STAAR Question Intro

The picture shows a contractile vacuole of a unicellular freshwater organism. The contractile vacuole regulates the flow of water into and out of the cell in an aquatic environment.

What conditions cause the contractile vacuole to fill with water?

• The concentration of water is greater outside the cell than inside the cell.

• The temperature of water in the vacuole is higher than the temperature of its environment.

• The concentration of water inside the cell is the same as the concentration outside the cell.

• The temperature of water in the vacuolle is lower than the temperature of its environment

Answer explanation

Simply osmosis

The diagram shows cellular activity across a cell membrane.

Which two processes does this diagram most directly model?

• Energy conversions and synthesis of new molecules

• Synthesis of new molecules and homeostasis

• Transport of molecules and energy conversions

• Homeostasis and transport of molecules

A type of cellular transport is shown.

Which description best identifies this type of cellular transport?

• Osmosis, because energy is not being used to move molecules with the concentration gradient

• Facilitated diffusion, because energy is being used to move molecules with the concentration gradient

• Active transport, because energy is being used to move molecules against the concentration gradient

• Endocytosis, because energy is not being used to move molecules against the concentration gradient

Which statement describes the process of osmosis in an animal cell?

• Sugar molecules move across the plasma membrane until the cell has enough energy to grow in size and divide.

• Ions move across the plasma membrane until the inside of the cell has a higher concentration of positive charges.

• Enzymes move across the plasma membrane until the cell has completed metabolism.

• Water molecules move across the plasma membrane until solute concentrations are equal on both sides of the membrane.

The diagram illustrates the activity of vesicles during a cellular process.

Which statement best explains the function of the vesicle?

• Delivering packaged materials to the Golgi apparatus for protein synthesis

• Exchanging genetic information between the Golgi apparatuses of separate cells

• Extracting portions of the Golgi apparatus to be regenerated for growth within the cell

• Transporting packaged molecules from the Golgi apparatus to be released out of the cell

Which molecule synthesized by plants is a major source of energy for cellular processes in both plants and animals?

• Wax

• Nucleic acid

• Glucose

• Chlorophyll

Which table correctly identifies how the plasma membrane contributes to the maintenance of cellular homeostasis?

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Materials are provided to students to build models of a prokaryotic cell, a eukaryotic cell, and a virus. The materials and the structures they represent are listed in the table shown.

Which material will students use in all three models?

• Yellow paper oval

• Gray paper hexagon

• Blue yarn

• Purple buttons

A student produces a labeled drawing of a virus for a presentation. The student states that the capsid has a function similar to the nuclear membrane found in animal cells.

Which of these describes the similar functions of capsids and nuclear membranes?

• Both transport proteins throughout the structures

• Both provide energy for activities in the structures.

• Both protect genetic information for the structures.

• Both code for the proteins needed for reproduction of the structures.

Students created note cards comparing characteristics of eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells. Which set of note cards most accurately compares these cells?

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