AP BIOLOGY Scoring Guide

Unit 2 Practice A

1. The active transport pump used to move sodium ions across the membranes of gill cells in a freshwater fish has
each of the following characteristics EXCEPT:

(A) It uses osmosis to carry sodium ions into the cells.

(B) It requires energy.
(C) It has a specific binding site for ATP.
(D) It has a specific binding site for sodium ions.
(E) It is a protein.

2. The rate of transpiration, the flow of water through the stem, and leaf water potential are measured in a tree during a
24-hour period under normal environmental conditions. The results from these measurements are shown in the
graphs below.

All of the following changes would be likely to decrease the rate of transpiration at 8 A.M. EXCEPT

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 Scoring Guide

Unit 2 Practice A

(A) causing the stomata to close

(B) increasing the humidity of the atmosphere
(C) increasing the water potential of the atmosphere
(D) increasing the water potential of the soil
(E) placing the plant in total darkness

3.

The diagram above represents a typical rod-shaped bacterium. Which of the following best describes a feature
shown in the diagram that is unique to archaea and bacteria?
(A) The organism is surrounded by a cell wall.
(B) The organism contains ribosomes.
(C) The organism does not have a nuclear membrane surrounding its genetic material.
(D) The organism is not capable of making or providing itself with ATP.

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Unit 2 Practice A

Figure 1. Cellular response to infection by pathogenic bacteria

Some pathogenic bacteria enter cells, replicate, and spread to other cells, causing illness in the host organism. Host cells
respond to these infections in a number of ways, one of which involves activating particular enzymatic pathways (Figure
1). Cells normally produce a steady supply of inactive caspase-1 protein. In response to intracellular pathogens, the
inactive caspase-1 is cleaved and forms an active caspase-1 (step 1). Active caspase-1 can cleave two other proteins.
When caspase-1 cleaves an inactive interleukin (step 2), the active portion of the interleukin is released from the cell. An
interleukin is a signaling molecule that can activate the immune response. When caspase-1 cleaves gasdermin (step 3), the
N-terminal portions of several gasdermin proteins associate in the cell membrane to form large, nonspecific pores.

Researchers created the model in Figure 1 using data from cell fractionation studies. In the experiments, various parts of
the cell were separated into fractions by mechanical and chemical methods. Specific proteins known to be located in
different parts of the cell were used as markers to determine the location of other proteins. The table below shows the
presence of known proteins in specific cellular fractions.

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Unit 2 Practice A

4. Describe the most likely effect of gasdermin pore formation on water balance in the cell in a hypotonic
environment.

General

1 point maximum.

Description (1 point)

• Water enters the cell.

0 1

The student response earns one of the following points:

1 point maximum.

Description (1 point)

• Water enters the cell.

5. Cholesterol is an important component of animal cell membranes. Cholesterol molecules are often delivered to body
cells by the blood, which transports the molecules in the form of cholesterol-protein complexes. The complexes
must be moved into the body cells before the cholesterol molecules can be incorporated into the phospholipid
bilayers of cell membranes.

Based on the information presented, which of the following is the most likely explanation for a buildup of
cholesterol molecules in the blood of an animal?
(A) The animal’s body cells are defective in exocytosis.
(B) The animal’s body cells are defective in endocytosis.
(C) The animal’s body cells are defective in cholesterol synthesis.
(D) The animal’s body cells are defective in phospholipid synthesis.

6. What evolutionary advantage does compartmentalization of core metabolic processes offer eukaryotes?
(A) Evolution of the mitochondria allowed eukaryotes to perform respiration.
With the evolution of mitochondria in eukaryotes, the Krebs cycle and electron transport chain also
(B)
evolved.
Evolution of a nucleus in eukaryotes separates the processes of transcription and translation and they can
(C)
be regulated separately.
(D) A nucleus in bacteria provides separation of respiration from transcription.

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Unit 2 Practice A

7. All of the following cell components are found in prokaryotic cells EXCEPT
(A) DNA
(B) ribosomes
(C) cell membrane
(D) nuclear envelope
(E) enzymes

8. Which of the following describes the most likely location of cholesterol in an animal cell?

(A) Embedded in the plasma membrane

(B) Dissolved in the cytosol
(C) Suspended in the stroma of the chloroplast
(D) Bound to free ribosomes

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic condition that is associated with defects in the CFTR protein. The CFTR protein is a gated ion
channel that requires ATP binding in order to allow chloride ions (Cl−) to diffuse across the membrane.

9. Identify the most likely cellular location of the ribosomes that synthesize CFTR protein.

General

1 point maximum.

Identification (1 point)

• (Rough) Endoplasmic Reticulum/ER

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Unit 2 Practice A

0 1

The student response earns one of the following points:

1 point maximum.

Identification (1 point)

• (Rough) Endoplasmic Reticulum/ER

10.

Which of the following scientific questions is most relevant to the model represented in the figure above?
(A) Is required for the transportation of sugars across the outer mitochondrial membrane?
Do the types of phospholipids in a membrane affect the rate at which molecules enter a cell by passive
(B)
diffusion?
(C) Which molecular substance is actively transported across the plasma membrane?
(D) How does temperature affect the movement of molecules into lysosomes?

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Unit 2 Practice A

The following questions refer to the following diagram. For each phrase or sentence, select the labeled part to which it is
most closely related. Each option may be used once, more than once, or not at all for each group.

11. Site of conversion of chemical energy of glucose to ATP

(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
(E) E

12. Site of glucose synthesis

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Unit 2 Practice A

(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
(E) E

13. Site of modification and packaging of proteins and lipids prior to export from the cell
(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
(E) E

14. Evolved from a photoautotrophic prokaryote

(A) A
(B) B
(C) C
(D) D
(E) E

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Unit 2 Practice A

• Directions: Each group of questions below concerns an experimental or laboratory situation or data. In each
case, first study the description of the situation or data. Then choose the one best answer to each question
following it and fill in the corresponding circle on the answer sheet.

Dialysis tubing is permeable to water molecules but not to sucrose. Four dialysis tubes are half filled with 5 percent, 10
percent, 20 percent, and 40 percent sucrose solutions, respectively, and two dialysis tubes are half filled with distilled
water. The dialysis tubes are all sealed at both ends, and the initial masses are determined. Five dialysis tubes are placed
into beakers containing distilled water, and the sixth dialysis tube, containing distilled water, is placed into a 40 percent
sucrose solution. The masses of the dialysis tubes are recorded at 30-minute intervals for 90 minutes, as shown in the table
below.

15. The contents of which dialysis tube are initially isotonic to the distilled water in the beaker?
(A) 1
(B) 2
(C) 3
(D) 4
(E) 5

16. A net movement of water into the beaker occurs in which of the following dialysis tubes?

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Unit 2 Practice A

(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 4
(D) 5
(E) 6

17. To model a plant cell, a permeable, nonflexible case is placed around each piece of dialysis tubing. The greatest
pressure potential will develop within dialysis tube number
(A) 2
(B) 3
(C) 4
(D) 5
(E) 6

The following questions refer to an experiment in which a dialysis-tubing bag is filled with a mixture of 3% starch and 3%
glucose and placed in a beaker of distilled water, as shown below. After 3 hours, glucose can be detected in the water
outside the dialysis-tubing bag, but starch cannot.

18. From the initial conditions and results described, which of the following is a logical conclusion?
The initial concentration of glucose in the bag is higher than the initial concentration of starch in the
(A)
bag.
(B) The pores of the bag are larger than the glucose molecules but smaller than the starch molecules.
(C) The bag is not selectively permeable.
(D) A net movement of water into the beaker has occurred.
The molarity of the solution in the bag and the molarity of the solution in the surrounding beaker are the
(E)
same.

19. Which of the following best describes the condition expected after 24 hours?

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Unit 2 Practice A

(A) The bag will contain more water than it did in the original condition.
(B) The contents of the bag will have the same osmotic concentration as the surrounding solution.
(C) Water potential in the bag will be greater than water potential in the surrounding solution.
(D) Starch molecules will continue to pass through the bag.
(E) A glucose test on the solution in the bag will be negative.

20. If, instead of the bag, a potato slice were placed in the beaker of distilled water, which of the following would be
true of the potato slice?

(A) It would gain mass.

(B) It would neither gain nor lose mass.
(C) It would absorb solutes from the surrounding liquid.
(D) It would lose water until water potential inside the cells is equal to zero.
(E) The cells of the potato would increase their metabolic activity.

21. A cell is treated with a drug that prevents the formation of new lysosomes. The cell continues to transcribe the genes
that code for the hydrolytic enzymes that are normally found in lysosomes and continues to translate the
for those proteins on membrane-bound ribosomes.

The hydrolytic enzymes are most likely to accumulate in which of the following cellular structures?
(A) Nucleus
(B) Mitochondrion
(C) Smooth endoplasmic reticulum
(D) Golgi complex

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Unit 2 Practice A

22. A student used a microscope to observe a wet-mount slide of red onion epidermal cells that were suspended in a
solution. The student then added a solution to the slide and observed the changes that occurred.
The student’s observations are represented in Figure 1.

Figure 1. Student’s observations of onion cells

Which of the following most directly explains the changes in the cells?
(A) The degradation of in the nuclei of the cells
(B) The lysis of chloroplasts in the cells
(C) The movement of water from the central vacuoles of the cells into the solution
(D) The movement of from the solution into the cytoplasm of the cells

A student conducted an experiment to determine the molar concentration of solutes in chicken eggs. Eggs were soaked in
vinegar to remove the shells. The eggs were then placed in sucrose solutions of different concentrations. The data are
shown in the table below.

23. Using the most appropriate data, construct a labeled graph on the axes provided below to best illustrate water
movement into and out of the egg. Explain why there is a difference in percent of mass change of the eggs in the
different sucrose solutions.

Part A

6 points are earned maximum

Graph (4 points maximum)

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Unit 2 Practice A

1— Title, labels of axes (X must be molar concentration, Y may be change jn mass or % change in mass)

1— Appropriate data selected (molar concentration vs. % change in mass)

1— Axis and data correctly scaled

1— Line graph correctly plotted according to data selected (X and Y axis positions are correct)

Explanation (2 points maximum)

1— Egg gains mass if solute concentration is lower outside of egg (hypotonic) causing water to move into egg

1— Egg loses mass if solute concentration is higher outside of egg (hypertonic) causing water to move out of egg

1— Water moves from low solute/high water concentration to high solute/low water concentration

0 1 2 3 4 5 6

The student response earns six of the following points:

6 points are earned maximum

Graph (4 points maximum)

1— Title, labels of axes (X must be molar concentration, Y may be change jn mass or % change in mass)

1— Appropriate data selected (molar concentration vs. % change in mass)

1— Axis and data correctly scaled

1— Line graph correctly plotted according to data selected (X and Y axis positions are correct)

Explanation (2 points maximum)

1— Egg gains mass if solute concentration is lower outside of egg (hypotonic) causing water to move into egg

1— Egg loses mass if solute concentration is higher outside of egg (hypertonic) causing water to move out of egg

1— Water moves from low solute/high water concentration to high solute/low water concentration

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Unit 2 Practice A

Certain chemicals, including sodium fluoride ( ), are capable of inhibiting specific steps of glycolysis. Figure 1 shows
the steps of the glycolysis pathway, indicating where various macromolecules enter the pathway as well as the specific
reaction inhibited by .

Figure 1. Key steps in the metabolic pathway of glucose

24. Which of the following describes why a glucose transporter is needed to move glucose into the cell?
(A) Glucose is nonpolar and requires to move across the membrane.
(B) Glucose molecules are polar and need to move from low concentration to high concentration.
(C) Glucose molecules are charged, and charged molecules are only ever actively transported.
(D) Glucose is large and polar and cannot pass through the phospholipid bilayer.

25. Which of the following best supports the statement that mitochondria are descendants of endosymbiotic bacteria-
like cells?

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Unit 2 Practice A

(A) Mitochondria and bacteria possess similar ribosomes and DNA.

(B) Mitochondria and bacteria possess similar nuclei.
(C) Glycolysis occurs in both mitochondria and bacteria.
(D) Both mitochondria and bacteria have microtubules.
(E) Neither mitochondria nor bacteria possess chloroplasts.

26. Which of the following is a characteristic of mitochondria and chloroplasts that supports the endosymbiotic theory?
(A) Both have bacteria-like polysaccharide cell walls.
(B) Both can reproduce on their own outside of the cell.
(C) Both contain DNA molecules.
(D) Both contain endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi bodies.
(E) Both contain ribosomes that are identical to ribosomes of the eukaryotic cytoplasm.

Directions: Answers must be in essay form. Outline form is not acceptable. Labeled diagrams may be used to supplement
discussion, but in no case will a diagram alone suffice. It is important that you read each question completely before you
begin.

A major distinction between prokaryotes and eukaryotes is the presence of membrane-bound organelles in eukaryotes.

27. Explain the endosymbiotic theory of the origin of eukaryotic cells and discuss an example of evidence supporting
this theory.

General

2 points maximum

Explain (1 point):

Prokaryotic cell was engulfed by another cell and formed a (symbiotic) relationship.

Evidence (1 point):

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast contains own DNA.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast contains own ribosomes.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast contain double membrane.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast divides by binary fission.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast have a similar size to prokaryotic cells.

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Unit 2 Practice A

0 1 2

Student response earns all of the available points.

2 points maximum

Explain (1 point):

Prokaryotic cell was engulfed by another cell and formed a (symbiotic) relationship.

Evidence (1 point):

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast contains own DNA.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast contains own ribosomes.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast contain double membrane.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast divides by binary fission.

• Mitochondria and/or chloroplast have a similar size to prokaryotic cells.

28. Which of the following is evidence that eukaryotes and prokaryotes share a common ancestor?
(A) All eukaryotes and prokaryotes contain linear .
(B) All eukaryotes and prokaryotes contain ribosomes.
(C) All eukaryotes and prokaryotes use organic molecules as an energy source.
(D) All eukaryotes and prokaryotes are capable of mitosis.

29. Which of the following is the strongest evidence supporting the endosymbiont hypothesis?

(A) Mitochondria have their own and divide independently of the cell.
(B) Mitochondria can carry out hydrolytic reactions on organic molecules.
(C) Mitochondria have a highly folded membrane.
(D) Mitochondria are found in both plants and animals.

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Unit 2 Practice A

30. Directions: Answers must be in essay form. Outline form is not acceptable. Labeled diagrams may be used to
supplement discussion, but in no case will a diagram alone suffice. It is important that you read each question
completely before you begin.

During an investigation of a freshwater lake, an AP Biology student discovers a previously unknown microscopic
organism. Further study shows that the unicellular organism is eukaryotic.

(a) Identify FOUR organelles that should be present in the eukaryotic organism and describe the function of each
organelle.

(b) Prokaryotic cells lack membrane-bound organelles found in eukaryotes. However, prokaryotes must perform
many of the same functions as eukaryotes. For THREE of the organelles identified in part (a), explain how
prokaryotic cells carry out the associated functions.

(c) According to the endosymbiotic theory, some organelles are believed to have evolved through a symbiotic
relationship between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Describe THREE observations that support the
endosymbiotic theory.

Part A

5 points maximum

0 1 2 3 4 5

Student response earns five of the available points.

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Unit 2 Practice A

Part B

3 points maximum

0 1 2 3

Student response earns three of the available points.

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Unit 2 Practice A

Part C

4 points maximum

Describe three observations (1 point each)

· Mitochondria contain their own DNA.

· Chloroplasts contain their own DNA.

· Mitochondria can self-replicate.

· Chloroplasts can self-replicate.

· Mitochondrial chromosomes are circular.

· Chloroplast chromosomes are circular.

· Mitochondrial chromosomes lack histones.

· Chloroplast chromosomes lack histones.

· Mitochondria contain ribosomes that are similar to bacterial ribosomes.

· Chloroplasts contain ribosomes that are similar to bacterial ribosomes.

· Inner membrane of mitochondria is similar the membrane of prokaryotes.

· Inner membrane of chloroplasts is similar the membrane of prokaryotes.

· Mitochondria can perform transcription and translation.

· Chloroplasts can perform transcription and translation.

· First amino acid in the polypeptides in mitochondria is fMet (N-formylmethionine).

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Unit 2 Practice A

· First amino acid in the polypeptides in chloroplasts is fMet (N-formylmethionine).

· Mitochondria are approximately the size of bacteria.

· Chloroplasts are approximately the size of bacteria.

· Mitochondria use many prokaryote-like enzymes.

· Chloroplasts use many prokaryote-like enzymes.

· Many antibiotics (e.g., rifampicin) interfere specifically with mitochondrial protein synthesis.

General description of endosymbiotic theory (1 point)

· Prokaryotic cells have been engulfed by and are living within ancestral/precursor eukaryotes.

0 1 2 3 4

Student response earns four of the available points.

Describe three observations (1 point each)

· Mitochondria contain their own DNA.

· Chloroplasts contain their own DNA.

· Mitochondria can self-replicate.

· Chloroplasts can self-replicate.

· Mitochondrial chromosomes are circular.

· Chloroplast chromosomes are circular.

· Mitochondrial chromosomes lack histones.

· Chloroplast chromosomes lack histones.

· Mitochondria contain ribosomes that are similar to bacterial ribosomes.

· Chloroplasts contain ribosomes that are similar to bacterial ribosomes.

· Inner membrane of mitochondria is similar the membrane of prokaryotes.

· Inner membrane of chloroplasts is similar the membrane of prokaryotes.

· Mitochondria can perform transcription and translation.

· Chloroplasts can perform transcription and translation.

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Unit 2 Practice A

· First amino acid in the polypeptides in mitochondria is fMet (N-formylmethionine).

· First amino acid in the polypeptides in chloroplasts is fMet (N-formylmethionine).

· Mitochondria are approximately the size of bacteria.

· Chloroplasts are approximately the size of bacteria.

· Mitochondria use many prokaryote-like enzymes.

· Chloroplasts use many prokaryote-like enzymes.

· Many antibiotics (e.g., rifampicin) interfere specifically with mitochondrial protein synthesis.

General description of endosymbiotic theory (1 point)

· Prokaryotic cells have been engulfed by and are living within ancestral/precursor eukaryotes.

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