AP Biology 2021 Final December known questions

A group of researchers cultured yeast cells in a nutrient-rich environment and a nutrient-poor environment and observed the duration of the stages of their cell cycles. The results of their study are summarized in Table 1. The cell cycle of yeast cells grown in the nutrient-poor environment is approximately what percent of the cell cycle of yeast cells grown in the nutrient-rich environment?

168

Figure 1. The average amount of time spent by a particular type of eukaryotic cell in each phase of the cell cycle

95%

Cancer can result from a variety of different mutational events. Which of the following is LEAST likely to result in the initiation of a cancerous tumor?

A defect in a cell-cycle checkpoint prevents a cell from entering the S phase.

Figure 1. Diagram of the cell cycle with key checkpoints. Which of the following describes a mutation that would lead to an increase in the frequency of nondisjunction?

A mutation affecting checkpoint 3 proteins that prevents attachment of spindle fibers

The diagram above represents a model of signal transduction pathways (I and II) in a cell that is targeted by two different hormones (H1 and H2). The components of the signal transduction pathways are identified in the figure legend. Each cellular molecule in both pathways can exist in an inactive or active form. When the components in pathway I are sequentially activated, the TAP molecules promote cell division. When the components in pathway II are sequentially activated, downstream signaling by the G protein is inhibited. Based on the model, which of the following mutations is most likely to result in a cell that will generate a cancerous tumor?

A mutation in the gene encoding G-PIP that results in a nonfunctional protein

Melanocytes are skin cells that can become cancerous and develop into a cancer known as melanoma. Some cancerous melanocytes have developed resistance to the drugs currently used to treat melanoma. As a result, researchers are investigating the effects of a new compound (drug X) on four different melanoma cell lines. Researchers analyzed cell survival in two cell lines (Figure 1) and oxygen consumption in the presence of drug X in all four cell lines (Figure 2). Figure 3 shows the proposed mechanism by which drug X affects cells. Which of the following best describes the data in Figure 1 ?

At a concentration above 10 μM , drug X reduces melanoma cell survival.

Figure 1 shows the number of chromosomes observed in an actively dividing human cell at each stage of cell division. Which of the following presents a correct interpretation of the changes in chromosome number depicted in Figure 1 ?

Chromosomes enter metaphase containing two chromatids attached by a centromere. During anaphase, the chromatids are separated, each becoming a chromosome. Cytokinesis distributes the chromosomes into two separate cells.

Scientists compared the chemical structure of several molecules that various bacterial species use for quorum sensing. Quorum sensing is an ability some bacteria have to detect the number of related cells nearby. The chemical structure of some of these molecules found in certain species of bacteria are shown in Figure 1. Figure 1. The chemical structure of several molecules used for quorum sensing in three species of bacteria. Which of the following research questions would best guide an investigation of the link between the structure of the signaling molecules and the evolution of quorum sensing?

Did these species evolve from a common ancestor that used a similar signaling molecule?

Figure 1. A model of epinephrine signaling Two types of cells, alpha and beta cells, produce signaling molecules that affect blood sugar levels in opposite ways (Figure 1). Epinephrine is a chemical, often released during periods of exercise, that ultimately causes an increase in blood sugar levels in the body. Based on Figure 1, which of the following best explains how exercise causes blood glucose levels to rise?

Epinephrine activates alpha cells, causing the release of glucagon, and inhibits beta cells, blocking the release of insulin.

Ethylene is an organic compound produced by ripening fruits. In a controlled experiment, researchers found that ethylene gas stimulated the ripening process in newly harvested fruits. Which of the following describes the most likely connection between natural ethylene production and fruit ripening?

Ethylene gas is a chemical signal through which ripening fruits trigger the ripening process in other fruits.

Blood clots are formed by a positive feedback loop. Two pathways exist, the extrinsic and intrinsic pathways, which converge during clot formation. There are many clotting factors involved, most of which are proteins. Vitamin K is required for the formation of the active form of several of the clotting factors, including Factor X. A simplified model of the blood clotting process is shown in Figure 1. Warfarin is a drug used to treat certain blood clots. Warfarin blocks the formation of the active form of vitamin K-dependent clotting factors. Based on the model, which of the following best predicts the effects of warfarin on a patient?

Factor X will not be activated, which will prevent thrombin from forming.

Researchers performed an experiment to determine the effect of certain genetic mutations on mitosis in tropical fruit fly embryos. They determined the percentage of cells in each of four phases of mitosis as shown in Figure 1. Which of the following patterns is shown by the data?

In mutant 3 cells, more time is spent in prophase/prometaphase than in the later stages of mitosis.

Insulin is a protein hormone that is secreted in response to elevated blood glucose levels. When insulin binds to its receptors on liver cells, the activated receptors stimulate phosphorylation cascades that cause the translocation of glucose transporters to the plasma membrane. Based on the information provided, which of the following best describes the role of insulin in this liver cell signal transduction pathway?

It acts as a ligand.

In a certain signal transduction pathway, the binding of an extracellular molecule to a cell-surface protein results in a rapid increase in the concentration of cyclic AMP inside the cell. The cyclic AMP binds to and activates cytosolic enzymes that then activate other enzymes in the cell. Which of the following statements best describes the role of cyclic AMP in the signal transduction pathway?

It acts as a second messenger that helps relay and amplify the signal within the cell.

Ethylene causes fruits to ripen. In a signaling pathway, receptors activate transcription factors, which ultimately leads to ripening. Which of the following best supports the claim that ethylene initiates the signal transduction pathway that leads to ripening of fruit?

Loss-of-function mutations in ethylene receptors result in changes to the ripening process.

In flowering plants, plasmodesmata are narrow channels through cell walls that connect the cytoplasms of adjacent cells. An explanation of how plant cells communicate across cell walls will most likely refer to the diffusion through plasmodesmata of which of the following?

Small, water-soluble molecules

A student claims that the Y chromosome contains the sex-determining region gene, known as the SRY gene, which causes male fetuses to develop testes. Which of the following provides correct information about cell signaling that supports the claim?

The SRY gene produces a protein that binds to specific regions of DNA in certain tissues, which affects the development of these tissues.

The relative amount of DNA in a cell at various stages of the cell cycle is shown in Figure 1 . Figure 1. Amount of DNA per cell during different stages of the cell cycle, relative to the beginning of the G1 stage. Which of the following best describes how the amount of DNA in the cell changes during M phase?

The amount of DNA is halved as the cell divides into two daughter cells.

The epinephrine signaling pathway plays a role in regulating glucose homeostasis in muscle cells. The signaling pathway is activated by the binding of epinephrine to the beta-2 adrenergic receptor. A simplified model of the epinephrine signaling pathway is represented in Figure 1. Which of the following outcomes will most likely result from the irreversible binding of GDP to the G protein?

The intracellular concentration of glycogen will increase.

Insulin, a hormone secreted by pancreatic cells, stimulates glucose uptake in skeletal muscle cells by mobilizing glucose transporter proteins (GLUT4) to the plasma membrane. As depicted in Figure 1, binding of insulin to the insulin receptor triggers an intracellular signaling cascade in which certain molecules activate other molecules in a relay of the hormone signal to cell targets. One outcome of the signaling cascade is mobilization of GLUT4 from vesicle storage sites in the cytoplasm to sites at the cell surface, where GLUT4 allows glucose to enter the cell. Which of the following is a valid interpretation of the experimental results that explains how individuals with type 2 diabetes differ from individuals without diabetes?

The relatively low levels of glucose uptake in individuals with type 2 diabetes indicate that mobilization of GLUT4 to the cell surface is reduced in muscle cells of those individuals.

The Hedgehog protein (Hh) plays a critical role during a certain period of embryo development, but it normally has no role in adults except for the maintenance of adult stem cells. However, the Hedgehog protein has been detected in 70 percent of pancreatic cancer cell samples. As illustrated in the figures below, the Hedgehog protein binds to an integral membrane protein receptor known as Patched (Ptc), thus initiating a pathway of gene expression. When Hedgehog is absent, Ptc inhibits another protein known as Smoothened (Smo), which, in turn, blocks the activation of a group of proteins collectively known as the Hedgehog signaling complex (HSC). The inactivation is the result of proteolytic cleavage of one component of the HSC complex, a transcription factor known as Cubitus interruptus (Ci). When Hedgehog is present, it binds to Ptc, which prevents the inhibition of Smo by Ptc. The result is that Ci remains intact and can enter the nucleus, where it binds to and activates certain genes. One approach to treating patients with pancreatic cancer and other cancers in which the Hedgehog protein is detected is to modify the Hedgehog signaling pathway. Which of the following is the most useful approach?

Treating patients with a membrane-soluble compound that can bind to Smo and block its activity