BS 161: Exam 1

what is the flow of genetic information in cellular life forms (human example)?

DNA genome, transcription, RNA, translation, protein

what is transcription?

converting DNA into messenger RNA (mRNA)

what is translation?

decodes mRNA into amino acids, forming proteins

an enzyme has an active site with certain shapes properties that allows it to bind to a _________

substrate

what is a substrate?

the reactant molecules

most all cells carry out _______ ____________

cellular respiration

what is cellular respiration?

the process of breaking down sugars in the presence of oxygen

what is the energy released during cellular respiration used for?

to support all the process of a cell

cellular respiration releases _____

energy

what is photosynthesis?

building up sugars using energy from light

what are cells?

the smallest units that show all characteristics of life

what are some characteristics of life?

• complexity and organization

• harnesses material and energy from the environment

• responds to environment

• can reproduce

• uses DNA to store, transmit, and change information

what is a cell’s genome made up of?

DNA

a cells’ shape and proteins are encoded in it’s ______

genome

info in DNA is used to create _____

mRNA

what is mRNA used for?

to create polypeptide protein

what is polypeptide protein made up of?

mRNA

what are polypeptide proteins?

proteins used to carry out all functions in a call

what is a mutation?

changes in the DNA

what does a mutation impact?

• structure of proteins

• metabolic pathways

• how a cell regulates processes

are viruses considered alive?

no

what do viruses need to reproduce?

a host cell

what do the spikes of SARS-CoV-2 do?

facilitates the infection process as they interact and bond with host cells

what is a bond?

an attraction/interaction between two atoms or ions

when a bond is formed, energy is ______

released

when a bond is broken, energy is _______

absorbed

when a bond forms, entropy _______

increases

when a bond forms it becomes _____ stable

more

t/f: covalent bonds are between molecules

false

t/f: covalent bonds are within molecules

true

what is electronegativity?

an atom’s ability to attract electrons

what is a nonpolar covalent bond?

a bond between two atoms that have similar electronegativity (ex. C-H)

what is a polar covalent bond?

a bond between a very strong electronegative atom and a very weak electronegative atom (ex. O-H)

what is an ionic (ion-ion) interaction?

a bond between two oppositely charged ions (ex. Na+Cl-)

what is a hydrogen bond?

a bond between a partially charged hydrogen and a more electronegative atom (ex. water)

what is hydrophobic clustering/hydrophobic effect?

nonpolar molecules avoiding contact with polar molecules (ex. C-H in water)

what are LDFS?

weak attractions between partial charges (ex. H gas)

what are hydrophilic molecules?

molecules with polar covalent bonds that can form hydrogen bonds to other polar molecules

what is an ion-dipole interaction?

when one atom with a permanent partial charge interacts with a fully charged atom

molecules with full opposite charges can interact with _____ bond forces

ionic

molecules with partially charged hydrogens can interact with ______ bonds with electronegative atoms in other molecules

hydrogen

are ionic and hydrogen bonds weak or strong in aqueous solutions?

weak

what kinds of molecules interact well with water? (hydrophilic)

molecules with full or partial charges

molecules with mostly polar covalent bonds are _______

hydrophilic

molecules with mostly nonpolar covalent bonds are ______

hydrophobic

what is a functional group?

a specific group of atoms attached to a larger molecule

functional groups determine how the molecule ________ with other molecules and make predictions about the behavior of the molecule

interactions

what is pH?

measurement of the concentration of protons in a solution

low proton concentration =

basic

high proton concentration =

acidic

the pH of water is ___

7

acids decrease pH by…

donating H+ to the solution

acids increase pH by…

accepting H+ into the solution

what functional group typically has a negative charge at the pH of the cell?

phosphate

____ functional groups can act as bases at the pH of the cell

amino

are most functional groups polar or nonpolar?

polar, some are charged

is a methyl group polar or nonpolar?

nonpolar

what is this functional group?

hydroxyl (OH)

what is this functional group?

carbonyl

what is this functional group?

carboxyl

what is this functional group?

amino

what is this functional group?

amino

what is this functional group?

amide

what is this functional group?

sulfhydryl

what is this functional group?

phosphate

what is this functional group?

methyl

what are (typical) cells made of?

• 70% water

• macromolecules

• ions and small molecules

what are the 4 macromolecules?

• protein

• carbohydrate

• lipids

• nucleic acids

what are macromolecules made up of?

many monomers bonded together

t/f: chemical rxns join monomers into macromolecules

true

macromolecules are formed by ______ bonds

covalent

what is released when a macromolecule is formed?

water

_________ are made out of monomers linked together by covalent bonds

polymeres

what is the difference between a polymer and a macromolecule?

• a polymer consists of thousands of repeating monomers

• a macromolecule is just a giant molecule that may or may not contain monomer units

what are functions of protein?

• enzymes (polymer) carry out chemical rxns

• molecule transporters

• signaling molecules used to communicate information to other cells

• receptors that sense and respond to signals

• structure

what macromolecule does most of the work for the cell

protein

proteins are chains of _______ _______

amino acids

what is are the monomers for protein?

amino acids

what are the 4 groups of amino acids?

• amino group

• central (alpha) carbon

• carboxyl group

• R group

when multiple amino acids attach together what does it form?

a polypeptide polymer

amino acids are joined by _________ ______

peptide bonds

how does a peptide bond/polymer form for protein?

the carboxyl group of one amino acid will interact/react with the amino group of the other amino acid (+ removing water at the same time_

what is unique about the R group of an amino acid?

it varies between different monomers

in polypeptide polymers, what ends will there always be?

an amino group end (N terminus) and a carboxyl group end (C terminus)

what are carbohydrates?

sugar molecules

what is the same for all simple sugars?

they are all different combinations of carbon and water

are carbohydrates hydrophobic or hydrophilic?

hydrophilic

why are carbohydrates so hydrophilic?

they are full of hydroxyl groups (OH) which makes it easy to form H-bonds

what bonds are between carbohydrate polymers?

glycolytic bonds

difference in structure = difference in _________

function

what are some polymers of glucose?

• cellulose

• starch

• glycogen

what is the function of cellulose?

structural component of cell walls in plants

t/f: most organisms can digest cellulose

false

what is the function of starch?

energy storage in plants

what is the function of glycogen

energy storage in animals

what is the function of nucleic acids?

store and transmit genetic information

where do the properties of protein come from?

the properties of the DNA and RNA that code them

what are the monomers for nucleic acids?

nucleotides

what is ribonucleotide?

the RNA monomer

what are nucleotides?

the monomers that make up DNA and RNA