Free practice final
Anatomy and Physiology 1 practice final (free, with answers)
A typical first-semester anatomy and physiology final covers body organization and homeostasis, tissues, the integumentary, skeletal, and muscular systems, and the nervous system and special senses. These 15 questions mix structure with how it works. Try each one on your own before opening the answer, then read the explanation to see why it is right.
Topics
- Body Organization
- Tissues
- Integumentary System
- Skeletal System
- Muscular System
- Nervous System
- Special Senses
15 questions
Try each one before you open its answer.
1. Which of the following is an example of positive feedback in the body?
- A Sweating as body temperature rises
- B Insulin release that lowers blood glucose after a meal
- C Shivering as body temperature falls
- D Oxytocin release that strengthens uterine contractions during labor
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Answer: D. Oxytocin release that strengthens uterine contractions during labor
In positive feedback the response amplifies the original change: stretching of the cervix triggers oxytocin release, which strengthens contractions and causes more stretching until delivery. The other three are negative feedback, which reverses a change and brings a variable back toward its set point.
2. Which tissue lines the alveoli (air sacs) of the lungs, where oxygen and carbon dioxide must diffuse quickly?
- A Stratified squamous epithelium
- B Simple columnar epithelium
- C Simple squamous epithelium
- D Transitional epithelium
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Answer: C. Simple squamous epithelium
Simple squamous epithelium is a single layer of thin, flat cells, giving the shortest possible diffusion distance. Stratified and columnar epithelia are too thick for efficient gas exchange, and transitional epithelium is specialized for stretching in the urinary tract.
3. Each lung is enclosed by a two-layered serous membrane. What is the name of the layer attached directly to the surface of the lung?
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Answer: Visceral pleura
Serous membranes have a visceral layer covering the organ and a parietal layer lining the cavity wall, here the parietal pleura. Serous fluid in the pleural cavity between the layers reduces friction as the lungs expand and recoil.
4. In the epidermis, new keratinocytes are produced by cell division mainly in which layer?
- A Stratum corneum
- B Stratum basale
- C Stratum granulosum
- D Stratum lucidum
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Answer: B. Stratum basale
The stratum basale, the deepest epidermal layer, contains stem cells that divide continually. Their daughter cells are pushed toward the surface, fill with keratin, and die, ending up in the stratum corneum.
5. Damaged articular cartilage in the knee heals very slowly. What is the main reason?
- A Cartilage is avascular, so nutrients reach its cells only by slow diffusion
- B Cartilage contains no living cells
- C Cartilage is a type of epithelial tissue
- D Cartilage is constantly broken down by osteoclasts
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Answer: A. Cartilage is avascular, so nutrients reach its cells only by slow diffusion
Cartilage has no blood vessels, so its chondrocytes, sitting in lacunae, depend on diffusion through the matrix for nutrients, which limits repair. It does contain living cells, and it is a connective tissue, not an epithelium.
6. Using the rule of nines, estimate the percentage of body surface area burned in an adult with burns over the entire left arm and the entire front of the trunk.
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Answer: 27%
In the adult rule of nines, each whole upper limb counts as 9% and the anterior trunk counts as 18%, so 9% + 18% = 27%. Estimates like this guide fluid replacement for burn patients.
7. In a growing child, which structure allows a long bone such as the femur to increase in length?
- A Periosteum
- B Endosteum
- C Medullary cavity
- D Epiphyseal plate
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Answer: D. Epiphyseal plate
In the epiphyseal (growth) plate, chondrocytes multiply on the epiphyseal side while the cartilage is replaced by bone on the diaphyseal side, so the bone lengthens. The periosteum adds bone to the outer surface, which increases width (appositional growth) rather than length.
8. When blood calcium falls, the parathyroid glands release parathyroid hormone (PTH). Which bone cells does PTH ultimately stimulate to break down bone matrix and release calcium into the blood?
- A Osteoblasts
- B Osteoclasts
- C Chondrocytes
- D Osteoprogenitor cells
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Answer: B. Osteoclasts
Osteoclasts resorb bone by secreting acid and enzymes that dissolve the mineralized matrix, freeing calcium into the blood. PTH increases their activity indirectly (mainly by signaling through osteoblasts), while osteoblasts themselves build new matrix.
9. In skeletal muscle, calcium ions released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum start contraction by binding to:
- A Myosin heads
- B Tropomyosin
- C Troponin
- D Acetylcholine receptors
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Answer: C. Troponin
Ca²⁺ binds troponin, which changes shape and pulls tropomyosin off the myosin-binding sites on actin. Myosin heads can then attach to actin and form cross bridges.
10. Which molecule must bind to a myosin head for the head to detach from actin? Its absence after death causes rigor mortis.
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Answer: ATP
Binding of a new ATP releases the myosin head from actin, and hydrolyzing that ATP re-cocks the head for the next power stroke. After death ATP runs out, so cross bridges stay locked and the muscles stiffen.
11. The rapid depolarization (rising) phase of a neuron's action potential is caused mainly by:
- A Na⁺ entering the cell through voltage-gated sodium channels
- B K⁺ leaving the cell through voltage-gated potassium channels
- C The Na⁺/K⁺ pump moving Na⁺ into the cell
- D Cl⁻ entering the cell through chloride channels
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Answer: A. Na⁺ entering the cell through voltage-gated sodium channels
At threshold, voltage-gated Na⁺ channels open and Na⁺ rushes in down its electrochemical gradient, making the inside of the membrane positive. K⁺ leaving the cell causes the repolarization that follows, and the Na⁺/K⁺ pump actually moves Na⁺ out of the cell.
12. Which glial cells form the myelin sheath around axons in the central nervous system?
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Answer: Oligodendrocytes
Each oligodendrocyte can wrap segments of several CNS axons. In the peripheral nervous system, Schwann cells form the myelin instead.
13. Which response would you expect from increased parasympathetic stimulation?
- A Dilation of the pupils
- B Increased heart rate
- C Release of glucose by the liver
- D Increased digestive motility and secretion
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Answer: D. Increased digestive motility and secretion
The parasympathetic division drives "rest and digest" activity, increasing gut motility and secretion while slowing the heart. Pupil dilation, a faster heart rate, and glucose release by the liver are sympathetic "fight or flight" effects.
14. Which photoreceptors provide sharp color vision in bright light and are concentrated in the fovea centralis?
- A Rods
- B Cones
- C Ganglion cells
- D Bipolar cells
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Answer: B. Cones
Cones come in three types sensitive to different wavelengths, which allows color vision, and the fovea is packed with them, giving the sharpest acuity. Rods work in dim light but do not distinguish color, and bipolar and ganglion cells relay signals from the photoreceptors toward the brain.
15. Do hair cells near the base of the cochlea (close to the oval window) respond best to high-frequency or low-frequency sounds?
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Answer: High-frequency (high-pitched) sounds
Near the base the basilar membrane is narrow and stiff, so it vibrates most at high frequencies; toward the apex it is wider and more flexible and responds to low frequencies. The brain reads pitch from which hair cells are stimulated.