LIF101 Mid-semester examination

7:30 to 9:30 AM

22-9-2012,

Please write your name and Roll No. and sign the Objective response sheet. All
questions have only ONE correct choice either A, B, C or D. Please fill the bubble
corresponding to your choice in the answer sheet with a PENCIL. Fill only one bubble
per question. In case you have filled the correct bubble you will be awarded +1. In
case you have filled the wrong bubble or more than one bubble you will be awarded
minus 0.25. You will be awarded 0 if you have not filled any bubble.
1) You have found a new organism on earth that does not use the co-enzyme
FADH2 at all. In all steps during aerobic respiration where FADH 2 was formed
NADH is produced instead. Which of the following is the number of ATP
molecules produced in this new organism per glucose molecule?
A) 36 ATP
B) 38 ATP
C) 30 ATP
D) 40 ATP
2) You have been given two light microscope one uses red light as the source of
illumination and the other one uses blue light as the source of illumination.
Which of the following would be seen with the blue light microscope but not
the red light microscope
A) DNA molecule of diameter 0.002 m
B) A bacterial cell of diameter 1m
C) A bacteriophage virus 0.2 m in size
D) A Ribosome, 0.05 m in diameter
3) Which of the following is NOT a function of the sterols in the membrane
A) Maintenance of the fluidity of the plasma membrane
B) Transporting molecules across the membrane
C) Maintenance of the integrity of the plasma membrane
D) Helping to keep proteins together in the lipid rafts
4) Which of the following cannot be cited as an evidence for the theory of
endosymbiotic origin of mitochondria
A) Mitochondria have electron transport systems on their membranes
B) Mitochondria contain their own DNA
C) Mitochondria generate ATP in the cell
D) Mitochondria can replicate by a process similar to the prokaryotes

5) C3 plants close their stomata in leaf during the day under hot-dry conditions
hence there is build-up of oxygen (produced from the light reaction of
photosynthesis) while carbon-dioxide cannot enter, therefore, glucose
synthesis becomes inefficient. Cactus plants living in the dessert are able to
synthesize glucose efficiently during the day even in hot dry conditions of the
dessert because they have undergone the following modification:
A) They have thick waxy leaves so they do not lose water from the surface of
the leaves and thus can keep the stomata open during the day
B) They fix carbon-dioxide in two different cell types, one cell fixes it to form
oxaloacetate which is then transferred to the other cell where it is
converted back into CO2 and can enter the Calvin-Benson cycle.
C) They fix carbon-dioxide during the night when the stomata are open and
CO2 is available. They convert CO2 into an intermediate which is stored
and later used during the day in the Clavin-Benson cycle to produce
glucose.
D) These plants use an alternative form of the Calvin-Benson cycle which
bypasses the need for CO2 to synthesize glucose.
6) After fasting for fourteen hours which of the following would be true
A) The bodys glycogen stores will start releasing glucose
B) The triglycerides will begin to be broken down to produce ATP
C) All metabolic reactions would stop as all the sources of energy have been
used up
D) All protein synthesis would be stopped as amino acids would now enter
Krebs cycle
7) Which of the following can take place in the presence of an inducer of
microtubule depolymerization
A) Separation of chromosomes during cell division
B) Transport of vesicles using kinesin as a motor
C) Beating of cilia of the cells lining the windpipe
D) Movement of bacteria using their flagella
8) Which of the following properties of phospholipids is responsible for their
spontaneous assembly into bilayers in aqueous environment
A) Phospholipids have high dipole moment
B) Phospholipids have a polar head and two non-polar tails
C) Phospholipids can strongly interact with membrane proteins
D) Phospholipids have saturated fatty acid tails therefore they pack together
tightly
9) Which of the following carbohydrates is composed of other molecules besides
glucose
A) Cellulose
B) Sucrose
C) Starch
D) Glycogen

10)
Which of the following is an example of a covalent bond
A) The bond between the side chain of a Lysine amino acid in a Histone
protein and the phosphate group of a double stranded DNA molecule.
B) The bond between Cytosine on one strand and the complementary
Guanine of the other strand of a double stranded DNA molecule.
C) The bond between the nitrogen base and the deoxyribose sugar of a single
nucleotide residue within a double stranded DNA molecule.
D) The bond between the Cytosine and the Guanine residues that are
separated by 10 nucleotides on the same strand of a double stranded DNA
molecule.
11)
During photosynthesis the oxygen in Glucose comes from which of the
following
A) The water that splits during the light-dependent steps of
photosynthesis
B) The Carbon-dioxide that is fixed during Calvin-Benson cycle
C) The Phosphate group of the ATP that is used during the Calvin-Benson
cycle
D) The molecular oxygen that is produced at the end of the light-reaction
of photosynthesis
12)
Which of the following is exclusively present in a protein having
quarternary structure but never present in a protein lacking quarternary
structure
A) More than one type of secondary structure
B) Coenzyme molecules
C) More than one polypeptide chain
D) Amino acids side chains that are engaged in covalent bonds
13)
The options below are the amounts of A, T, G and C, respectively in
millimoles, obtained from the DNA of E. coli, a bacteria. Considering the
margin of experimental error, which of the options below is likely to be
correct
A) 983, 452, 543 and 728
B) 450, 905, 307 and 612
C) 633, 631, 540 and 538
D) Cannot be predicted
14)
What is the sequence of locations in the cell that a plasma membrane
protein passes through to reach its destination
A) Nucleusto--ER--to--golgito--exocytic vesicletoplasma membrane
B) ERto--golgito--exocytic vesicletoplasma membrane
C) ERto--golgitomitochondriatoplasma membrane
D) ERto--golgitolysosometo--plasma membrane
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15)
Which of the following processes involves a selective movement of
biological material across a membrane
A) Diffusion
B) Osmosis
C) Reverse osmosis
D) Receptor-mediated endocytosis
16)
Which one of the following is used by the enzyme to increase the rate
of the reaction it catalyzes
A) Enzymes get cleaved releasing the activation energy needed for the
reaction
B) Enzymes use coenzymes as electron acceptors to increase the rate of a
reaction
C) Enzymes hydrolyze ATP to release energy for increasing the rate of
chemical reactions
D) Enzymes increase the local concentration of reactants thus increasing the
rate of the reaction
17)
A sprinter, during a 100 m race, is likely to use energy from which of
the following processes?
A) Krebs cycle
B) Electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation
C) Lactate fermentation
D) Triglyceride breakdown
18)
A)
B)
C)
D)

During winter coconut oil solidifies. This is due to the following reason
Coconut oil is primarily composed of polyunsaturated fatty acids
Coconut oil is primarily composed of saturated fatty acids
Coconut oil is primarily composed of steroids
Coconut oil is primarily composed of monounsaturated fatty acids in the
cis configuration

19)
Formation of Glucose-6-phosphate from Glucose is an example of the
following type of metabolic reaction
A) Condensation
B) Electron transfer
C) Rearrangement
D) Functional group transfer
20)
Which of the following amino acids is not likely to be present in an
alpha helix
A) Lysine
B) Proline
C) Glutamic acid
D) Cysteine
21)
What is the periodicity of the DNA double helix as described by Watson
and Crick
A) 9
B) 10
C) 11
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D) 12
22)
In which of the following locations in the cell tRNA and ribosomes are
not found
A) Nucleus
B) Cytoplasm
C) Mitochondria
D) Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
23)
Aerobic respiration is far more efficient than anaerobic respiration in
terms of the energy released per glucose molecule. Yet in the ancient world
anaerobic respiration was predominating. This was due to the following
reason:
A) Non-availability of oxygen
B) In the ancient world all life originated under water
C) Only cyclic electron transfer was present
D) There were no mitochondria in the cells at that time
24)
When a spherical cell grows in size by increasing its diameter by
fourfold it would have to make certain changes in order to sustain the
increased volume of cytoplasm. Which one of the following changes would be
the most effective:
A) Changing its shape to become a cube instead of a sphere
B) Increasing the rate of breakdown of stored glycogen to produce more
glucose
C) Increasing its surface area by folding the membrane in many finger like
projections
D) Decreasing the rate of generation of waste products inside the cell
25)
A)
B)
C)
D)

Which of the following is a disaccharide

Sucrose
Glucose
Fructose
Galactose

26)
When the pH of the inside of the stomach is 2, then the concentration
of [OH ] ions inside of the stomach is
A) 2 M
B) 12 M
C) 10-12 M
D) 10-2 M
27)
A polypeptide chain in alpha-helix conformation is composed of the
following amino acid sequence from the amino terminus to the carboxyl
terminus: Tyrosine-Lysine-Gutamic acid-Phenylalanine-Cysteine-ValineGlycine-Methionine. The oxygen of the carbonyl group of the lysine is in
hydrogen bond with the hydrogen of the amino group of which amino acid
A) Phenylalanine
B) Cysteine
C) Valine
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D)
28)
A)
B)
C)
D)

Glycine
Which of the following nucleotides is not found in RNA
ATP
CTP
GTP
TTP

29)
A)
B)
C)
D)

Which of the following cannot take place inside the nucleus

Synthesis of RNA
Synthesis of DNA
Synthesis of ribosomes
Synthesis of proteins

30)
Derivatives of which of the following classes of biomolecules are most
frequently abused in competitive sports
A) Carbohydrates
B) Ribonucleic acids
C) Lipids
D) Deoxyribonucleic acids
31)
After taking a course of antibiotics, cows often suffer from a temporary
condition because of which they cannot digest grass. This condition is likely
to be the result of which of the following
A) Antibiotics modify the enzyme called Amylase in the saliva responsible for
digesting the starch in grass.
B) Antibiotics inhibit the glucose transporter responsible for absorption of
glucose in the intestine.
C) Antibiotics inhibit the enzyme in the gut which is responsible for digestion
of glycogen in grass.
D) The Antibiotics kill all the beneficial bacteria in the gut including the ones
necessary for digestion of cellulose in grass.
32)
Which of the following phenomena in living systems is NOT dependent
on the ability of water molecules to form hydrogen bonds with each other
A) Reduction in water loss through the stomata in leaf cells during hot dry
days.
B) Cooling the surface of the skin by evaporation of sweat.
C) Water molecules traveling from the root to the leaves of plants.
D) Preventing the blood of fishes from freezing in winter.
33)
In an emergency where blood transfusion is required, a major problem
is matching the blood group of the donor and the recipient. Recently
scientists have discovered an enzyme that can be used to pre-treat blood
from any donor so that it can be transfused to any recipient irrespective of his
or her blood group. Which of the following is likely to be the activity of this
enzyme
A) Proteinase, an enzyme that breaks down proteins
B) Lipase, an enzyme that breaks down lipids
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C) Glycosidase, an enzyme that cleaves the glycosidic linkage between sugar

residues
D) Nuclease, an enzyme that breaks down nucleic acids

34)
A)
B)
C)
D)

Which of the following can be performed by RNA

Serve as a template for protein synthesis
Catalyze a biochemical reaction
Serve as the storage for genetic information
All of the above

35)
Which of the following molecules are NEVER found in the plasma
membrane
A) Glycoproteins
B) Proteoglycans
C) Glycolipids
D) Sterols
36)
Which of the following is likely to yield more molecules of ATP when it
enters the aerobic respiration pathway
A) One molecule of triglyceride where the fatty acids are all stearic acid
B) Three molecules of stearic acid
C) One molecule of glucose
D) One molecule of galactose
37)
In which of the following locations in a bacterial cell would the
components of the anaerobic electron transport system be located
A) In the cell membrane
B) In the cell wall
C) In the cilia
D) In the mitochondrial inner membrane
38)
From food we derive energy which is expressed in terms
of calories. What is the ultimate source of energy in food?
A) Glucose
B) ATP
C) Fat
D) Sunlight
39)
During Glycolysis the enzyme phosphofructokinase (PFK)
catalyzes the reaction where the substrates are Fructose-6-phosphate and
ATP and the product is Fructose 1,6 bisphosphate. At very high levels of ATP
the ATP can bind to a site other than the active site of PFK and decrease the
binding of the enzyme to its substrates. This is an example of
A) Allosteric activation
B) Allosteric inhibition
C) Competitive inhibition
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D) Competitive activation
40)
A)
B)
C)
D)

Which of the following organelles within a cell has a very low pH

Peroxisome
Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
Rough endoplasmic reticulum
Lysosome