CHAPTER 4 TEST BANK QUESTIONS AND
RIGHT ANSWERS 2024 - 2025
The element present in all organic molecules is ANS - carbon
The complexity and variety of organic molecules is due to ANS - the chemical versatility of carbon
atoms.
The experimental approach taken in current biological investigations presumes that ANS - living
organisms can be understood in terms of the same physical and chemical laws that can be used to
explain all natural phenomena.
Differences among organisms are caused by ANS - differences in the types and relative amounts of
organic molecules synthesized by each organism.
Which of the following people was the first to synthesize an organic compound, urea, from inorganic
starting materials? ANS - Friedrich Wohler
Stanley Miller's 1953 experiments proved that ANS - organic molecules can be synthesized abiotically
under conditions that may have existed on early Earth.
Hermann Kolbe's synthesis of an organic compound, acetic acid, from inorganic substances that had
been prepared directly from pure elements was a significant milestone for what reason? ANS - It
proved that organic compounds could be synthesized from inorganic compounds and disproved the
concept of vitalism.
Stanley Miller's 1953 experiments assumed that early Earth's atmosphere contained ANS - ammonia,
methane, hydrogen gas, and water vapor.
When Stanley Miller applied heat and electrical sparks to a mixture of simple inorganic compounds such
as methane, hydrogen gas, ammonia, and water vapor, what compounds were produced? ANS - both
simple organic compounds and more complex organic compounds such as amino acids and
hydrocarbons
, How many electron pairs does carbon share in order to complete its valence shell? ANS - 4
A carbon atom is most likely to form what kind of bond(s) with other atoms? ANS - covalent
Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird? ANS -
They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants, they were processed into sugars through
photosynthesis, and they are ultimately derived from carbon dioxide.
Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird? ANS -
The carbon atoms ultimately came from carbon dioxide incorporated into sugars through
photosynthesis.
Why are hydrocarbons insoluble in water? ANS - The majority of their bonds are nonpolar covalent
carbon-to-hydrogen linkages.
How many structural isomers are possible for a substance having the molecular formula C₄H₁₀? ANS - 2
Which of the following statements correctly describes cis-trans isomers? ANS - They have variations in
arrangement around a double bond.
Research indicates that ibuprofen, a drug used to relieve inflammation and pain, is a mixture of two
enantiomers; that is, molecules that ANS - are mirror images of one another.
What determines whether a carbon atom's covalent bonds to other atoms are in a tetrahedral
configuration or a planar configuration? ANS - the presence or absence of double bonds between the
carbon atom and other atoms
Compared to a hydrocarbon chain where all the carbon atoms are linked by single bonds, a hydrocarbon
chain with the same number of carbon atoms, but with one or more double bonds, will ANS - be more
constrained in structure.
RIGHT ANSWERS 2024 - 2025
The element present in all organic molecules is ANS - carbon
The complexity and variety of organic molecules is due to ANS - the chemical versatility of carbon
atoms.
The experimental approach taken in current biological investigations presumes that ANS - living
organisms can be understood in terms of the same physical and chemical laws that can be used to
explain all natural phenomena.
Differences among organisms are caused by ANS - differences in the types and relative amounts of
organic molecules synthesized by each organism.
Which of the following people was the first to synthesize an organic compound, urea, from inorganic
starting materials? ANS - Friedrich Wohler
Stanley Miller's 1953 experiments proved that ANS - organic molecules can be synthesized abiotically
under conditions that may have existed on early Earth.
Hermann Kolbe's synthesis of an organic compound, acetic acid, from inorganic substances that had
been prepared directly from pure elements was a significant milestone for what reason? ANS - It
proved that organic compounds could be synthesized from inorganic compounds and disproved the
concept of vitalism.
Stanley Miller's 1953 experiments assumed that early Earth's atmosphere contained ANS - ammonia,
methane, hydrogen gas, and water vapor.
When Stanley Miller applied heat and electrical sparks to a mixture of simple inorganic compounds such
as methane, hydrogen gas, ammonia, and water vapor, what compounds were produced? ANS - both
simple organic compounds and more complex organic compounds such as amino acids and
hydrocarbons
, How many electron pairs does carbon share in order to complete its valence shell? ANS - 4
A carbon atom is most likely to form what kind of bond(s) with other atoms? ANS - covalent
Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird? ANS -
They were incorporated into organic molecules by plants, they were processed into sugars through
photosynthesis, and they are ultimately derived from carbon dioxide.
Which of the following statements best describes the carbon atoms present in a seed-eating bird? ANS -
The carbon atoms ultimately came from carbon dioxide incorporated into sugars through
photosynthesis.
Why are hydrocarbons insoluble in water? ANS - The majority of their bonds are nonpolar covalent
carbon-to-hydrogen linkages.
How many structural isomers are possible for a substance having the molecular formula C₄H₁₀? ANS - 2
Which of the following statements correctly describes cis-trans isomers? ANS - They have variations in
arrangement around a double bond.
Research indicates that ibuprofen, a drug used to relieve inflammation and pain, is a mixture of two
enantiomers; that is, molecules that ANS - are mirror images of one another.
What determines whether a carbon atom's covalent bonds to other atoms are in a tetrahedral
configuration or a planar configuration? ANS - the presence or absence of double bonds between the
carbon atom and other atoms
Compared to a hydrocarbon chain where all the carbon atoms are linked by single bonds, a hydrocarbon
chain with the same number of carbon atoms, but with one or more double bonds, will ANS - be more
constrained in structure.
