1Formulas and methods
Biology for nursing entrance exams
Method
- Name the topic of the question: cell parts, transport, division, DNA and protein synthesis, inheritance, biomolecules, microorganisms or experimental design.
- Recall the key rule: A–T and G–C, diffusion from high to low, water moves towards more solute, mitosis keeps and meiosis halves the chromosome number.
- For crosses, write the parents’ genotypes, list the gametes and fill a Punnett square before counting.
- For experiments, label the independent, dependent and controlled variables, and ask whether the evidence supports or only suggests the conclusion.
- Check each option against the question asked, not just whether it is a true statement.
Chemistry for nursing entrance exams
Method
- Identify what is given and asked: particles, a formula, a state change, a concentration, a pH or a mass.
- Use the periodic table: the atomic number gives protons, the group gives valence electrons and the usual ion charge.
- Balance equations with coefficients only, element by element, oxygen and hydrogen last.
- For amounts, go mass → moles → mole ratio → moles → mass, and for solutions use M = mol/L and C₁V₁ = C₂V₂.
- Remember that pH is logarithmic: one unit is a factor of 10.
2Practice problems
1.Human anatomyMedium
Where does the spinal cord normally end in an adult?
- AAt about the level of T10
- BAt the coccyx
- CAt about the level of vertebrae L1–L2
- DAt the level of the sacrum
2.Human anatomyHard
A typical posterolateral disc herniation between L4 and L5 most often compresses which nerve root?
- AL3
- BS1
- CL4
- DL5
3.Human physiologyMedium
Since action potentials are all-or-none, how does a neuron signal a stronger stimulus?
- ABy firing action potentials more often
- BBy making each action potential larger
- CBy changing the neurotransmitter it releases
- DBy making each action potential longer
4.Human physiologyHard
A patient with small-cell lung cancer has low plasma sodium and low plasma osmolality but inappropriately concentrated urine. What is the most likely explanation?
- ACranial diabetes insipidus
- BAddison's disease with high aldosterone
- CPrimary hyperaldosteronism
- DSyndrome of inappropriate ADH secretion
5.Biology for nursing entrance examsMedium
What is the main role of inflammation after an injury?
- ATo destroy the healthy cells around the wound
- BTo stop all blood flow to the area so that bleeding ends
- CTo make antibodies inside the damaged cells
- DTo bring more blood and white blood cells to the area
6.Biology for nursing entrance examsHard
To find out how much adults in a city exercise, a researcher surveys only people leaving a gym. What is the main problem?
- AThe researcher has no dependent variable
- BSurveys can never be used in science
- CThe sample is too random to be useful
- DThe sample is biased towards active people
7.Chemistry for nursing entrance examsMedium
Which property stays the same whether you have a small sample or a large sample of a pure substance?
- ADensity
- BVolume
- CTotal heat content
- DMass
8.Chemistry for nursing entrance examsHard
Frying an egg turns the clear egg white solid and white. What happens to the proteins?
- AThey are hydrolysed, so the peptide bonds break into separate amino acids
- BThey are burned to carbon dioxide and water
- CThey are converted into fats
- DThey are denatured: their shape changes, but the peptide bonds stay intact
3Solutions
1.Human anatomy
Answer: C · At about the level of vertebrae L1–L2
Why this is the answer
In adults the cord ends at the conus medullaris near L1–L2. Below that lies the cauda equina, which is why lumbar punctures are done at L3–L4 or L4–L5.
C · At about the level of vertebrae L1–L2
2.Human anatomy
Answer: D · L5
Why this is the answer
A posterolateral L4–L5 herniation usually catches the traversing L5 root, causing weakness of big toe extension and numbness on the top of the foot.
3.Human physiology
Answer: A · By firing action potentials more often
Why this is the answer
Stimulus strength is coded by the frequency of action potentials and by how many neurons are recruited, not by their amplitude.
A · By firing action potentials more often
4.Human physiology
Answer: D · Syndrome of inappropriate ADH secretion
Why this is the answer
In SIADH excess ADH makes the kidneys retain water, diluting the plasma while urine stays concentrated. Small-cell lung cancer can secrete ADH.
D · Syndrome of inappropriate ADH secretion
5.Biology for nursing entrance exams
Answer: D · To bring more blood and white blood cells to the area
Why this is the answer
Inflammation is an innate response. Blood vessels widen and become leakier, so more blood, fluid and white blood cells reach the site to fight infection and start repair.
D · To bring more blood and white blood cells to the area
6.Biology for nursing entrance exams
Answer: D · The sample is biased towards active people
Why this is the answer
Gym-goers exercise more than the average adult, so the sample overestimates exercise. A random sample of the whole population would be better.
D · The sample is biased towards active people
7.Chemistry for nursing entrance exams
Answer: A · Density
Why this is the answer
Density is an intensive property: it depends on the substance, not the amount. Mass, volume and total heat content are extensive properties that grow with sample size.
8.Chemistry for nursing entrance exams
Answer: D · They are denatured: their shape changes, but the peptide bonds stay intact
Why this is the answer
Heat breaks the weak bonds (such as hydrogen bonds) that hold a protein's folded shape, so the chains unfold and tangle together. The covalent peptide bonds of the chain are not broken, so this is denaturation, not hydrolysis.
D · They are denatured: their shape changes, but the peptide bonds stay intact
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