Textbook Practice Questions – Cell Division and Genetics

Answer Key 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. A E C E C A C E B E D E A D B B B A D B A A B A A Textbook Practice Questions 1. The centromere is a region in which A) chromatids remain attached to one another until anaphase. B) metaphase chromosomes become aligned at the metaphase plate. C) chromosomes are grouped during telophase. D) the nucleus is located prior to mitosis. E) new spindle microtubules form at either end  2.  A sexually reproducing animal has two unlinked genes, one for head shape (H) and one for tail length (T). Its genotype is HhTt. Which of the following genotypes is possible in a gamete from this organism? A) tt B) Hh C) HhTt D) T E) HT.   3. Which of the following is true of a species that has a chromosome number of 2n = 16? A) The species is diploid with 32 chromosomes per cell. B) The species has 16 sets of chromosomes per cell. C) Each cell has eight homologous pairs. D) During the S phase of the cell cycle there will be 32 separate chromosomes. E) A gamete from this species has four chromosomes.  4. The karyotype of one species of primate has 48 chromosomes. In a particular female, cell division goes awry and she produces one of her eggs with an extra chromosome (25). The most probable source of this error would be a mistake in which of the following? A) mitosis in her ovary B) metaphase I of one meiotic event C) telophase II of one meiotic event D) telophase I of one meiotic event E) either anaphase I or II    5.  When homologous chromosomes crossover, what occurs? A) Two chromatids get tangled, resulting in one re-sequencing its DNA. B) Two sister chromatids exchange identical pieces of DNA. C) Specific proteins break the two strands and re-join them with their homologs. D) Each of the four DNA strands of a tetrad is broken and the pieces are mixed. E) Maternal alleles are "corrected" to be like paternal alleles and vice versa.  6. Which of the life cycles is typical for animals? A) I only B) II only C) III only D) I and II E) I and III 7. Which of the life cycles is typical for plants and some algae? A) I only B) II only C) III only D) I and II E) I and III   Labrador retrievers are black, brown, or yellow. In a cross of a black female with a brown male, results can be either all black puppies, 1/2 black to 1/2 brown puppies, or 3/4 black to 1/4 yellow puppies. 8. These results indicate which of the following? A) Brown is dominant to black. B) Black is dominant to brown and to yellow. C) Yellow is dominant to black. D) There is incomplete dominance. E) Epistasis is involved.         9. One of two major forms of a human condition called neurofibromatosis (NF 1) is inherited as a dominant gene, although it may range from mildly to very severely expressed. If a young child is the first in her family to be diagnosed, which of the following is the best explanation? A) The mother carries the gene but does not express it at all. B) One of the parents has very mild expression of the gene. C) The condition skipped a generation in the family. D) The child has a different allele of the gene than the parents.  10. For a chemotherapeutic drug to be useful for treating cancer cells, which of the following is most desirable? A) It is safe enough to limit all apoptosis. B) It does not alter metabolically active cells. C) It only attacks cells that are density dependent. D) It interferes with cells entering G₀. E) It interferes with rapidly dividing cells.  11. If the cell whose nuclear material is shown in Figure 12.2 continues toward completion of mitosis, which of the following events would occur next? A) cell membrane synthesis B) spindle fiber formation C) nuclear envelope breakdown D) formation of telophase nuclei E) synthesis of chromatids Figure 12.2  12. Cinnabar eyes is a sex-linked recessive characteristic in fruit flies. If a female having cinnabar eyes is crossed with a wild-type male, what percentage of the F  males will have cinnabar eyes? A) 0% B) 25% C) 50% D) 75% E) 100%      13. What is the reason that linked genes are inherited together? A) They are located close together on the same chromosome. B) The number of genes in a cell is greater than the number of chromosomes. C) Chromosomes are unbreakable. D) Alleles are paired together during meiosis. E) Genes align that way during metaphase I of meiosis.  14. Mitochondrial DNA is primarily involved in coding for proteins needed for electron transport. Therefore, in which body systems would you expect most mitochondrial gene mutations to be exhibited? A) the immune system and the blood B) the excretory and respiratory systems C) the skin and senses D) the nervous and muscular systems E) the circulation system  A man who is an achondroplastic dwarf with normal vision marries a color-blind woman of normal height. The man's father was 6 feet tall, and both the woman's parents were of average height. Achondroplastic dwarfism is autosomal dominant, and red-green color blindness is X-linked recessive. 15. What proportion of their sons would be color-blind and of normal height? A) none B) half C) one out of four D) three out of four E) all  16. What is meant by the description "antiparallel" regarding the strands that make up DNA? A) The twisting nature of DNA creates nonparallel strands. B) The 5' to 3' direction of one strand runs counter to the 5' to 3' direction of the other strand. C) Base pairings create unequal spacing between the two DNA strands. D) One strand is positively charged and the other is negatively charged. E) One strand contains only purines and the other contains only pyrimidines.     17. Which of the following statements is true of linkage? A) The closer two genes are on a chromosome, the lower the probability that a crossover will occur between them. B) The observed frequency of recombination of two genes that are far apart from each other has a maximum value of 100%. C) All of the traits that Mendel studied–seed color, pod shape, flower color, and others–are due to genes linked on the same chromosome. D) Linked genes are found on different chromosomes. E) Crossing over occurs during prophase II of meiosis.  18. Cytosine makes up 42% of the nucleotides in a sample of DNA from an organism. Approximately what percentage of the nucleotides in this sample will be thymine? A) 8% B) 16% C) 31% D) 42%  19. The lactose operon is likely to be transcribed when A) there is more glucose in the cell than lactose. B) the cyclic AMP levels are low. C) there is glucose but no lactose in the cell. D) the cyclic AMP and lactose levels are both high within the cell. E) the cAMP level is high and the lactose level is low.  20. What is considered to be the first evidence of differentiation in the cells of an embryo? A) cell division occurring after fertilization B) the occurrence of mRNAs for the production of tissue-specific proteins C) determination of specific cells for certain functions D) changes in the size and shape of the cell E) changes resulting from induction       21. Which of the following is characteristic of the product of the p53 gene? A) It is an activator for other genes. B) It speeds up the cell cycle. C) It causes cell death via apoptosis. D) It allows cells to pass on mutations due to DNA damage. E) It slows down the rate of DNA replication by interfering with the binding of DNA polymerase.  22. The cancer-causing forms of the Ras protein are involved in which of the following processes? A) relaying a signal from a growth factor receptor B) DNA replication C) DNA repair D) cell-cell adhesion E) cell division  23. Through a microscope, you can see a cell plate beginning to develop across the middle of a cell and nuclei forming on either side of the cell plate. This cell is most likely A) an animal cell in the process of cytokinesis. B) a plant cell in the process of cytokinesis. C) an animal cell in the S phase of the cell cycle. D) a bacterial cell dividing. E) a plant cell in metaphase.  24. Muscle cells differ from nerve cells mainly because they A) express different genes. B) contain different genes. C) use different genetic codes. D) have unique ribosomes. E) have different chromosomes.  25. In the cells of some organisms, mitosis occurs without cytokinesis. This will result in: A) cells with more than one nucleus. B) cells that are unusually small. C) cells lacking nuclei. D) destruction of chromosomes.  