Exam 1 - Zoology 250 version A

Instructor: John Godwin, Fall 2003

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Terminology/short answer - These questions require terms or brief answers. (13

questions, 1 pt. each except where noted, 28 pts total plus one bonus)

1. Suppose you are comparing the metabolic rate between a 5 g endothermic tree shrew and a 5
g ectothermic Plethodon salamander from Grandfather Mountain. Briefly, what difference
would you expect to find?
Higher in the shrew (endotherms are typically ~7X higher than comparably sized
ectotherms)
2. List three features of the small intestine that increase nutrient absorption (3 pts). Related to
this, an increasingly common surgical procedure for weight loss involves removal of part of
the small intestine. Based on principles we have discussed in class, briefly explain why this
is effective in reducing calorie uptake (not calorie consumption – just uptake). (1 pt) (4 pts
total for this question).
Absorption – 6 are possible: 1) length (~25’ in humans), 2) folds in walls, 3) villi, 4)
microvilli (on epithelial cells), 5) thin epithelium, 6) muscles to mix contents and maintain
gradients
By removing part of the length of the intestine, a large amount of surface area is
removed (less area for uptake of nutrients)
3. List two features of the structure or functioning of the stomach that help protect it during
digestive processing. (2 pts)
Three are possible: 1) Rapid epithelial replacement, 2) mucus secretion, 3) release of
pepsin as pepsinogen (inactive zymogen form)
4. In what way might an aversion to spicy foods or meats ('morning sickness' in humans) be
advantageous to a pregnant mammal? (2 pts)
Spicy flavor comes from plant toxins usually (1 pt). Not eating these because they are
aversive (as is the case with pregnancy often and can result in sickness) can help
protect the fetus (1 pt).

5. All mammals have a ‘hole in the heart’ at one stage of life (True / False): TRUE (foramen
ovale)
6. It is reasonable to conclude that a high performance animal like a housefly has higher blood
pressure than that of a cow. (True / False): FALSE (flies have open circulatory systems,
which have low pressures.

7. The spaces occupied by the cells of living bone (the osteocytes) are termed _____ and the
connections between these spaces are termed _______. (2 pts)
Lacunae, Canaliculi

8. Your vertebral column is considered part of the _____ division of your skeleton.
Axial

9. List two differences between smooth and skeletal muscle (2 pts total).
Several are possible – smooth vs. skeletal: 1) non-striated vs. striated (or no sarcomere
structure vs. sarcomere structure), 2) involuntary vs. voluntary, 3) small cells vs. large
cells, 4) location: around tubes internally (e.g., blood vessels, gut, etc.) vs. attached to
skeleton, 5) t-tubules in skeletal vs. none in smooth muscle
10. Imagine that you have discovered two related species of lizards. One is an ambush predator
that pounces on prey with enormous speed and power, but is not able to chase a prey item
down due to limited endurance. The other species is able to run down its prey animals after
long chases, but is seldom fast enough to pounce and get them by surprise. (4 pts)
- What would you predict about relative fiber type composition in leg muscles of the two
species?
Ambush predator: mostly fast twitch fibers, Endurance species: mostly slow twitch
fibers (1 pt each)
- Name two cellular components (molecules or organelles) you would expect to be present
at higher concentration in the leg muscles of the high endurance species.
Endurance species > ambush species: myoglobin and mitochondria (1 pt each)

11. Imagine you are doing an experiment where

you are monitoring intracellular calcium
concentration within your arm muscles across a Light emitted
range of forces using a calcium sensitive dye by dye
(higher calcium concentration= more light
emission). Using a line on the axes provided,
show what the general relationship between
force developed and light emission would be. Force (kg)

12. How fast does the stimulus for the heart muscle to contract travel through the AV node
compared to the Bundle of His? (faster, slower, or the same speed) Why is the speed at
which this signal travels through the AV node important? (2 pts)
First part: Slower than in the Bundle of His (1 pt.)
Second part: Necessary to delay the signal to contract reaching the ventricle to allow
the atria to fully contract and empty.
13. On the diagram of the human heart below, numbers refer to different chambers and vessels
(#1 Right Atrium, 2 R. ventricle, 3 pulmonary trunk, 4, Left atrium, 5 L. ventricle, 6 aorta).
Answer questions a-e below using the numbers on the diagram or terms where appropriate.
(1 pt each, 5 pts total)
a) Which chamber receives venous return from the
pulmonary circulation? (number answer): 4
b) Which chamber pumps blood into the systemic
circulation? (number answer): 5
c) The heart's main 'pacemaker' is found in the wall of
which chamber? (number answer): 1

d) What are the valves between chambers 2 and 5 and

the vessels leading away from them called?
(indicated by arrows, term answer): Semilunar

e) What are the numbers of the two structures that are connected in fetal life by the ductus
arteriosus? (answer with numbers): 3 and 6

Bonus Question: In an experiment, rabbits were experimentally infected with Shigella bacteria
and then either treated with an anti-diarrheal drug or an inactive substance as a control. The
animals treated with the anti-diarrheal drug recovered more slowly than those given the control
treatment. What was general conclusion was drawn about diarrhea from this experiment?
Diarrhea represents an adaptation that promotes survival rather than simply a loss of
control or function by the organism.

Multiple Choice (1 pt each, 23 points total )

1. I am writing version ___ of this exam.

a) A
b) B

2. If the surface area-to-volume ratio of a cubic organism measuring 1 cm on a side is 6.0, the
surface area-to-volume ratio of a similarly shaped organism measuring 3 cm on a side would
be:
a) 18
b) 6
c) 2
d) 0.01
3. When the concentrations of a compound on two sides of a permeable membrane are at
equilibrium, there is no movement of molecules across that membrane.
a) This is true
b) This is false (there is always movement, but no net movement at equilibrium)

4. Swordfish have 'brain heaters' that warm the blood supplying their brains when they are in
cool water. You would expect that swordfish brain enzymes would work approximately
____ times as rapidly at 25oC as they do at 15oC.
a) 0.5
b) about the same
c) 2-3 (remember the Q10 rule)
d) 10

5. Parts of the lymphatic system where lipids are absorbed during digestion:
a) lacteals
b) lymph hearts
c) lymph nodes
d) lymphocytes

6. The term referring to the type of smooth muscle action that moves materials through tubes
(e.g., during swallowing) is:
a) peristalsis
b) mucogenesis
c) glycolysis
d) paralysis

7. The microorganism thought to be a major contributor to the development of stomach ulcers

is:
a) Escherischia coli
b) Candida albicans
c) Trypanosoma falciparum
d) Staphylococcus aureus
e) Helicobacter pylori

8. Suppose you are studying an insect that has an aquatic larval stage that feeds on plant matter.
After metamorphosis, this species becomes a fluid feeder, piercing the skin of vertebrate prey
and extracting blood. Based on what you know about similar larval/adult transitions in diet
with other species, you would expect that the gut length of the larva in this species would be
_____ than in the adult because the food is _____ difficult to digest.
a) longer, less
b) longer, more (plant material is harder to digest and herbivores have long guts usually)
c) shorter, less
d) shorter, more
e) shorter, impossible
9. Coming from the digestive tract, blood first travels to the:
a) stomach
b) spleen
c) heart
d) liver (this eliminates toxins before the rest of the body ‘sees’ that blood)
e) kidneys

10. The hormone responsible for controlling the production of erythrocytes is called:
a) Erythropoetin (as discussed in class)
b) riboflavin
c) leucopoetin
d) epinephrine
e) insulin

11. The hormone referred to in the question above is produced by the:

a) brain
b) lungs
c) skin
d) liver
e) kidneys (as discussed in class also)

12. Which of the following correctly represents the organization of skeletal muscle from largest
to smallest units?
a) sarcomere, myofibril, muscle fiber, motor unit
b) sarcomere, muscle fiber, myofibril, motor unit
c) sarcomere, motor unit, myofibril, muscle fiber
d) motor unit, myofibril, muscle fiber, sarcomere
e) motor unit, muscle fiber, myofibril, sarcomere

13. Calcium is released from the _______ in skeletal muscle.

a) Golgi apparatus
b) Sarcoplasmic reticulum
c) Z-lines
d) acetylcholine receptors
e) mitochondria

14. Release of the calcium necessary to initiate muscular contraction in skeletal muscle is
stimulated by electrical excitation coming most directly from these structures lying close to
the structure, organelle or molecule referred to in the last question.
a) T-tubules (t-tubules are key for carrying this excitation deep into the muscle)
b) thick filaments
c) the neuromuscular junction
d) Schwann cells surrounding the motor neuron
15. The protein that binds calcium ions in muscle leading to the generation of crossbridges is:
a) Tropomyosin
b) Troponin
c) Actin
d) Myosin
e) Calmodulin

16. You are about to test your strength in a contest by pushing against an immovable object with
just your arms. You know your tricep muscles have a normal resting length of 20 cm. In
order to generate maximal pushing force, you want to be in a position in which your tricep
muscle lengths are approximately:
a) 12 cm
b) 22 cm (peak force generated at 100-120% of resting length, this is 110%)
c) 33 cm
d) No way to predict which of these would allow the greatest force generation.

17. In the condition known as Myasthenia gravis, there is a relative lack of acetylcholine
receptors at the neuromuscular junction. Which of the following choices would you predict
is the first step that is disrupted in the sequence that leads to generation of a contraction in
muscle cells?
a) action potential in motor neurons
b) release of acetylcholine from motor neurons
c) generation of action potentials in muscle cells (need receptors to respond to
acetylcholine)
d) binding of actin to myosin
e) energizing of myosin heads through hydrolysis of ATP

18. ATP is crucial in the muscle contraction cycle because:

a) Attachment of troponin requires ATP hydrolysis
b) Detachment of myosin heads requires ATP
c) ATP hydrolysis ‘energizes’ the tropomyosin molecule
d) ATP hydrolysis ‘energizes’ the actin molecule
e) Binding of acetylcholine to its receptor requires ATP

19. On the cellular level, increasing tension generated by high frequency stimulation of a muscle
fiber is referred to as:
a) Summation
b) Recruitment
c) Reinforcement
d) Contraction cycling
e) Calcium overload

20. Cockroach muscle fibers show a single point of contact between the muscle cell and
motorneuron as in vertebrates.
a) This statement is true
 b) This statement is false (contacted at multiple points on the muscle fiber in insects as
discussed in class)

21. The highest blood pressure is the human circulatory system is found in the:
a) aorta
b) arterioles
c) capillaries
d) venules
e) vena cava

22. The largest combined cross-sectional area in the circulatory system is found in the:
a) aorta
b) arterioles
c) capillaries (combined area is very large)
d) venules
e) vena cava

23. If you were to consume a very salty drink and raise the solute concentration in your blood,
you would expect that the flow of fluid into the blood stream from the tissues would:
a) Increase (increases osmotic difference between blood and tissues so flow into blood
increases)
b) decrease
c) stay the same

24. If there were no elastin present in arterial walls, fluctations in blood pressure across the
heart’s contraction cycle (i.e., systole to diastole) would be of:
a) higher amplitude (elasticity absorbs pressure between beats [arteries as pressure
resevoirs], losing this would mean larger fluctuations)
b) lower amplitude
c) the presence of elastin does not affect this characteristic