Quiz

QUIZ

1. Which type of organism does not necessarily have DNA as its main genetic blueprint material?

a. Bacteria b. Archaea c. Eukaryotes d. Viruses

Answer: d. Viruses may contain DNA or RNA as their major form of nucleic acid. Certain viruses do not contain any DNA but contain only single-stranded or double-stranded RNA molecules.

2. What is the basic microbiological unit of inheritance called?

a. Genome b. Gene c. Chromosome d. Base pair

Answer: b. The gene is the basic unit of inheritance. Genes are either passed on intact or not passed on as part of the hereditary process.

3. What type of allele is seen in only one gender because of having two different chromosomes as part of their DNA?

a. Sex-linked b. Dominant c. Recessive d. Codominant

Answer: a. A sex-linked allele leads to a trait seen in only one gender because the gender has just one X chromosome and not two.

4. What is the general name of the haploid cell of an organism that is used for reproduction?

a. Egg cell b. Sperm cell c. Gamete d. Clone

Answer: c. A gamete is a sex cell that combines with a gamete of the opposite gender to make a diploid zygote, which grows into an embryo and into an adult organism.

5. How does natural selection play a role in genetics and heritability?

a. It ensures that all weaker organisms die out. b. It uses epigenetic factors to control gene regulation. c. It increases the frequency of an advantageous mutation. d. It does not play a large role in heritability.

Answer: c. Natural selection will result in an advantageous mutation increasing in frequency in the population, which could cause enhanced selection for the mutated organism.

6. What organism did Gregor Mendel study?

a. Mice b. Fruit flies c. Algae d. Pea plants

Answer: d. Gregor Mendel studied and cultivated pea plants in order to see how they cross-bred or hybridized as part of his study of genetics and how genes are passed on.

7. Which of Mendel’s laws are most likely to be violated in real life genetic situations?

a. The law of segregation b. The law of independent assortment c. The law of dominance d. None of these laws can be violated

Answer: b. The law of independent assortment gets violated when two genes are so close together that they are inherited together due to genetic linkage.

8. What is it called when there are more than two choices of alleles that can be inherited?

a. Complete dominance b. Incomplete dominance c. Polygenic inheritance d. Multiple allele inheritance

Answer: d. In multiple allele inheritance, there are more than two types of alleles that can be chosen from and inherited. Each parent will still carry a single allele but there are simply more choices of alleles that are possible.

9. Which type of mutation affects the greatest amount of the genome?

a. Aneuploidy b. Chromosome inversion c. Frameshift mutation d. Substitution mutation

Answer: a. Aneuploidy is a large mutation because it causes the whole chromosome to be missing in later generations.

10. The addition of which number of nucleotides in a mutation will lead to a frameshift mutation?

a. Three b. Five c. Six d. Nine

Answer: b. As long as the addition or deletion affects a multiple of three nucleotides, it will not cause a frameshift mutation.