01
True or false
1 point
True or false: FASTQ records include per-base quality scores that FASTA records do not retain.
Free Practice Quiz Question List
06 Bioinformatics Fundamentals Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 06 Bioinformatics Fundamentals, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Choose one
1 point
A researcher wants to find high-throughput sequencing experiments and associated sample information. Which database is the best fit?
- A
GenBank
- B
RefSeq
- C
SRA (Sequence Read Archive)
- D
UniProt
03
Written response
1 point
What alignment method compares two similar, same-length sequences across their full lengths?
04
Fill in the blank
1 point
When sequences have different lengths and only a matching region is of interest, a can identify the most similar region.
05
Choose one
1 point
A short DNA query may match only one region within a much longer sequence. Which approach is most appropriate for finding that matching region?
- A
Use global alignment because it always finds only the best local region.
- B
Use local alignment to find similar matching regions within the sequences.
- C
Translate both sequences before aligning them, regardless of their sequence type.
- D
Use a protein database to compare any two DNA sequences.
06
Choose all
1 point
When choosing a sequence database record, which details should you check? Select all that apply.
- A
The organism associated with the record
- B
The record description
- C
The accession and version
- D
The evidence for the record
- E
The database update or release information
- F
The color used to display the record
07
True or false
1 point
True or false: Similarity to an annotated sequence by itself proves that a query sequence has the same biological function.
- A
True
- B
False
08
Written response
1 point
Which database resource provides protein sequences and functional information?
09
Choose one
1 point
A BLAST result has a smaller E-value than another result. Which interpretation is best supported?
- A
A smaller E-value proves that the query and database sequence have identical biological functions.
- B
A larger E-value indicates a less chance-like match, regardless of search size.
- C
The E-value alone determines whether a sequence match is biologically meaningful.
- D
A smaller E-value generally indicates a less chance-like match, but other evidence and context still matter.
10
Fill in the blank
1 point
To compare the opposite DNA strand, a sequence may be .
11
Choose all
1 point
Which of the following are examples of biological data that may be stored or analyzed? Select all that apply.
- A
Sequencing reads
- B
An E-value reported for a search
- C
Genome assemblies
- D
Gene-expression measurements
- E
A gap penalty used in an alignment
12
Open ended
1 point
A short DNA query has a strong local alignment to one region of a much longer gene. Explain what this result supports, what it does not establish, and what evidence you would examine before drawing a biological conclusion.
13
Choose one
1 point
Which statement best distinguishes GenBank from RefSeq?
- A
GenBank is a protein-focused resource, whereas RefSeq stores raw sequencing experiments.
- B
GenBank is an archival collection of submitted nucleotide sequences, whereas RefSeq provides reference sequences.
- C
GenBank stores only high-throughput reads, whereas RefSeq stores only expression measurements.
- D
GenBank and RefSeq are both described solely as collections of protein functional annotations.
14
Choose one
1 point
A researcher needs sequencing reads together with the instrument's confidence for each base call. Which format should they use?
- A
FASTA preserves a per-base quality score for each base call.
- B
FASTQ stores sequencing reads with per-base quality scores.
- C
RefSeq stores only raw sequencing reads and their quality scores.
- D
UniProt stores sequencing-read quality scores.
15
Choose one
1 point
A researcher wants a non-redundant collection of reference genomes, transcripts, and proteins for sequence comparisons. Which resource best fits that purpose?
- A
SRA
- B
GenBank
- C
RefSeq
- D
UniProt
16
Choose one
1 point
A set of sequencing reads contains many low-confidence base calls. Before comparing the reads with reference sequences, what is an appropriate step?
- A
Assess read quality and consider quality trimming before downstream analysis.
- B
Translate every read into a protein sequence before checking its quality.
- C
Use a global alignment to remove low-quality base calls automatically.
- D
Treat each base call as equally reliable because the reads are in FASTQ format.
17
True or false
1 point
True or false: Reverse-complementing a DNA sequence can allow comparison with the opposite strand.
- A
True
- B
False
18
Written response
1 point
What term names the identifier for a database record?
19
Written response
1 point
What program compares a query sequence with sequences in a selected database and reports regions of local similarity?
20
Choose one
1 point
Which symbol begins the description line in a FASTA sequence record?
- A
The greater-than symbol (>)
- B
The at symbol (@)
- C
The hash symbol (#)
- D
The plus symbol (+)