Free Support and Movement MCQs with Answers
738 Support and Movement MCQs from Biology, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
Support and movement covers the axial and appendicular skeleton, bone structure, joints and the arrangement of skeletal muscles. Muscle contraction is explained through actin, myosin, sliding filaments, calcium ions and ATP, while arthritis is distinguished as a disorder of joints rather than a normal part of movement.
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- A. salts of calcium, such as calcium phosphate
- B. silica particles
- C. sodium chloride crystals
- D. chitin fibres
Explanation: Bone combines a flexible framework of collagen with hard calcium salts, giving both strength and a little spring.
Correct answer: salts of calcium, such as calcium phosphate- A. 5
- B. 7
- C. 10
- D. 12
Explanation: Of the twelve pairs of ribs, the first seven attach directly to the sternum by their own cartilages and are called true ribs.
Correct answer: 7- A. 14
- B. 16
- C. 22
- D. 29
Explanation: Eight cranial bones enclose the brain and fourteen facial bones form the face, giving 22 in all.
Correct answer: 22- A. 5
- B. 7
- C. 4
- D. 12
Explanation: The column has 7 cervical, 12 thoracic, 5 lumbar, 5 fused sacral and 4 fused coccygeal vertebrae.
Correct answer: 12- A. clavicle and scapula
- B. femur and tibia
- C. radius and ulna
- D. sternum and ribs
Explanation: Each half of the pectoral girdle is a clavicle plus a scapula, and the arm bones attach at the shoulder socket.
Correct answer: clavicle and scapula- A. maxilla
- B. mandible
- C. nasal bone
- D. zygomatic bone
Explanation: The mandible hinges at the temporomandibular joint, allowing chewing and speech, while every other skull bone is locked to its neighbours…
Correct answer: mandible- A. contracts at the same time
- B. contracts even more strongly
- C. relaxes
- D. detaches from the bone
Explanation: Muscles can only pull, so the flexor biceps and the extensor triceps work as antagonists: one contracts while the other relaxes, and they…
Correct answer: relaxes- A. ligaments
- B. cartilage
- C. synovial fluid
- D. tendons
Explanation: Tendons are cords of tough collagen that tie muscle to bone and transmit the pull of contraction.
Correct answer: tendons- A. Smooth muscle
- B. Skeletal muscle
- C. Cardiac muscle
- D. Biceps muscle
Explanation: Smooth muscle lines the gut, blood vessels and airways, contracting slowly and without conscious control.
Correct answer: Smooth muscle- A. without a plasma membrane
- B. multinucleated
- C. without any cytoplasm
- D. prokaryotic
Explanation: Each fibre is a long cylinder formed by the fusion of many cells, so it carries a row of nuclei beneath its membrane.
Correct answer: multinucleated- A. tendons
- B. muscle fibres
- C. ligaments
- D. cartilage discs
Explanation: Ligaments stabilise a joint by tying the bones together while still permitting movement.
Correct answer: ligaments- A. synergists
- B. flexors only
- C. rotators
- D. antagonists
Explanation: Antagonistic pairs such as biceps and triceps allow controlled movement in both directions because muscles can pull but never push.
Correct answer: antagonists- A. myosin
- B. actin
- C. troponin
- D. tubulin
Explanation: Myosin molecules form the thick filament, their heads projecting to pull on actin during contraction.
Correct answer: myosin- A. storing glycogen in the muscle
- B. detaching myosin heads from actin and pumping calcium back after contraction
- C. synthesising haemoglobin
- D. nothing once contraction has begun
Explanation: Each myosin head needs a fresh ATP to release actin and re-cock, and the calcium pump needs ATP to restore relaxation.
Correct answer: detaching myosin heads from actin and pumping calcium back after contraction- A. A band
- B. H zone
- C. I band
- D. Z line
Explanation: The I band holds only thin actin filaments and shortens during contraction, while the A band spans the whole length of the myosin.
Correct answer: I band36. When a muscle fibre is stimulated, the calcium ions needed for contraction are released from the
- A. mitochondria
- B. Golgi apparatus
- C. nucleus
- D. sarcoplasmic reticulum
Explanation: The sarcoplasmic reticulum stores calcium and floods the fibre with it when an impulse arrives along the T tubules.
Correct answer: sarcoplasmic reticulum- A. a sarcomere
- B. a motor unit
- C. a reflex arc
- D. a myofibril
Explanation: All fibres of one motor unit contract together when the neuron fires, and fine muscles like those of the eye have tiny units for precise…
Correct answer: a motor unit- A. creatine phosphate
- B. glycogen only
- C. lactic acid
- D. haemoglobin
Explanation: Creatine phosphate donates its phosphate to ADP in a single step, replenishing ATP within seconds before glycogen breakdown catches up.
Correct answer: creatine phosphate- A. freely movable synovial joints
- B. slightly movable cartilaginous joints
- C. immovable fibrous joints called sutures
- D. ball and socket joints
Explanation: Sutures interlock the skull bones with fibrous tissue, locking the case that protects the brain.
Correct answer: immovable fibrous joints called sutures- A. freely movable
- B. immovable
- C. synovial
- D. slightly movable
Explanation: Cartilage discs between vertebrae allow limited movement, and the many small movements add up to the flexibility of the whole column.
Correct answer: slightly movable