Pharmaceutical tablets are solid dosage forms that deliver active ingredients with precision and stability. They are formulated using various excipients and manufactured using processes that ensure uniformity, strength, and controlled drug release. Tablets can be designed for immediate, delayed, or sustained release, making them versatile for multiple therapeutic applications. This MCQ quiz covers tablet types, manufacturing, excipients, evaluation tests, and regulatory considerations relevant for pharmacy students.
1. What is a pharmaceutical tablet?
- A. Liquid dosage form
- B. Injectable medication
- C. Solid dosage form containing drug and excipients, compressed into a defined shape
- D. Inhalable powder
Correct answer: C. Solid dosage form containing drug and excipients, compressed into a defined shape
2. Which of the following is a disintegrant used in tablets?
- A. Magnesium stearate
- B. Lactose
- C. Starch
- D. Ethanol
Correct answer: C. Starch
3. The primary function of a binder in tablet formulation is to:
- A. Add color
- B. Increase weight
- C. Promote particle adhesion and form granules
- D. Improve solubility
Correct answer: C. Promote particle adhesion and form granules
4. What is the role of a lubricant in tablet manufacturing?
- A. Enhance disintegration
- B. Aid drug dissolution
- C. Prevent tablet sticking during compression
- D. Improve color
Correct answer: C. Prevent tablet sticking during compression
5. Which type of tablet is designed to be chewed before swallowing?
- A. Enteric-coated tablet
- B. Sublingual tablet
- C. Chewable tablet
- D. Extended-release tablet
Correct answer: C. Chewable tablet
6. Which test evaluates how quickly a tablet breaks apart in solution?
- A. Hardness test
- B. Disintegration test
- C. Friability test
- D. Content uniformity test
Correct answer: B. Disintegration test
7. What is the typical disintegration time for immediate-release tablets?
- A. 2 hours
- B. 30 minutes or less
- C. 10 seconds
- D. 24 hours
Correct answer: B. 30 minutes or less
8. Tablets coated to bypass the stomach and dissolve in the intestine are called:
- A. Chewable tablets
- B. Sublingual tablets
- C. Enteric-coated tablets
- D. Effervescent tablets
Correct answer: C. Enteric-coated tablets
9. A tablet that dissolves under the tongue is called a:
- A. Buccal tablet
- B. Sublingual tablet
- C. Chewable tablet
- D. Film-coated tablet
Correct answer: B. Sublingual tablet
10. What is the purpose of a colorant in tablet formulation?
- A. Increase solubility
- B. Aid in manufacturing speed
- C. Aid in identification and appearance
- D. Enhance hardness
Correct answer: C. Aid in identification and appearance
11. What property does the friability test assess in tablets?
- A. Bioavailability
- B. Moisture content
- C. Resistance to abrasion or crumbling
- D. Taste
Correct answer: C. Resistance to abrasion or crumbling
12. A tablet with a controlled drug release over time is known as a:
- A. Sublingual tablet
- B. Delayed-release tablet
- C. Sustained-release tablet
- D. Chewable tablet
Correct answer: C. Sustained-release tablet
13. Which tablet is formulated for administration via the rectal route?
- A. Sublingual
- B. Suppository
- C. Buccal
- D. Enteric-coated
Correct answer: B. Suppository
14. What happens if compression force is too high during tablet production?
- A. Incomplete coating
- B. Overly soft tablets
- C. Capping or lamination
- D. Increased solubility
Correct answer: C. Capping or lamination
15. The test for tablet weight variation ensures:
- A. Color consistency
- B. Content uniformity
- C. Uniform packaging
- D. Patient satisfaction
Correct answer: B. Content uniformity
16. What is the primary reason for using granules in tablet formulation?
- A. Increase flavor
- B. Improve flow and compressibility
- C. Reduce cost
- D. Speed disintegration
Correct answer: B. Improve flow and compressibility
17. Which tablet is designed to dissolve slowly between the cheek and gum?
- A. Sublingual
- B. Buccal
- C. Enteric-coated
- D. Chewable
Correct answer: B. Buccal
18. A tablet with two or more layers is called a:
- A. Compressed tablet
- B. Bilayer tablet
- C. Fast-dissolving tablet
- D. Delayed-release tablet
Correct answer: B. Bilayer tablet
19. Superdisintegrants are used to:
- A. Enhance compressibility
- B. Increase disintegration speed
- C. Add weight
- D. Slow release
Correct answer: B. Increase disintegration speed
20. Which test measures the force required to break a tablet?
- A. Friability test
- B. Hardness test
- C. Dissolution test
- D. Uniformity test
Correct answer: B. Hardness test
21. Orally disintegrating tablets (ODTs):
- A. Must be swallowed whole
- B. Dissolve rapidly in the mouth without water
- C. Are used for sustained release
- D. Dissolve in the intestine
Correct answer: B. Dissolve rapidly in the mouth without water
22. Tablet punching machines are used for:
- A. Coating
- B. Quality control
- C. Compression and shaping
- D. Mixing
Correct answer: C. Compression and shaping
23. The punch and die set in a tablet press determines the tablet’s:
- A. Solubility
- B. Flavor
- C. Shape and size
- D. Weight
Correct answer: C. Shape and size
24. A tablet defect where layers split apart is called:
- A. Cracking
- B. Lamination
- C. Pitting
- D. Etching
Correct answer: B. Lamination
25. What factor affects tablet dissolution rate the most?
- A. Color
- B. Packaging material
- C. Particle size and surface area
- D. Capsule size
Correct answer: C. Particle size and surface area
26. Effervescent tablets must be stored:
- A. In a freezer
- B. In humid conditions
- C. In airtight containers
- D. With alcohol
Correct answer: C. In airtight containers
27. Which coating technique protects the stomach from drug irritation?
- A. Sugar coating
- B. Film coating
- C. Enteric coating
- D. Gelatin coating
Correct answer: C. Enteric coating
28. What is the purpose of a filler in tablet formulation?
- A. Increase tablet bulk
- B. Add sweetness
- C. Create pH balance
- D. Promote dissolution
Correct answer: A. Increase tablet bulk
29. A fast-dissolving tablet is ideal for:
- A. Topical use
- B. Patients with dysphagia
- C. Sustained-release therapy
- D. Rectal administration
Correct answer: B. Patients with dysphagia
30. A tablet that fails a friability test may:
- A. Dissolve too slowly
- B. Crumble during packaging or transport
- C. Cause GI side effects
- D. Increase potency
Correct answer: B. Crumble during packaging or transport
31. A scoring line on a tablet allows:
- A. Faster absorption
- B. Enteric protection
- C. Easy breaking for dose adjustment
- D. Improved compression
Correct answer: C. Easy breaking for dose adjustment
32. What is direct compression?
- A. Compressing powders without granulation
- B. Using alcohol for compression
- C. Compressing granules into tablets
- D. Drying tablets before coating
Correct answer: A. Compressing powders without granulation
33. Orally disintegrating tablets are commonly used in:
- A. Parenteral therapy
- B. Pediatric and geriatric populations
- C. Intravenous medication
- D. Dermatology
Correct answer: B. Pediatric and geriatric populations
34. Sublingual tablets are absorbed:
- A. In the large intestine
- B. Via the nasal mucosa
- C. Under the tongue into systemic circulation
- D. After swallowing
Correct answer: C. Under the tongue into systemic circulation
35. What is the most common defect caused by trapped air during compression?
- A. Hardness
- B. Lamination
- C. Pitting
- D. Chipping
Correct answer: B. Lamination
36. Coating tablets improves:
- A. Solubility only
- B. Appearance, taste, and protection from environment
- C. Punch durability
- D. Weight
Correct answer: B. Appearance, taste, and protection from environment
37. A wet granulation method involves:
- A. Direct compression
- B. Mixing powders with a binding solution, drying, then compressing
- C. Melting ingredients
- D. Using alcohol to dissolve powders
Correct answer: B. Mixing powders with a binding solution, drying, then compressing
38. Rapid-release tablets dissolve:
- A. Over 24 hours
- B. After 12 hours
- C. Quickly for immediate action
- D. In the colon
Correct answer: C. Quickly for immediate action
39. Which test simulates in vivo drug release conditions?
- A. Dissolution test
- B. Hardness test
- C. Uniformity test
- D. Compression test
Correct answer: A. Dissolution test
40. Which tablet type must never be chewed or crushed?
- A. Chewable
- B. ODT
- C. Sustained-release
- D. Uncoated
Correct answer: C. Sustained-release
41. What is the purpose of wetting agents in tablet coating?
- A. Improve flavor
- B. Reduce microbial growth
- C. Allow coating to spread evenly
- D. Mask smell
Correct answer: C. Allow coating to spread evenly
42. One key reason to choose tablets over capsules is:
- A. Taste
- B. Lower cost and better stability
- C. Longer onset
- D. Need for liquids
Correct answer: B. Lower cost and better stability
43. Multilayer tablets are designed to:
- A. Improve solubility
- B. Deliver multiple drugs with different release profiles
- C. Increase size
- D. Improve appearance only
Correct answer: B. Deliver multiple drugs with different release profiles
44. Tablets stored in high humidity may:
- A. Discolor only
- B. Dissolve faster
- C. Absorb moisture and degrade
- D. Improve taste
Correct answer: C. Absorb moisture and degrade
45. The purpose of a glidant in tablet formulation is to:
- A. Enhance solubility
- B. Improve flow properties of powders
- C. Act as binder
- D. Mask taste
Correct answer: B. Improve flow properties of powders
46. Which type of tablet disintegrates in less than one minute?
- A. Enteric-coated tablet
- B. Sublingual tablet
- C. Sustained-release tablet
- D. Bilayer tablet
Correct answer: B. Sublingual tablet
47. Which process is NOT typically involved in tablet manufacturing?
- A. Granulation
- B. Encapsulation
- C. Compression
- D. Coating
Correct answer: B. Encapsulation
48. Uniformity of dosage unit test ensures:
- A. All tablets have the same color
- B. The same weight and API per tablet
- C. Disintegration time is consistent
- D. Same flavor
Correct answer: B. The same weight and API per tablet
49. What is an example of a superdisintegrant?
- A. Magnesium stearate
- B. Crospovidone
- C. Talc
- D. Cellulose acetate
Correct answer: B. Crospovidone
50. Ultimately, tablets are designed to:
- A. Increase patient confusion
- B. Delay absorption
- C. Deliver accurate, stable doses in a patient-friendly form
- D. Replace all injections
Correct answer: C. Deliver accurate, stable doses in a patient-friendly form