Unofficial practice for MTEL Biology (66): molecules, organisms, ecosystems, heredity and evolution, each answer checked against a named public source.
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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson. Bank checked October 9, 2026.
A city on the coast has milder winters and cooler summers than an inland city. Which property of water explains this best?U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School: Specific Heat Capacity and Water. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0001
A nucleotide is a sugar attached to a phosphate group and a nitrogen-containing base. Which sugar do the nucleotides of DNA contain?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Nucleotide. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0001
As electrons travel through the protein complexes of the inner mitochondrial membrane, what forms across that membrane?Nature Education, Scitable: Cell Energy and Cell Functions. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0002
The dark reactions of photosynthesis fix carbon dioxide into sugar. Which two products of the light reactions supply the energy for them?Nature Education, Scitable: Photosynthetic Cells. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0002
During a sprint, skeletal muscle cells run short of oxygen and rely on glycolysis. Which intermediate builds up as a result?Nature Education, Scitable: Cell Energy and Cell Functions. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0002
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Subarea I: Molecules, continued
Glycolysis needs an input of ATP before it generates new ATP. What is the net gain of ATP when one glucose molecule is split into two pyruvates?Nature Education, Scitable: Cell Energy and Cell Functions. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0002
Water pulls itself into a rounded drop on a waxed leaf. Which property of water holds the drop together?U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School: Adhesion and Cohesion of Water. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0001
Which feature of the water molecule makes water such a good solvent?U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School: Water, the Universal Solvent. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0001
Which statement about enzymes is correct?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Enzyme. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0001
Subarea II: Organisms 13
A cell moves ions from a region where they are scarce to a region where they are already concentrated. Which process is this?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Cell Function. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0003
A cell of the pancreas exports large amounts of digestive enzymes, which are proteins. Which organelle processes and packages these proteins for export?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Golgi Body. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0003
A hormone is carried by the blood to every part of the body, yet it affects only certain cells. Why?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Characteristics of Hormones. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0004
After a meal, the concentration of glucose in the blood rises. Which cells respond, and with which hormone?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Pancreas, Islets of Langerhans. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0005
The alveoli of the lungs are lined mainly with simple squamous epithelium. What does this thin lining allow?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Bronchi, Bronchial Tree, and Lungs. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0005
During which stage of mitosis does cytokinesis, the division of the cytoplasm, take place?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Cell Function. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0003
Endocrine cells in the mucosa of the small intestine secrete hormones. Which two hormones do they secrete?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Small and Large Intestine. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0005
In an embryo, the cells between the fingers of a forming hand are eliminated. Which process removes them?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Apoptosis. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0003
In the organization of a multicellular body, what is a tissue?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Tissues. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0004
The walls of the ventricles of the heart are thicker than the walls of the atria. What does the difference reflect?National Cancer Institute, SEER Training Modules, Anatomy and Physiology: Structure of the Heart. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0005
Water enters a plant cell and its central vacuole swells. Which structure lets the cell build up turgor pressure?Nature Education, Scitable: Plant Cells, Chloroplasts, and Cell Walls. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0004
Which statement distinguishes a virus from a bacterial cell?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Virus. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0003
Why did Carl Woese propose that the Archaea form a domain of their own?University of California Museum of Paleontology: Introduction to the Archaea. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0004
Subarea III: Ecosystems 13
A population grows quickly, then levels off at the largest number its environment can support. What is that ceiling called?Nature Education, Scitable: How Populations Grow: The Exponential and Logistic Equations. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0006
A retreating glacier leaves bare ground with no soil, and lichens are among the first organisms to colonize it. Which process has begun?Nature Education, Scitable: Succession: A Closer Look. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0006
After scavengers have fed on a dead fish, which organisms break down what remains and recycle it into nutrients for producers?National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Education: Aquatic food webs. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0007
Ballast water released by oceangoing ships is a known route for which threat to coastal ecosystems?NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts: What is an invasive species?. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0008
Corals and the zooxanthellae that live in their tissues are mutualists. Stressed polyps expel their zooxanthellae, and the colony turns white. Why can a long bleaching event kill the coral?NOAA National Ocean Service, Corals Tutorial: What is Zooxanthellae?. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0006
Excess nutrients wash from farm fields into an estuary. What does eutrophication lead to there?NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts: What is eutrophication?. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0008
In a Gulf of Maine food web, krill eat phytoplankton and cod eat krill. At which trophic level are the krill?National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Education: Aquatic food webs. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0007
Limestone holds carbon from organisms that lived millions of years ago. Which process returns that carbon to the atmosphere very slowly?National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Education: Carbon cycle. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0007
Nitrogen gas makes up about 78% of air. Why can plants and animals not use it directly for growth?U.S. Geological Survey, Water Science School: Nitrogen and Water. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0007
Sea otters eat sea urchins, and sea urchins feed on kelp. Why are sea otters described as a keystone species?Nature Education, Scitable: Keystone Species. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0006
Where does more than 90 percent of the extra atmospheric heat linked to emissions from human activity end up?NOAA National Ocean Service, Ocean Facts: Is sea level rising?. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0008
Which greenhouse gas comes from the breakdown of plant matter in wetlands and is also released by landfills, rice farming and livestock?NASA Science, Climate Change: The Causes of Climate Change. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0008
Why does the tundra biome have almost no trees?NASA Earth Observatory, Mission: Biomes: Tundra. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0006
Subarea IV: Heredity and evolution 13
A carrier of an autosomal recessive trait (Aa) has children with a partner who shows the trait (aa). What fraction of their children is expected to show the trait?Nature Education, Scitable: Gregor Mendel and the Principles of Inheritance. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0010
A change in a DNA sequence turns a codon for an amino acid into a stop codon. What is this mutation called, and what is its usual result?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Nonsense Mutation. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0009
A diploid cell completes meiosis. What does it yield?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Meiosis. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0010
A few individuals become separated from a large population and start a new one. Over time the new population resembles that small group, not the original. What is this called?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Founder Effect. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0011
A small RNA molecule pairs with a complementary sequence on the mRNA and brings the matching amino acid to the growing chain. Which molecule is it?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Transfer RNA. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0009
DNA fragments of several sizes are loaded in a gel and an electric current is applied. Which fragments move through the gel fastest?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Electrophoresis. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0009
Human height is influenced by two or more genes and by the environment. What kind of trait is it?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Polygenic Trait. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0010
In a population in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, 16% of individuals have the genotype aa. What is the frequency of allele A?Nature Education, Scitable: The Hardy-Weinberg Principle. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0011
Of the 64 codons, how many signal the end of protein synthesis instead of naming an amino acid?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Codon. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0009
One strand of a DNA segment reads G-A-T-T-C-G. Which sequence pairs with it on the other strand?National Human Genome Research Institute, Talking Glossary: Double Helix. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0009
Red-flowered and white-flowered plants produce pink offspring. When two pink plants are crossed, red, pink and white flowers all appear. What does the second cross show?Nature Education, Scitable: Genetic Dominance: Genotype-Phenotype Relationships. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0010
Which observation supports the idea that mitochondria were once free-living prokaryotes?UC Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Evidence for endosymbiosis. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0011
Which three conditions together result in evolution by natural selection?UC Museum of Paleontology, Understanding Evolution: Natural selection. Written to MTEL Biology (66), objective 0011
How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test objectives of MTEL Biology, field 66, as the test information guide prints them on the Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure website (https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/Content/StudyGuide/MA_SG_OBJ_66.htm and https://www.mtel.nesinc.com/TestView.aspx?f=HTML_FRAG/MA066_TestPage.html, read 2026-10-09): 100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response items in 4 hours; multiple-choice subareas I Molecules: Structures and Processes (14% of the score, objectives 0001 and 0002), II Organisms: Structures and Processes (22%, objectives 0003 to 0005), III Ecosystems: Interactions, Energy, and Dynamics (22%, objectives 0006 to 0008) and IV Heredity and Biological Evolution (22%, objectives 0009 to 0011), and the open-response subarea, 20%. This bank holds 9, 13, 13 and 13. Every fact was read on 2026-10-09 in the public page named under its question (the National Human Genome Research Institute glossary, the National Cancer Institute SEER training modules, the U.S. Geological Survey, NOAA, NASA Earth Observatory, the UC Museum of Paleontology and its Understanding Evolution site, and Nature Education Scitable), and the two calculated answers were worked out a second time. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.
How it works
This MTEL Biology practice test asks 48 questions of our own on field 66, spread over its four multiple-choice subareas. It is unofficial and not affiliated with, endorsed by or sponsored by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education or Pearson.
Read the full guide
The four subareas
By the test objectives: molecules, 14% of the score; organisms, 22%; ecosystems, 22%; heredity and biological evolution, 22%. This bank holds 9, 13, 13 and 13, in that order, and names the objective each question was written to.
What the real test adds
Every objective also covers science and engineering practices: models, safe investigations, mathematics and the evaluation of data. Two open-response assignments ask for a labeled graph, formula or diagram and for the design of an investigation.
Where the facts come from
Each fact was read on the public page named under its question: the National Human Genome Research Institute glossary, the National Cancer Institute anatomy modules, NOAA, the U.S. Geological Survey, NASA, the UC Museum of Paleontology and Scitable.
The MTEL site says open-response answers may be handwritten and scanned. They are not practiced here.
Questions and answers
How many questions are on the MTEL Biology test?
100 multiple-choice questions and 2 open-response assignments, in 4 hours of testing time; the MTEL site lists no separate time for either part. It adds that some questions may not count toward the score.
What is the passing score for the MTEL Biology test?
The MTEL site gives a qualifying score of 240. The four multiple-choice subareas are 80% of the score and the open-response assignments 20%, so the number right on this page is not a prediction.
What is on the MTEL Biology test?
Eleven multiple-choice objectives: biochemistry, cellular energy, cells and the cell cycle, the organization of organisms, human anatomy and physiology, ecosystem dynamics, cycles of matter and energy, human effects on the environment, molecular genetics, inheritance and evolution.
Where is the official biology MTEL practice test?
On the MTEL site, with the preparation materials and the test information guide for Biology (66). The questions on this page are our own.