Explanations
1. A
The myelin sheath surrounds the axon of neurons and
speeds up the propagation of action potentials by allowing them
to skip along the axon.
2. C
Of the glands in the answer choices, only the salivary
glands do not release any hormones into the bloodstream. They release
saliva into the mouth by way of ducts.
3. A
Only arteries have muscular walls that can regulate
blood flow. Because arterial blood pressure tends to be high compared
to blood pressure in the veins, arteries do not contain valves to
prevent backflow of blood. Veins do contain valves, however, because
blood flows relatively sluggishly through them.
4. C
The four-chambered heart is an evolutionary advance
over the two-chambered heart. By splitting up oxygenated and deoxygenated
blood, the four-chambered heart ensures that more highly oxygenated
blood reaches the cells that need it. The four-chambered heart does
not raise or lower blood pressure. Neither does it increase blood
flow to the lungs or the brain.
5. B
Because carbon dioxide is dissolved in the blood as
carbonic acid, when levels of carbon dioxide in the blood are high,
the pH tends to drop (the blood becomes more acidic). When carbon
dioxide levels are low, the blood can become slightly more basic.
Respiratory rate is adjusted to control for these factors. A safe
pH level is extremely important for the operation of proteins, hormones,
and enzymes.
6. C
After the follicle releases the ovum during ovulation,
it changes form to become the corpus luteum. The corpus luteum remains
in the ovary producing progesterone and begins to disintegrate if
fertilization does not take place.
7. E
When a newly hatched bird first sees another moving
object, it instinctually believes that the object is its mother
and will follow it. This phenomenon is called imprinting. Tropisms occur
in plants. Conditioning is a learned rather than instinctual behavior,
as is associative learning. The sympathetic nervous system operates
on the body in emergency situations.
8. D
Carbon dioxide, a waste product of cell respiration,
diffuses from cells into the circulatory bloodstream, and is expelled
from the body through the lungs of the respiratory system.
9. C
Most of photosynthesis takes place in the palisade
layer of the leaf, so the cells of the palisade layer have the highest
concentration of chloroplasts.
10. D
Chloroplasts make carbohydrates during the Calvin cycle,
which occurs in the intermembrane space of the chloroplast called
the stroma. The light reaction creates the ATP and NADPH that power
the Calvin cycle. Oxygen is a by-product of photosynthesis, not
a raw material. Grana are the location of the light reaction.