c. Cells on the side facing toward the light shrink.
d. Cells on the side facing toward the light elongate.
26. An onion cell is observed under high power (450m). Its length is the same as the field diameter
and its width is about one third of the field of view. Determine the length and width of the onion
cell in micrometres. (2 marks)
27. Two cells are observed under the microscope. Cell A is shaped like a cube with each side, s,
approximately 10 µm. Cell B is shaped more like a flat rectangular prism. Its dimensions are 160
µm length, by 40 µm width, by 1.25 µm height. Which of the cells will show a faster rate of
diffusion? Explain in terms of surface area and volume. Show your calculations. (6 marks)
28. Place the statements in the correct order to describe the process of water movement from the
roots to the leaves. (3 marks)
1. Root pressure forces water through the cells or along cell walls into the xylem.
2. Transpiration pull combined with the forces of adhesion and cohesion, draws water up the
xylem vessels.
3. A high concentration of solute in the root cells causes water to enter the root hairs through
the process of osmosis.
4. Evaporation through the stomata and lenticels creates tension.
5. Water in the leaves is used to manufacture sugar in photosynthesis.
6. Water moves from the xylem into the ground tissue of the leaves.
___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___
29. In the winter, salt is often spread on the roads to “melt” the ice and snow. Cars driving along
the road cause slush to spray sideways. In the spring you notice that the cedar trees close to a
road have brown leaves from the ground up to a height of about a metre. Propose a plausible
explanation for this observation. (2 marks)
ANSWER KEY:
Section II Numerical Response
1. d 26. length of onion cell = 450 µm
2. d
3. d
4. d = 150 µm
5. c 27. Cell A: surface area = 6 s2
6. b = 600
7. volume = s3
8. d = 1000
9. d surface to volume ratio = 0.6
10. a Cell B: surface area = 2 lh + 2 lw + 2 wh
11. a = 12 800 + 400 + 100
12. b = 13 300
13. a volume = l × w × h
14. d = 8 000
15. c surface to volume ratio = 1.66
16. d Cell B has a greater surface to volume ratio, therefore it will have a faster rate of
17. c diffusion.
18. d
19. c 28. 3, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5
20. b
21. d 29. The slush landing on the trees at the roadside contains salt. This salty solution is
22. b hypertonic to the leaf cells. Water moves by osmosis out of the cells and plasmolysis
23. c occurs. Over a prolonged time the cells die because they cannot carry on their normal
24. d function.
25. b
