AP BIOLOGY FLASHCARDS

Flashcards covering various topics including the chemistry of life, cells, genetics, evolution, and ecology.

What are hydrogen bonds in relation to water?

The attraction between the positive and negative charges of water molecules.

What is cohesion in water?

The attraction of water to itself.

What is capillary action?

The ability of water to adhere to other objects, facilitating movement up narrow spaces.

What is specific heat?

A measure of how difficult it is to change the temperature of a substance; water has a high one, allowing it to regulate temperature.

What makes water a good solvent?

The ability of water to break apart other molecules due to its polar nature.

What is metabolism?

All the chemical reactions in the body, many of which occur in water, either consuming or releasing water.

What are the 4 types of biological macromolecules?

Nucleic acids, proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates.

What are monomers?

Building blocks that make up macromolecules.

What do lipids do?

Make up all cell membranes and are a great source of energy

What do Lipases do?

Breaks down lipids for energy.

What does Cholesterol do?

Maintains the fluidity of the cell membrane.

What is the structure of triglycerides?

Glycerol head with 3 fatty acid tails.

What is the structure of a phospholipid?

Polar head and fatty non-polar tails.

What does the Phospholipid bilayer do?

Regulates what comes in and out of the cell

What are nucleic acids?

DNA and RNA.

What are nucleotides made of?

Sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous base.

What is the function of nucleic acids?

Carry genetic information

What are the 4 nitrogenous bases in DNA?

Guanine, cytosine, thymine, and adenine.

What are the components of an amino acid?

Amino group, carboxyl group, and carbon alpha group.

What is the role of the R-group in amino acids?

Differentiates each amino acid from another and is important to the structure of proteins.

What are single amino acids called?

Peptides.

What are groups of amino acids called?

Polypeptides.

What are carbohydrates made of?

Made up of sugar (starch, glucose).

What are carbohydrates used for?

Energy and structure

What is one sugar in a carb called?

A monosaccharide.

What is multiple sugars that make up a carb called?

A polysaccharide.

What is the simplest form of sugar that makes up life?

Glucose (CH12O6).

What does -ase mean?

Enzyme that breaks sugar

What happens during dehydration synthesis?

Lose water and form a peptide bond.

What are the two main stages of photosynthesis?

Light reactions and Calvin cycle.

Where do light reactions occur?

Thylakoid membrane.

Where does the Calvin cycle occur?

Stroma.

What are the products of the light reactions that are used in the Calvin cycle?

ATP and NADPH.

What are the first steps of the Calvin Cycle?

RUBP (5 carbon molecule) attaches to CO2 (1 carbon) with RUBISCO.

In the calvin cycle where does the energy come from to create G3P into Glucose?

ATP and the NADPH

What is photorespiration?

The use of oxygen instead of carbon dioxide by Rubisco due to insufficient carbon dioxide levels.

What is the equation for photosynthesis?

6H20 (water) +6CO2 (carbon dioxide) + Light →C6H12O6 (glucose) +6O2 (oxygen).

What is the equation for cellular respiration?

C6H12O6+6O2 → 6CO2+6H2O+ATP.

What are the 3 steps of cellular respiration?

Glycolysis, Krebs cycle, and electron transport chain.

Where does glycolysis take place?

Cytoplasm.

What are the products of glycolysis?

2 pyruvate molecules, 2 ATP, and NADH.

Where does the Krebs Cycle take place?

Mitochondrial matrix.

Where does the Electron Transport Chain take place?

Inner mitochondrial membrane.

What id the final electron acceptor in the ETC?

Oxygen.

What enzyme generates ATP from ADP+phosphate?

ATP synthase.

What is another name for Anerobic Respiration?

Fermentation.

What do enzymes do?

Make reactions quicker.

What do Competitive inhibitors do?

Chemical blocking the allosteric site

What do Allosteric inhibitors do?

The allosteric site’s shape is completely changed, unable to bind to the substrate

What is activation in regards to enzymes?

Adding something to the enzyme to make it work

What are cofactors?

Inorganic molecules (no carbon).

What are coenzymes?

Organic molecules (contain carbon).

What is diffusion?

Material goes in and out of a cell

Why are smaller cells better for diffusion?

Higher surface area to volume ratio.

What are prokaryotes?

Lack a nucleus; includes Bacteria and Archaea.

What are eukaryotes?

Have a nucleus; includes Plants, animals, fungus, protus

What does the Nucleus do?

Stores genetic material.

What does the Nucleolus do?

rRNA and proteins are formed

What does the Mitochondria do?

Synthesizes ATP; site of cellular respiration.

What does the Chloroplast do?

Site of photosynthesis (only in plant cells).

What does the Ribosomes do?

Make proteins.

What does the Rough ER do?

Packages proteins for secretion

What does the Smooth ER do?

Makes lipids, detoxification and poisons, metabolizes carbs, stores calcium

What does the Golgi Body do?

Folding newly synthesized proteins; packaging materials for transports in vesicles; produce lysosomes

What does the Lysosomes do?

Digestion; recycles cell materials, apoptosis

What does the Vacuoles do?

Stores water/ion; large in plants

What is the cell membrane made of?

Phospholipid bilayer + proteins + cholesterol

What is Selective permeability?

Only allowed certain things to go in and out of the cell

What is passive transport?

No energy; Simple diffusion, Facilitated diffusion, Osmosis

What is Active transport?

Needs energy (ATP). Moves molecules against the concentration gradient

What is Facilitated diffusion?

Diffusions from high to low concentration through a protein channel

What is endocytosis?

Taking in

What is exocytosis?

Releasing

What happens in a hypotonic solution?

Water enters the cell.

What happens in a hypertonic solution?

Water exits the cell

What has cell walls?

Plants, fungi, and bacteria

What is Cell Compartmentalization?

Membranes to separate internal functions. Allows for specialized environments

Which cells are compartmentalized?

Eukaryotic cells

What happens in no distance communication?

Share signals through the cell membrane or gap junctions in animal cells/ plasmodesmata in plant cells

What happens in Cell to cell recognition in the Immune System?

Helper T cells “inspect” antigens presented on the surface of other cells using MHC

What happens in Short distance communication (paracrine signaling)?

Local signals, nearby cells respond

How do neurons communicate?

Presynaptic neuron releases neurotransmitters into the synapse, bringing to receptors on the postsynaptic neuron

What happens in Long distance communication (endocrine signaling)?

Hormones are released into the bloodstream to travel to far-away target cells (must have the correct receptor)

What happens in a Response for Signal Transduction Pathways?

The signal causes a change in gene expression, enzyme activity, cell division, movement, and other behaviors

What happens in a Reception for Signal Transduction Pathways?

Ligand (signal molecule) binds to a receptor protein on the cell membrane or inside the cell

What happens in a Transduction for Signal Transduction Pathways?

Signal get amplified and passed along through relay proteins or secondary messengers

What is the feedback loop?

The body’s way of maintaining homeostasis

What does a Negative feedback loop do?

Reduces the e ect of the original stimulus

What does a Positive feedback loop do?

Amplifies the original stimulus

What are the different Interphase phases in the Cell Cycle?

G1: cell growth; S phase: DNA replicates; G2: cell prepares for division (makes protein, organelles)

What does Mitosis do?

Creates 2 identical daughter cells. Used for growth, repair, and asexual reproduction

What does Meiosis do?

4 unique sex cells (gametes). Sexual reproduction

What happens in Meiosis I?

Homologous chromosomes separate

What happens in Meiosis II?

Sister chromatids separate

What is the Law of Segregation?

Alleles separate during gamete formation. O spring receive one allele from each parent

What is the Law of Independent Assortment?

Genes aren’t a result of another gene a ecting it during gamete formation; each pair of alleles is separate. One gene doesn’t control the other

What is Incomplete dominance?

Heterozygote = blended phenotype

What is Codominance?

Both alleles are fully expressed

What is the meaning of Multiple Alleles?

More than two alleles exist in the population

What is Polygenic Inheritance?

Trait controlled by many genes. Shows a range (bell curve distribution)