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AP®BiologyCollege BoardExam QuestionsUnit 2: Cell Structure & FunctionCell Structure

Cell Structure (College Board AP® Biology): Exam Questions

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1
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A pancreatic cell involved in insulin secretion is observed under an electron microscope. The organelles responsible for modifying and packaging insulin appear as a series of flattened membrane sacs.

Which of the following organelles is responsible for modifying and packaging insulin?

  • Lysosome

  • Nucleus

  • Golgi apparatus

  • Mitochondrion

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2
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A scientist hypothesized that the rough endoplasmic reticulum (RER) plays a key role in insulin production.

Which of the following experiments would best test this hypothesis?

  • Disrupting the rough ER and measuring insulin levels.

  • Removing lysosomes from a cell and observing the effect on ATP production.

  • Blocking ribosome function and measuring glucose levels.

  • Disrupting the smooth ER and tracking protein folding.

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3
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Mitochondria have a highly folded inner membrane.

Which of the following is the most likely function of this structural feature?

  • It increases surface area for ATP production.

  • It absorbs glucose for respiration.

  • It increases the production of hydrolytic enzymes.

  • It increases chlorophyll pigment availability in the cell.

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4
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The stroma is the fluid-filled space within chloroplasts where critical biochemical reactions take place. A researcher is investigating the second stage of photosynthesis, where carbon dioxide is converted into organic molecules.

Which of the following best describes the role of the stroma in photosynthesis?

  • It stores oxygen produced in the light-dependent reactions.

  • It houses pigments that absorb light energy for ATP production.

  • It contains enzymes that drive the Calvin-Benson cycle.

  • It is the site of the Krebs cycle.

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5
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Cells need to exchange materials like oxygen and nutrients to survive. It can be demonstrated in the lab that substances diffuse from the external environment and throughout the cell cytoplasm more quickly in smaller cells than in larger cells.

Which of the following best explains the results of the demonstration described above?

  • Smaller cells have more mitochondria to release energy for active transport.

  • Smaller cells have a higher surface area-to-volume ratio, increasing the rate of diffusion.

  • Larger cells have thicker membranes, resulting in a longer diffusion distance.

  • Larger cells have more ribosomes, allowing faster protein production.

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The Golgi complex is a membrane-bound structure that consists of a series of flattened membrane sacs. The Golgi complex has a number of different functions.

Which of the following is not a function of the Golgi complex?

  • Folding of newly synthesized proteins.

  • Chemical modification of newly synthesized proteins.

  • Creation of newly synthesized proteins.

  • Packaging of newly synthesized proteins for protein trafficking.

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2
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Fish are adapted for effective gas exchange by way of a specialized exchange surface called gills.

Scientists collected data on how fish gill surface area is affected by body mass of the fish in different environments. Fish were placed in four different environments:

  • Hyperoxia (excess oxygen concentration in water) at either warm or cool temperatures

  • Normoxia (normal oxygen concentration in water) at either warm or cool temperatures

The results are shown in Figure 1.

Graph showing gill surface area vs. body mass for four conditions: cool normoxia, cool hyperoxia, warm normoxia, and warm hyperoxia, with trend lines.
Figure 1. Scatter plot showing gill surface area versus body mass

Which of the following best explains the data shown in Figure 1?

  • As organisms increase in size, their surface area-to-volume ratio decreases; therefore, larger organisms require specialized exchange surfaces to meet oxygen demands.

  • As organisms increase in size, their surface area-to-volume ratio increases, therefore, larger organisms require specialized exchange surfaces to meet oxygen demands.

  • Fish within a warm and normoxic environment have the largest gill surface area.

  • Temperature has an effect on gill surface area.

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3
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Peroxisomes are small, spherical, single-membrane bound organelles. They are found in the cytoplasm of almost all eukaryotic cells. Peroxisomes perform a variety of metabolic functions, including lipid metabolism and detoxification. Figure 1. shows an electron micrograph of a peroxisome.

Microscopic image showing a detailed view of circular bacterial cells, each measuring approximately 4 micrometres in diameter, with textured surfaces.
Figure 1. An electron micrograph of a peroxisome.

Which of the following is the correctly calculated volume of the peroxisome?

V = 4 over 3 pi r3

  • 0.8352 μm3

  • 0.2673 μm3

  • 0.0334 μm3

  • 0.0188 μm3

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4
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Algae are aquatic eukaryotic photosynthetic organisms. Algal cells contain chloroplasts. Chloroplasts have a complex structure made up of stroma, thylakoids, and grana. Which of the following is true for algal chloroplasts?

  • The light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis occur in the stroma.

  • The stroma is the fluid within the inner chloroplast membrane and outside of the thylakoid.

  • The carbon fixation (Calvin-Benson cycle) reactions of photosynthesis occur in the grana.

  • The grana are organized in stacks, called thylakoids.

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Plant vacuoles are organelles that can occupy more than 90% of the cell volume and are essential to plant cell growth and development. Scientists investigated the Influence of growth substances (IAA and FC), heavy metals (Cd and Pb), and their combination on the volume of vacuoles isolated from red reet (Beta vulgaris) taproot cells.

The scientists' results are shown in Figure 1.

Bar chart showing vacuole volume changes (%) over time (18-60 min) for different treatments: Cd + IAA, Pb + FC, etc. Includes error bars and a key.
Figure 1. A comparison of the effects of growth substances, heavy metals, and their combination on the volume changes of vacuole

Which of the following best describes the data shown in Figure 1?

  • As time increases the volume of vacuoles varies in all plants.

  • There is no significant difference in the volume of vacuoles with different substances over time.

  • Lead and cadmium affect vacuole volume in Beta vulgaris over time.

  • Heavy metals affect the size of vacuoles in Beta vulgaris.

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A patient presents with muscle weakness and fatigue. Genetic analysis of the mitochondrial DNA reveals a mutation in the ATP synthase gene, which affects oxidative phosphorylation.

How would this mutation most likely impact the patient’s cellular function?

  • Increase in glucose storage within the muscle cells.

  • Decreased ATP production and reliance on anaerobic respiration.

  • Increased oxygen consumption in the mitochondria.

  • Enhanced protein synthesis due to increased ribosome activity.

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The graph shows the difference in surface area of the cristae in healthy mitochondria compared to diseased mitochondria.

Bar chart comparing cristae surface area in mitochondria. Healthy is 200 units, green; diseased is 120 units, red. Y-axis: surface area, x-axis: mitochondrion type.

Which of the following best summarizes the effect of mitochondrial disease on ATP production?

  • Decreases ATP synthesis by limiting oxygen availability.

  • Decreases ATP synthesis by reducing the space available for the electron transport chain.

  • Has no effect on ATP production.

  • Decreases ATP production as it prevents the Krebs cycle from occurring.

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31 mark

A scientist studying eukaryotic cells observes an accumulation of undigested, organic cellular material, including damaged organelles and pathogens.

What is the most likely explanation for this observation?

  • The mitochondria have stopped producing ATP, causing a buildup of cellular waste.

  • The lysosomes are malfunctioning, preventing proper breakdown of cellular debris.

  • The Golgi apparatus is failing to transport proteins to their destinations.

  • The ribosomes are unable to synthesize digestive enzymes.

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Root hair cells absorb water and minerals from the soil, relying on a high surface area-to-volume ratio (SA:V) for efficient uptake. In disease-affected plants, root hair cells shrink, altering their SA:V ratio and reducing efficiency.

A student compares a healthy root hair cell (cuboidal, 4 µm × 2 µm × 1 µm) with a diseased root hair cell, which has shrunk to a cube with a side length of (cuboidal, 2 µm × 2 µm × 2 µm).

By how much has the surface area-to-volume ratio (SA:V) decreased in the diseased root hair cell compared to the healthy one?

  • The healthy cell’s SA:V is 3.5:1, while the diseased cell’s SA:V is 3:1, a decrease of 0.5.

  • The healthy cell’s SA:V is 3.5:1, while the diseased cell’s SA:V is 2:1, a decrease of 1.5.

  • The healthy cell’s SA:V is 3:1, while the diseased cell’s SA:V is 2.5:1, a decrease of 0.5.

  • The healthy cell’s SA:V is 4:1, while the diseased cell’s SA:V is 3:1, a decrease of 1.

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