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Basic Biology Practice Test: Chemistry of Carbon, Organic Compounds, & Life

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Basic Biology Practice Test: Chemistry of Carbon, Organic Compounds, & Life

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1. Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird?

They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants.They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants, they were processed into sugars through photosynthesis, and they are ultimately derived from carbon dioxide.They were processed into sugars through photosynthesis.They are ultimately derived from carbon dioxide.They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants, and they are ultimately derived from carbon dioxide.

2. A compound contains hydroxyl groups as its predominant functional group. Which of the following statements is true concerning this compound?

It won't form hydrogen bonds with water.It should dissolve in water.It should dissolve in a nonpolar solvent.It is hydrophobic.It lacks an asymmetric carbon, and it is probably a fat or lipid.

3. Which action could produce a carbonyl group?

the replacement of the nitrogen of an amine with oxygenthe addition of a sulfhydryl to a carboxylthe addition of a hydroxyl to a phosphatethe addition of a thiol to a hydroxylthe replacement of the OH of a carboxyl group with hydrogen

4. Research indicates that ibuprofen, a drug used to relieve inflammation and pain, is a mixture of two enantiomers; that is, molecules that

are mirror images of one another.differ in the arrangement of atoms around their double bonds.exist in either linear chain or ring forms.have identical chemical formulas but differ in the branching of their carbon skeletons.differ in the location of their double bonds.

5. A carbon skeleton is covalently bonded to both an amino group and a carboxyl group. When placed in water it

would function as both an acid and a base.would function only as an acid because of the carboxyl group.is impossible to determine how it would function.would function only as a base because of the amino group.would function as neither an acid nor a base.

6. Organic chemistry is currently defined as

the study of natural (as opposed to synthetic) compounds.the study of vital forces.the study of hydrocarbons.the study of compounds made only by living cells.the study of carbon compounds.

7. How many structural isomers are possible for a substance having the molecular formula C₄H₁₀?

311124

8. A carbon atom is most likely to form what kind of bond(s) with other atoms?

covalent bonds and hydrogen bondsioniccovalenthydrogenionic bonds, covalent bonds, and hydrogen bonds

9. Which of the following people was the first to synthesize an organic compound, urea, from inorganic starting materials?

Hermann KolbeFriedrich WohlerAugust KekuléStanley MillerJakob Berzelius

10. How many electron pairs does carbon share in order to complete its valence shell?

28143

11. Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird?

The carbon atoms ultimately came from simple organic compounds that formed abiotically from inorganic carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen atoms.The carbon atoms ultimately came from carbon dioxide incorporated into sugars through photosynthesis.The carbon atoms ultimately came from the soil.Inorganic carbon atoms in the seeds were incorporated into organic molecules by the bird.The carbon atoms are ultimately derived from coal.

12. Testosterone and estradiol are

enantiomers of each other.structural isomers of each other.proteins.lipids.soluble in water.

13. Which two functional groups are always found in amino acids?

carbonyl and aminoketone and methylhydroxyl and carboxylcarboxyl and aminoamino and sulfhydryl

14. Compared to a hydrocarbon chain where all the carbon atoms are linked by single bonds, a hydrocarbon chain with the same number of carbon atoms, but with one or more double bonds, will

have more hydrogen atoms.be more constrained in structure.have fewer structurally distinct isomers.be more polar.be more flexible in structure.

15. What determines whether a carbon atom's covalent bonds to other atoms are in a tetrahedral configuration or a planar configuration?

the solvent that the organic molecule is dissolved inthe polarity of the covalent bonds between carbon and other atomsthe presence or absence of bonds with nitrogen atomsthe presence or absence of bonds with oxygen atomsthe presence or absence of double bonds between the carbon atom and other atoms

16. When Stanley Miller applied heat and electrical sparks to a mixture of simple inorganic compounds such as methane, hydrogen gas, ammonia, and water vapor, what compounds were produced?

only simple inorganic compoundsboth simple organic compounds and more complex organic compounds such as amino acids and hydrocarbonsonly simple organic compounds such as formaldehyde and cyanidemostly hydrocarbonsmostly amino acids

17. Choose the term that correctly describes the relationship between these two sugar molecules:

isotopesstructural isomerscis-trans isomersenantiomers

18. The element present in all organic molecules is

carbon.oxygen.phosphorus.hydrogen.nitrogen.

19. The experimental approach taken in current biological investigations presumes that

living organisms can be understood in terms of the same physical and chemical laws that can be used to explain all natural phenomena.a life force ultimately controls the activities of living organisms and this life force cannot be studied by physical or chemical methods.although a life force, or vitalism, exists in living organisms, this life force cannot be studied by physical or chemical methods.living organisms are composed of the same elements present in nonliving things, plus a few special trace elements found only in living organisms or their products.simple organic compounds can be synthesized in the laboratory from inorganic precursors, but complex organic compounds like carbohydrates and proteins can only be synthesized by living organisms.

20. Differences among organisms are caused by

differences in the sizes of the organic molecules in each organism.large differences in elemental composition from organism to organism.differences in the types and relative amounts of organic molecules synthesized by each organism.differences in the elements that bond with carbon in each organism.differences in inorganic compounds present in each organism.

21. Why are hydrocarbons insoluble in water?

They are hydrophilic.The majority of their bonds are polar covalent carbon-to-hydrogen linkages.They are lighter than water.They exhibit considerable molecular complexity and diversity.The majority of their bonds are nonpolar covalent carbon-to-hydrogen linkages.

22. Which functional group is not present in this molecule?

sulfhydrylhydroxylaminocarboxyl

23. Which functional groups can act as acids?

carboxyl and phosphateketone and aminocarbonyl and carboxylhydroxyl and aldehydeamino and sulfhydryl

24. Which chemical group is most likely to be responsible for an organic molecule behaving as a base?

phosphatecarboxylhydroxylcarbonylamino

25. Hermann Kolbe's synthesis of an organic compound, acetic acid, from inorganic substances that had been prepared directly from pure elements was a significant milestone for what reason?

It proved that organic compounds could be synthesized from inorganic compounds.It proved that organic compounds could be synthesized from inorganic compounds and disproved the concept of vitalism.It disproved the concept of vitalism.It solved an industrial shortage of acetic acid.It showed that life originated from simple inorganic chemicals.

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