| Biology 449 - Animal Physiology |
Spring 2002 |
Midterm 2
Answers in italics
Multiple choice: As always, choose the best answer for each multiple-choice
question. Answer on your scantron form. Each question (except #1) is worth
3 points.
- Note – these instructions for the scantron are different than last time's.
Fill in your scantron form as follows: (1 point)
- Write in your name in the upper left (last name first) and
bubble it in.
- If you wish to retrieve your exam score through the course web site
and did not give me a PIN last time, write and bubble in a secret
code (i.e. a PIN or password) in the “Special Codes” section.
Be sure you remember it!
- Sign your form in the upper right.
- I actually read these new instructions and did what was asked.
- - e. I only bubbled in the name of the anatomical location where you
can stick this scantron.
- Smooth muscle is most likely to be located in
- a postural muscle.
- an arm muscle.
- the tongue.
- the heart.
- an arteriole.
- The term that describes an individual muscle cell is
- myofibril.
- muscle fiber.
- sarcomere.
- motor unit.
- filament.
- Under normal conditions, the contraction of a muscle would involve action
potentials traveling along which of the following?
- Motor neuron only
- Motor neuron and sarcolemma only
- Motor neuron, sarcolemma and t-tubule only
- Motor neuron, sarcolemma, t-tubule and sarcoplasmic reticulum only
- Motor neuron, sarcolemma, t-tubule, sarcoplasmic reticulum and sarcoplasm
- The ion that controls cross-bridge cycling is
- sodium.
- potassium.
- chloride.
- iron.
- calcium.
- If all the tropomyosin in a muscle were suddenly removed, which of the following
would most likely happen?
- The muscle would immediately begin contracting, and would contract continuously
until ATP ran out.
- The muscle would not contract until an action potential occurred, but
then would contract continuously until ATP ran out.
- A rigor mortis like state would immediately occur, with the actin and
myosin locked together.
- No contraction would be possible under any circumstances.
- The muscle would contract and stop contracting in the normal manner.
- During cross-bridge cycling, the energy from ATP is used to
- break the bond between actin and myosin.
- create the bond between actin and myosin.
- energize actin, changing it to a high-energy conformation.
- energize myosin, changing it to a high-energy conformation.
- None of the above.
- An experiment designed to examine an isotonic twitch contraction would allow
you to measure which of the following variables?
- Force production
- Distance shortened
- Shortening velocity
- a and b
- b and c
- In comparison to a twitch contraction, a tetanic contraction
- lasts longer
- generates more force
- has a shorter latent period
- a and b
- a, b and c
- A muscle with a lot of mitochondria and relatively high contraction velocity
is likely to be which type of muscle?
- Fast glycolytic
- Fast oxidative-glycolytic
- Slow oxidative
- Smooth
- None of the above
- What type of blood vessel allows gas exchange between the blood and tissues?
- Arteries
- Arterioles
- Capillaries
- Venules
- Veins
- Which of the following statements about the circulatory system is not
true?
- One-way valves are located in some parts of the circulatory system to
prevent blood from moving backwards.
- Some arteries carry deoxygenated blood.
- Blood pressure is higher in the systemic circulation than in the pulmonary
circulation.
- Arteries are more elastic than other vessels.
- None of the above.
- The brain receives its oxygen from blood passing through the
- carotid arteries.
- coronary arteries.
- subclavian arteries.
- hepatic arteries.
- iliac arteries.
- The intercalated disks of the myocardium are important because they
- allow action potentials to spread from cell to cell.
- prevent backflow of blood.
- act as pacemakers.
- prevent tetanic contractions.
- control calcium flow.
- During a heartbeat, the aortic valve closes when
- blood pressure in the ventricles becomes greater than blood pressure
in the atria.
- blood pressure in the atria becomes greater than blood pressure in the
ventricles.
- blood pressure in the ventricles becomes greater than blood pressure
in the arteries.
- blood pressure in the arteries becomes greater than blood pressure in
the ventricles.
- The aortic valve never closes.
- Heart rate is strongly influenced by all of the following except
- the volume of blood entering the ventricles.
- the sympathetic nervous system.
- the parasympathetic nervous system.
- epinephrine
- All of the above strongly influence heart rate.
- The total volume of blood flow per minute is greatest through which of the
following parts of the circulatory system?
- The heart
- All arteries combined
- All capillaries combined
- All veins combined
- The same amount of blood per minute flows through all of these.
- If a particular arteriole decreases in diameter by one-half, the blood flow
through that arteriole will
- decrease 4×
- decrease 16×
- increase 2×
- increase 4×
- increase 16×
- During a deep inhalation, the lungs expand because
- the negative pressure of the intrapleural fluid keeps the lungs "stuck"
to the expanding walls of the thorax.
- the volume of the anatomical dead space decreases.
- the pharynx acts as a positive pressure pump to force air into the lungs.
- the compliance of the lungs tends to make them expand as the intercostal
muscles are relaxed.
- the pulmonary stretch receptors get activated.
- The term used to refer to the amount of air drawn into the lungs with each
breath is
- stroke volume.
- minute ventilation.
- alveolar ventilation.
- tidal volume.
- ventilation frequency.
- Anatomical dead space includes all of the following except
- the trachea
- the bronchi
- the bronchioles
- All of the above are part of the anatomical dead space.
- None of the above is part of the anatomical dead space.
- If the solubility of a gas X is .5 ml/liter·torr and the concentration of
the gas in a sample of water is 5 ml/liter, then the partial pressure of X
in the water is
- 0.1 torr
- 2.5 torr
- 5 torr
- 10 torr
- Impossible to tell with the information provided.
- Blood returning to the lungs in a person at rest would likely show which
of the following gas partial pressures?
- PO2 = 40 torr, PCO2 = 40 torr
- PO2 = 40 torr, PCO2 = 46 torr
- PO2 = 40 torr, PCO2 = 104 torr
- PO2 = 104 torr, PCO2 = 40 torr
- PO2 = 104 torr, PCO2 = 46 torr
- In a two pigment system involving myoglobin,
- the myoglobin has a lower affinity for oxygen than the hemoglobin and
passes oxygen to the hemoglobin.
- the myoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen than the hemoglobin and
passes oxygen to the hemoglobin.
- the hemoglobin has a lower affinity for oxygen than the myoglobin and
passes oxygen to the myoglobin.
- the hemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen than the myoglobin and
passes oxygen to the myoglobin.
- the hemoglobin and myoglobin share the oxygen equally.
- If carbon dioxide levels rise in the lungs, then the hydrogen ion levels
in the blood
- will drop because additional bicarbonate ions are formed (via carbonic
anhydrase), and this is a base that eliminates hydrogen ions.
- will rise because carbon dioxide binds to bicarbonate ions.
- will rise because the formation of bicarbonate ions also creates hydrogen
ions.
- will drop because more carbon dioxide will be dissolved in the blood
rather than forming carbonic acid.
- will remain constant.
- The particular set of cells that drives the respiratory rhythm is the
- medullary respiratory neurons.
- medullary inspiratory neurons.
- medullary inflationary neurons.
- medullary expiratory neurons.
- medullary explanatory neurons.
Short answer: Write a concise answer to each of the following questions.
Your answers should fit in the spaces provided. Each question is worth 4 points.
- As a contracting sarcomere shortens from about 3.6 to 2.25 µm in length,
force production increases steadily. But during shortening from 2.25 to 2
μm, force production stops increasing. Why is this?
- What is a motor unit?
- What is active hyperemia, and how does it work?
- What would be the likely effect of abnormally high blood pressure on the
rate of lymph formation (assuming all other variables are unaffected)? Why?
- Recall that there is generally little ventilatory response to a drop in
arterial PO2 until levels reach about 60 torr. Why is a ventilatory
response relatively useless at higher PO2's?
- On the graph below, draw in a line showing the possible shape of the oxygen
saturation curve after a shift due to the Bohr effect takes place, then answer
the questions that follow.

- If the PO2 at the lungs is 104 torr and the PO2
in a particular set of tissues is 30 torr, about what percentage of the
oxygen carried by the hemoglobin will be unloaded at these tissues before
the Bohr shift?
- How much more oxygen will be unloaded after the Bohr shift (as
you drew it) takes place?