Hey Y’all,
Just a post that’s meant to be fun/funny.
I’m enrolled in anatomy & physiology 1 this semester – it’s actually part of the BSN program I’m formally enrolled in (and still on the fence about switching out of, despite what I said at the end of last semester 
).
Anyhow, our instructor is somewhat notorious for posing questions on exams that have, well, elusive solutions. Solutions that make sense perhaps only in our instructor’s head.
Our first exam is on Friday. This question is from the practice exam, and I think it exemplifies the above statement. I’ll just post the question now, solicit some answers and then post the “correct” answer and her justification.
Remember, just for fun. I had to drink a glass of scotch to calm down after I read the instructors justification for her answer, but since you guys aren’t being tested on the subject… just enjoy!
“Which of the following is found in DNA but not RNA?”
a) Deoxyribose only
b) Adenine only
c) Thymine only
d) Both adenine and thymine
e) Both thymine and deoxyribose
Cheers,
brian
I am throwing my reputation on the line by posting here lol, but I think the answer is either e or a.
Reasoning:
a) Deoxyribose (the sugar) is only part of DNA. RNA uses Pentose. So this is correct.
b) Adenine exists on both.
c) No Thymine in RNA, it has Uracil instead, so this is correct.
d) Can’t be correct, Adenine exists on both
e) Could be right… thymine is present in DNA but not RNA, and deoxyribose is present only in DNA.
Very poorly worded question, unless it’s purposely phrased to make drain mental horsepower.
The answer to me is obviously E but since the premise is that drinking is involved in accepting the instructors answer, I will guess D. My guess of the logic is that the pair of A-T is missing.
> > RNA uses Pentose.
Doesn’t RNA use Ribose? Or are the two synonymous?
…oh the anticipation of telling you guys the answer is killin’ me. 
At first glance, I would pick E, but I guess if you wanted to be super sneaky about it, D might be correct also.
If the correct answer is D, then I think this professor might the evil twin of one I had last semester!
So yeah… her answer was D. Why? Because of the word “both” – several of the other answers “work,” but since both adenine and thymine only exist in DNA and not in RNA, that’s the “correct” answer.
There was such a ****storm from the class about her logic with this question, she claimed she would re-think the evil symantic style questions on her exams.
It’s a poorly worded question, right? I mean, it’s not just me, is it?
Test Friday, wish me luck!
-b
LOL, wow, that’s some shitty logic. Even assuming that “both” means what she thinks it means in that context, that question doesn’t test your understanding of biology in any appreciable way. Nice 
.
Save the Scotch for celebrations, though. For this stuff… well, gotta laugh, or else you’d be crying ;).
Seacuke!
Sorry you have to put up with poorly worded questions like the one you posted. Unfortunately, my only advice is: get used to it! You’ll probably have to deal with similar questions for the rest of your academic career.
The most tricky question I ever got on a exam was something on that line: ‘AMP is the second messenger in many cells. T or F?’
The answer was False - b/c ‘the’ suggested that it was the only second messenger, which is not the case!
Kasia
I ended up with a 96 on the exam. Woot!
I think I have her figured out. It came when I grasped what she meant when she said the phrase:
“Unsaturated fats have at least one double bond between Carbon and Hydrogen.”
When I told her I understood that to mean there’s a
Code:
... ...
/
C = C
| |
H H
type thing instead of a C=H thing (which, to the best of my knowledge is impossible), her whole face lit up and she said,"NOW you're thinking!"
On it's face though... double bond between Carbon and Hydrogen... ummmm... yeah.
Cheers,
b