Biochemistry quiz

Suitable for A/AS-level biology students.
Scroll down for answers.

1. Xylose has the chemical formula C₅H₁₀O₅. What type of substance is it?
a. A fatty acid
b. An amino acid
c. A monosaccharide
d. A nucleotide

2. Which of these is usually true of lipids?
a. The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen atoms is always 2:1
b. They do not dissolve well in water
c. They contain nitrogen
d. They contain many hydrogen bonds

3. Which base in an RNA molecule is complementary to adenine?
a. cytosine
b. guanine
c. thymine
d. uracil

4. Triglycerides are a type of:
a. Carbohydrate
b. Lipid
c. Protein
d. Nucleic acid

5. What does transfer RNA normally bind to?
a. DNA
b. mRNA
c. amino acids
d. Both B and C

6. A substance that tastes sweet and is soluble in water could be:
a. A monosaccharide
b. A disaccharide
c. A polysaccharide
d. Either A or B

7. How many fatty acid chains are there in a phospholipid molecule?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 3
d. 4

8. A molecule that is attracted to water is called:
a. Hydrostatic
b. Hydrolytic
c. Hydrophilic
d. Hydrophobic

9. The two strands of a DNA molecule are held together by:
a. Glycosidic bonds
b. Ester bonds
c. Peptide bonds
d. Hydrogen bonds

10. Alpha helices and beta pleated sheets form which aspect of a protein's structure?
a. Primary structure
b. Secondary structure
c. Tertiary structure
d. Quaternary structure

11. What is a codon?
a. The set of mRNA bases that specifies an amino acid
b. The set of tRNA bases that binds to an amino acid
c. The set of DNA bases that specifies a protein
d. The set of amino acids that makes a protein

12. Which of these molecules contains the greatest number of carbon atoms?
a. Ribose
b. Deoxyribose
c. Glucose
d. Glycerol

13. Which of these is not made entirely from glucose molecules?
a. Sucrose
b. Amylose
c. Cellulose
d. Glycogen

14. Which of these sugars does not normally react with Benedict's reagent?
a. Fructose
b. Galactose
c. Glucose
d. Sucrose

15. Which of these molecules consists of coiled, unbranched chains?
a. Amylose
b. Amylopectin
c. Cellulose
d. Both A and B

16. Which is true of saturated fats?
a. They are healthier than unsaturated fats
b. They contain double bonds
c. They are usually solids at room temperature
d. They have bent fatty acid chains

17. Which of these tests is used to find out if a sample contains protein?
a. Benedict's test
b. The emulsion test
c. The Biuret test
d. The iodine test

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