BSC2010 Practice Exam Vocabulary Review

Flashcards covering key terms, concepts, and definitions from the BSC2010 Practice Exam including cellular respiration, cell membrane structure, active transport, and signal transduction.

Oxidative Phosphorylation

The primary metabolic process in cellular respiration through which most ATP is generated compared to substrate-level phosphorylation.

RNA Transcription Direction

The direction in which RNA synthesis occurs, specifically in the $5'$ to $3'$ direction.

Anabolic Reactions

Types of cellular reactions that decrease entropy and create order and organization within a cell.

Methanol ($\text{CH}_3\text{-OH}$)

A polar molecule containing a hydroxyl group, unlike nonpolar molecules such as $\text{N}_2$, $\text{CH}_4$, and $\text{CO}_2$.

High Heat Capacity of Water

The property of water that allows oceans to absorb atmospheric heat, caused primarily by hydrogen bonds.

Oxygen Valence Shell Structure

Assuming neutrality, an oxygen atom with an atomic number of $8$ has $6$ valence electrons and forms covalent bonds to share $2$ electrons.

Hydrophobic Amino Acids in Integral Membrane Proteins

Amino acids such as Leu, Val, Trp, and Ile whose nonpolar properties make them compatible in protein tertiary structures and prevalent within cell membranes.

Enzyme

A biological catalyst that lowers the activation energy for a chemical reaction.

DNA-Containing Organelles in Plant Cells

Cellular structures within an oak leaf cell that stain positive for DNA, which include the nucleus, chloroplasts, and mitochondria.

Microfilaments

Dynamic cellular structures involved in the movement of organelles within a cell.

Tropical Fish Cell Membranes

Membranes that contain a higher proportion of saturated fatty acids compared to Arctic fish to maintain membrane stability in warm temperatures.

Primary Active Transport

A transport mechanism involving specific carrier proteins that move solutes against their concentration gradient and can establish an ion gradient for secondary active transport.

Osmotic Response in Type 2 Diabetes

The cellular process where high blood-glucose levels render blood hypertonic to cells, causing cells to lose water via osmosis and inducing excessive thirst.

Outputs of Pyruvate Oxidation

The chemical products generated during pyruvate oxidation, consisting of Acetyl-CoA, NADH, and $\text{CO}_2$.

Bacterial Respiratory Electron Transport Chain Location

The region in bacterial cells where proteins of the respiratory electron transport chain are located, which is the cell membrane.

Glycolysis Location

The region within a cell where the enzymes involved in glycolysis are located, which is the cytoplasm.

Feedback Inhibition

A regulatory mechanism in cellular respiration where an intermediate, such as citrate in the Krebs cycle, inhibits an earlier enzyme converting fructose-6-phosphate to fructose-1,6-bisphosphate in glycolysis.

Epinephrine Signal Cascade Sequence

The specific order of molecular activation following epinephrine binding to a G-protein linked receptor: G protein, effector protein, cAMP, protein kinase A.

Mitochondrial Inner Membrane Proton Gradient Generation

A process that requires energy provided by redox reactions involving NADH to establish an $\text{H}^+$ gradient, which then drives the exergonic synthesis of ATP as $\text{H}^+$ flows down its concentration gradient.