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HESI A2 Biology Set 3

Question 1 of 35

Which feature is found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

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HESI A2 Biology Set 3 Practice Questions

Review these HESI A2 Biology Set 3 nursing practice questions with answer choices and explanations.

Question 1

Which feature is found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?

  1. Chloroplasts
  2. A membrane-bound nucleus
  3. A plasma membrane
  4. Mitochondria
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. A plasma membrane

Explanation: Both cell types have a membrane that separates their contents from the environment.

Question 2

Which structure helps many bacteria attach to surfaces?

  1. Fimbriae
  2. Mitochondria
  3. Nuclear pores
  4. Chloroplasts
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Fimbriae

Explanation: Fimbriae are short surface structures that help bacteria adhere to surfaces.

Question 3

What is a bacterial plasmid?

  1. A digestive organelle
  2. A protein coat around a virus
  3. A membrane-bound nucleus
  4. A small DNA molecule separate from the main chromosome
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. A small DNA molecule separate from the main chromosome

Explanation: Plasmids often carry additional genes, including some associated with antibiotic resistance.

Question 4

What is a bacteriophage?

  1. A bacterium that performs photosynthesis
  2. A virus that infects bacteria
  3. A fungus that produces antibiotics
  4. A white blood cell
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. A virus that infects bacteria

Explanation: Bacteriophages reproduce by infecting bacterial host cells.

Question 5

What is the main survival function of a bacterial endospore?

  1. To perform photosynthesis
  2. To produce gametes
  3. To withstand unfavorable conditions
  4. To increase swimming speed
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. To withstand unfavorable conditions

Explanation: Endospores are resistant dormant structures produced by certain bacteria.

Question 6

What is a pathogen?

  1. An agent capable of causing disease
  2. Any organism that makes food
  3. A normal chromosome pair
  4. An enzyme that produces ATP
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. An agent capable of causing disease

Explanation: Pathogens include disease-causing bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.

Question 7

Which substance can trigger a specific immune response when recognized as foreign?

  1. Glycogen
  2. ATP
  3. Cellulose
  4. Antigen
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Antigen

Explanation: Antigens are recognized by components of the adaptive immune system. OpenStax

Question 8

Which cells produce and secrete large quantities of antibodies?

  1. Red blood cells
  2. Plasma cells
  3. Platelets
  4. Muscle cells
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Plasma cells

Explanation: Plasma cells develop from activated B lymphocytes and secrete antibodies. OpenStax

Question 9

Why can the immune system respond more quickly to a previously encountered pathogen?

  1. All pathogens become harmless after one infection
  2. Red blood cells remember the pathogen
  3. Memory lymphocytes remain after the first response
  4. The body permanently stops producing mucus
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Memory lymphocytes remain after the first response

Explanation: Memory cells support a faster, stronger response to the same antigen. OpenStax

Question 10

How does vaccination usually provide protection?

  1. By preparing an immune response to specific antigens
  2. By replacing all white blood cells
  3. By preventing all mutations
  4. By killing every microorganism in the body
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. By preparing an immune response to specific antigens

Explanation: Vaccination stimulates immune defenses and usually establishes immunological memory. OpenStax

Question 11

Which tissue supports, binds, or connects other tissues and organs?

  1. Epithelial tissue
  2. Nervous tissue
  3. Muscle tissue
  4. Connective tissue
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Connective tissue

Explanation: Connective tissues include bone, cartilage, blood, and adipose tissue.

Question 12

Which type of muscle forms most of the muscular wall of the heart?

  1. Skeletal muscle
  2. Cardiac muscle
  3. Smooth muscle
  4. Tendon tissue
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Cardiac muscle

Explanation: Cardiac muscle contracts rhythmically to pump blood.

Question 13

Which tissue is specialized for transmitting electrical signals?

  1. Adipose tissue
  2. Cartilage
  3. Nervous tissue
  4. Bone
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Nervous tissue

Explanation: Neurons transmit signals that coordinate sensation, movement, and other functions.

Question 14

Which part of a neuron generally carries signals away from the cell body?

  1. Axon
  2. Dendrite
  3. Nucleus
  4. Ribosome
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Axon

Explanation: The axon conducts signals toward other neurons, muscles, or glands.

Question 15

What connects a skeletal muscle to a bone?

  1. Cartilage
  2. A ligament
  3. An artery
  4. A tendon
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. A tendon

Explanation: Tendons transmit the force of muscle contraction to bones.

Question 16

What connects one bone to another at a joint?

  1. A tendon
  2. A ligament
  3. A neuron
  4. A capillary
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. A ligament

Explanation: Ligaments help stabilize joints by connecting bones.

Question 17

What is peristalsis?

  1. Filtration of blood in the kidneys
  2. Exchange of gases in the lungs
  3. Wave-like muscle contractions that move food along the digestive tract
  4. Production of antibodies
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Wave-like muscle contractions that move food along the digestive tract

Explanation: Coordinated contractions push digestive contents forward. OpenStax

Question 18

Which enzyme begins the digestion of starch in the mouth?

  1. Salivary amylase
  2. Pepsin
  3. Lipase
  4. DNA polymerase
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Salivary amylase

Explanation: Salivary amylase starts breaking starch into smaller carbohydrates. OpenStax

Question 19

What is the main digestive role of bile?

  1. To digest DNA into amino acids
  2. To convert proteins directly into glucose
  3. To act as the main stomach enzyme
  4. To emulsify fats into smaller droplets
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. To emulsify fats into smaller droplets

Explanation: Bile increases the surface area available for fat-digesting enzymes. OpenStax

Question 20

Where does most absorption of digested nutrients occur?

  1. Esophagus
  2. Small intestine
  3. Stomach
  4. Rectum
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Small intestine

Explanation: Its large surface area supports absorption of most nutrients. OpenStax

Question 21

How do intestinal villi support nutrient absorption?

  1. They produce red blood cells
  2. They stop food from moving
  3. They increase the absorptive surface area
  4. They prevent contact with blood vessels
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. They increase the absorptive surface area

Explanation: Villi provide more surface through which digested nutrients can enter blood or lymph. OpenStax

Question 22

Which organ produces urea from nitrogen-containing waste generated during amino acid breakdown?

  1. Liver
  2. Heart
  3. Lung
  4. Spleen
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Liver

Explanation: The liver converts toxic ammonia into urea, which is then excreted mainly by the kidneys.

Question 23

What is the basic functional unit of the kidney?

  1. Alveolus
  2. Villus
  3. Neuron
  4. Nephron
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Nephron

Explanation: Nephrons filter blood and modify the filtrate to produce urine.

Question 24

Which hormone generally lowers blood glucose by promoting uptake and storage?

  1. Glucagon
  2. Insulin
  3. Adrenaline
  4. Melatonin
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Insulin

Explanation: Insulin promotes glucose uptake in certain tissues and encourages energy storage.

Question 25

Which situation illustrates negative feedback?

  1. Blood clotting activates more clotting factors
  2. Labor contractions become stronger as oxytocin increases
  3. A rise in body temperature triggers responses that cool the body
  4. A microphone produces an increasingly loud squeal
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. A rise in body temperature triggers responses that cool the body

Explanation: Negative feedback opposes the initial change and helps restore normal conditions.

Question 26

Why does sweating help cool the body?

  1. Evaporation of sweat removes heat from the skin
  2. Sweat turns directly into blood
  3. Sweat stops all cellular respiration
  4. Sweating increases the body’s chromosome number
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Evaporation of sweat removes heat from the skin

Explanation: Water requires heat energy to evaporate, drawing that energy from the skin.

Question 27

The growth of a plant shoot toward light is called:

  1. Transpiration
  2. Germination
  3. Fertilization
  4. Phototropism
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Phototropism

Explanation: Phototropism is directional growth in response to light.

Question 28

What is pollination?

  1. Fusion of male and female gametes
  2. Transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma
  3. Growth of an embryo into a seedling
  4. Absorption of water by roots
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Transfer of pollen from an anther to a stigma

Explanation: Pollination brings pollen to the female receptive structure of a flower.

Question 29

After fertilization in a flowering plant, an ovule normally develops into a:

  1. Leaf
  2. Root hair
  3. Seed
  4. Petal
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Seed

Explanation: The fertilized ovule develops into a seed containing the embryo.

Question 30

Which conditions are generally required for a viable seed to begin germinating?

  1. Water, oxygen, and a suitable temperature
  2. Salt, darkness, and carbon monoxide
  3. Fertilizer, flowers, and insects
  4. Soil, sunlight, and pollen in every case
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Water, oxygen, and a suitable temperature

Explanation: These support hydration and metabolism; some seeds have additional requirements.

Question 31

What is a population in ecology?

  1. All living and nonliving components of an area
  2. All species on Earth
  3. All organisms of different species in an area
  4. Members of one species living in the same area
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Members of one species living in the same area

Explanation: A population consists of individuals of the same species occupying a particular area.

Question 32

What does an ecosystem include?

  1. Only animals in an area
  2. A community of organisms and its nonliving environment
  3. Only plants of one species
  4. Only soil and water
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. A community of organisms and its nonliving environment

Explanation: Ecosystems include interactions among organisms and factors such as water, soil, and light.

Question 33

Which organism acts as a producer in a typical grassland food chain?

  1. A lion
  2. A grasshopper
  3. Grass
  4. A rabbit
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Grass

Explanation: Grass converts light energy into chemical energy through photosynthesis. OpenStax

Question 34

What do arrows in a food chain normally indicate?

  1. The direction of energy transfer
  2. The direction animals travel
  3. The order of scientific classification
  4. The relative sizes of organisms
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. The direction of energy transfer

Explanation: An arrow points from the organism being consumed toward its consumer. OpenStax

Question 35

Why is less energy available at higher trophic levels?

  1. Producers contain no stored energy
  2. Consumers cannot respire
  3. Energy is completely recycled between organisms
  4. Organisms use energy, and much is dissipated as heat
View answer and explanation

Correct answer:

  1. Organisms use energy, and much is dissipated as heat

Explanation: Only part of the energy at one trophic level becomes biomass available to the next.