70 MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

Attempt all questions.

Read each question carefully and select the BEST option. Some questions have 4 options,
others 5 options.
You have 2 HOURS.

1. The most active site of protein synthesis is the:

a. Nucleus
b. Ribosome
c. Mitochondrion
d. Cell sap

2. The Golgi complex:

a. Synthesizes proteins
b. Produces ATP
c. Provides a pathway for transporting chemicals
d. Forms glyco-proteins

3. The general formula of monosaccharides is:

a. CnH2nOn
b. C2nH2On
c. CnH2O2n
d. CnH2nO2n

4. A triose sugar is:

a. Glycerose
b. Ribose
c. Erythrose
d. Fructose

5. A pentose sugar is:

a. Dihydroxyacetone
b. Ribulose
c. Erythrose
d. Glucose

6. The number of isomers of glucose is:

a. 2
b. 4
c. 8
d. 16

7. Two sugars which differ from one another only in configuration around a single carbon
atom are termed:

a. Epimers
b. Anomers
c. Optical Isomers
d. Stereoisomers
8. The most important epimer of glucose is:

a. Galactose
b. Fructose
c. Arabinose
d. Xylose

9. The sugar found in RNA is:

a. Ribose
b. Deoxyribose
c. Ribulose
d. Erythrose

10. The sugar found in milk is:

a. Galactose
b. Glucose
c. Fructose
d. Lactose

11. Sucrose consists of:

a. Glucose + glucose
b. Glucose + fructose
c. Glucose + galactose
d. Glucose + mannose

12. Starch is a:

a. Polysaccharide
b. Monosaccharide
c. Disaccharide
d. None of these

13. The most abundant carbohydrate found in nature is:

a. Starch
b. Glycogen
c. Cellulose
d. Chitin

14. Branching occurs in glycogen approximately after every

a. Five glucose units

b. Ten glucose units
c. Fifteen glucose units
d. Twenty glucose units

15. The optically inactive amino acid is:

a. Glycine
b. Serine
c. Threonine
d. Valine
16. At neutral pH, a mixture of amino acids in solution would be predominantly:

a. Dipolar ions
b. Nonpolar molecules
c. Positive and monovalent
d. Hydrophobic

17. An example of polar amino acid is:

a. Alanine
b. Leucine
c. Arginine
d. Valine

18. An amino acid not found in proteins is:

a. β-Alanine
b. Proline
c. Lysine
d. Histidine

19. In proteins the α-helix and β-pleated sheet are examples of:

a. Primary structure
b. Secondary structure
c. Tertiary structure
d. Quaternary structure

20. At the lowest energy level α-helix of polypeptide chain is stabilized:

a. By hydrogen bonds formed between the H of peptide N and the carbonyl O of the
residue
b. Disulphide bonds
c. Non polar bonds
d. Ester bonds

21. Denaturation of proteins results in:

a. Disruption of primary structure

b. Breakdown of peptide bonds
c. Destruction of hydrogen bonds
d. Irreversible changes in the molecule

22. At a pH below the isoelectric point, an amino acid exists as:

a. Cation
b. Anion
c. Zwitterion
d. Undissociated molecule

23. Primary structure of a protein is formed by:

a. Hydrogen bonds
b. Peptide bonds
c. Disulphide bonds
d. All of these
24. Which of the following statement about the peptide bond is true?

a. It is a carbon-carbon bond
b. It has cis hydrogen and oxygen groups
c. It is planar
d. It has rotational freedom

25. Optically active compounds are capable of:

a. Different reactions
b. Rotating plane of polarized light
c. Showing same chemical properties
d. None of these

26. Side chains of all amino acids contain aromatic rings except:

a. Phenylalanine
b. Alanine
c. Tyrosine
d. Tryptophan

27. Isoelectric pH of an amino acid is that pH at which it has a:

a. Positive charge
b. Negative charge
c. No charge
d. None of these

28. In mammals, the major fat in adipose tissues is:

a. Phospholipid
b. Cholesterol
c. Sphingolipids
d. Triacylglycerol

29. The importance of phospholipids as constituent of cell membrane is because they

possess:

a. Fatty acids
b. Both polar and non-polar groups
c. Glycerol
d. Phosphoric acid

30. Triglycerides are:

a. Heavier than water

b. Major constituents of membranes
c. Non-polar
d. Hydrophilic

31. The major storage form of lipids is:

a. Esterified cholesterol
b. Glycerophospholipids
c. Triglycerides
d. Sphingolipids
32. All the following have 18 carbon atoms except:

a. Linoleic acid
b. Linolenic acid
c. Arachidonic acid
d. Stearic acid

33. A nucleoside consists of:

a. Nitrogenous base
b. Purine or pyrimidine base + sugar
c. Purine or pyrimidine base + phosphorous
d. Purine + pyrimidine base + sugar + phosphorous

34. The chemical name of guanine is:

a. 2,4-Dioxy-5-methylpyrimidine
b. 2-Amino-6-oxypurine
c. 2-Oxy-4-aminopyrimidine
d. 2, 4-Dioxypyrimidine

35. The carbon of the pentose in ester linkage with the phosphate in a nucleotide structure is:

a. C1
b. C3
c. C4
d. C5

36. The most abundant free nucleotide in mammalian cells is:

a. ATP
b. NAD
c. GTP
d. FAD

37. In RNA molecule guanine content does not necessarily equal its cytosine content nor
does its adenine content necessarily equal its uracil content since it is a:

a. Single strand molecule

b. Double stranded molecule
c. Double stranded helical molecule
d. Polymer of purine and pyrimidine ribonucleotides

38. Double helical structure model of the DNA was proposed by:

a. Pauling and Corey

b. Peter Mitchell
c. Watson and Crick
d. King and Wooten

39. DNA rich in A-T pairs have:

a. 1 Hydrogen bond
b. 2 Hydrogen bonds
c. 3 Hydrogen bonds
d. 4 Hydrogen bonds
40. The fact that DNA bears the genetic information of an organism implies that:

a. Base composition should be identical from species to species

b. DNA base composition should charge with age
c. DNA from different tissues in the same organism should usually have the same base
composition
d. DNA base composition is altered with nutritional state of an organism

41. In a DNA molecule the thymine concentration is 30%, the guanosine concentration will be:

a. 10%
b. 20%
c. 30%
d. 40%

42. Genetic information flows from:

a. DNA to DNA
b. DNA to RNA
c. RNA to cellular proteins
d. DNA to cellular proteins

43. Genetic code is:

a. Collection of codon
b. Collection of amino acids
c. Collection of purine nucleotides
d. Collection of pyrimidine nucleotides

44. Degeneracy of genetic code implies that:

a. Codons do not code for specific amino acid

b. Multiple codons must decode the same amino acids
c. No anticodon on tRNA molecule
d. Specific codon decodes many amino acids

45. mRNA is complementary to the nucleotide sequence of:

a. Coding strand
b. rRNA
c. tRNA
d. Template strand

46. In nucleotides, phosphate is attached to sugar by:

a. Salt bond
b. Hydrogen bond
c. Ester bond
d. Glycosidic bond

47. Mitochondrial DNA is present in:

a. Bacteria
b. Viruses
c. Eukaryotes
d. All of the above
48.Transfer RNA transfers:

a. Information from DNA to ribosome’s

b. Information from mRNA to cytosol
c. Amino acids from cytosol to ribosomes
d. Proteins from ribosomes to cytosol

49. Which of the following compounds are bonded to phosphate in diacyl phosphoglycerol to
complete the repertoire of phospholipids found in body membranes?

a. Only choline
b. Betaine and sphingosine
c. Choline, betaine, and sphingosine
d. Choline, serine, and sphingosine
e. Choline, serine, ethanolamine, inositol

50. Proline disrupts-helical structure in proteins because it is

a. An acidic amino acid

b. An aromatic amino acid
c. An imino acid
d. A basic amino acid
e. A sulfur-containing amino acid

51. Water is generally a good solvent for polar molecules and a poor solvent for nonpolar
molecules. These solvent properties are best explained by

a. The high density of liquid water relative to polar solvents

b. The ability to form intermolecular hydrogen bonds
c. The density of solid water being less than the density of liquid water
d. High surface tension
e. High heat of vaporization

52. Which of the following pairs of molecules could NOT hydrogen bond with each other?
53. All of the following are sulphur containing amino acids found in proteins EXCEPT:

a. Cysteine
b. Cystine
c. Methionine
d. Threonine

54. Which of the following functional groups behaves as a weak acid, i.e., dissociate a proton
in aqueous solution, at physiological pH?

a. R—CH2—R'
b. RCH2—OH
c. R—NH3+
d. R—COOH
e. Ph—OH

55. The C1 of ribose and glucose has all of the following properties EXCEPT ONE. Which is
the EXCEPTION?

a. Anomeric carbon forms α/β racemic mixture.

b. Acyl aldehyde groups react with primary and secondary alcohols and amines.
c. D/L isomers define the specific optical rotation.
d. In solution, mutarotation of either pure intramolecular hemiacetal yields an equilibrium
mixture of α/β anomers.
e. Forms acetal ribosides and glucosides, respectively, that can’t mutarotate.

56. All of the following are characteristic of amino acids EXCEPT.

a. The α-carbon (C2) is a chiral center (except for glycine).

b. All migrate to the cathode in an electric field at physiological pH.
c. They have side chains with different physical and chemical properties.
d. Most can form dipolar ions (zwitterions) at physiological pH.
e. Only a repertoire of 20 amino acids are incorporated into proteins.

57. Select the INCORRECT statement about lipids.

a. Lipids are small nonpolar molecules extracted by organic solvents.

b. Most of our fat is stored as triglyceride droplets in adipose tissue cells.
c. Phospholipids are the major class of lipids in membranes.
d. ABO-blood group antigens are glycosphingolipids (glycolipids).
e. Most fatty acids are present as free acids in cells.

58. Select the statement about glycogen biochemistry that is INCORRECT.

a. Glycogen is composed of highly branched chains of α−glucose residues.

b. Glycogen’s outward branching provides reactive ends for extremely rapid
incorporation and release of glucose.
c. Glucose residues are linked by acetal α(1 → 4) bonds.
d. Approximately 1 in 8 glucose residues are linked by an acetal α(1 → 6) bond.
e. Glycogen is hydrophilic and therefore is less dense than triacylglycerides.

59. The partial negative charge on oxygen and partial positive charge on hydrogen makes
water a polar sovent and enables what?

a. Hydrogen bonds
b. Covalent bonds
c. Ionic bonds
d. Van der waals interactions
60. What best describe amylopectin?

a. Unbranched linear polymer with alpha 1-4 glycosidic linkages

b. Unbranched linear polymer with beta 1-4 glycosidic linkages
c. Highly branched, branched sites contain alpha 1-6 glycosidic linkages
d. Highly branched, branched sites contain beta 1-6 glycosidic linkages

61. Which of this is NOT a typical role for lipid in living organism?

a. Provide stored energy reserved

b. Form a structural component of cell membrane and many tissues
c. A source of glucose when broken down
d. A material from which the hormone can be produced
e. Protection of internal organs, insulation beneath skin

62. A nucleotide consists of

a. A nitrogenous base like choline

b. Purine + pyrimidine base + sugar + phosphorous
c. Purine or pyrimidine base + sugar
d. Purine or pyrimidine base + phosphorous

63. A pyrimidine nucleotide is

a. GMP
b. AMP
c. CMP
d. IMP

64. The nucleic acid base found in mRNA but not in DNA is

a. Adenine
b. Cytosine
c. Guanine
d. Uracil

65. In every cell, the number of tRNA molecules is at least

a. 10
b. 20
c. 30
d. 40

66. In DNA molecule

a. Guanine content does not equal cytosine content

b. Adenine content does not equal thymine content
c. Adenine content equals uracil content
d. Guanine content equals cytosine content

67. Genetic code is

a. Overlapping
b. Non-overlapping
c. Not universal
d. Ambiguous
68. The first codon to be translated on mRNA is

a. AUG
b. GGU
c. GGA
d. AAA

69. In biosynthesis of proteins the chain terminating codons are

a. UAA, UAG and UGA

b. UGG, UGU and AGU
c. AAU, AAG and GAU
d. GCG, GCA and GCU

70. Reverse transcriptase is capable of synthesizing

a. RNA → DNA
b. DNA → RNA
c. RNA → RNA
d. DNA → DNA