Collegeboard Essential knowledge

Polarity of Water

Water has polarity due to polar covalent bonds between hydrogen and oxygen, contributing to hydrogen bonding.

High Specific Heat Capacity of Water

Water's high specific heat allows for the maintenance of homeostatic body temperature in living organisms.

Cohesion

Cohesion is the attraction between water molecules due to hydrogen bonding.

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is a chemical reaction that breaks down molecules into smaller units by adding water.

Dehydration Synthesis

Dehydration synthesis is the process of joining two smaller molecules by removing a water molecule.

Monosaccharides

Monosaccharides are the simplest form of sugars and serve as monomers for polysaccharides.

Lipids

Lipids are typically nonpolar molecules that provide functions such as energy storage and cell membrane structure.

Nucleic Acids

Nucleic acids like DNA and RNA are polymers made of nucleotide monomers, which encode biological information.

Enzyme Function

Enzymes are biological catalysts that increase the rate of chemical reactions by lowering activation energy.

Signal Transduction

Signal transduction pathways link signal receptions with cellular responses.

Active Transport

Active transport requires energy to move molecules against their concentration gradient.

Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis is the process by which organisms convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose using light energy.

Cell Cycle

The cell cycle is a series of stages through which a cell passes to divide and replicate.

Natural Selection

Natural selection is the process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.

Mitosis

Mitosis is a cell division process that results in two genetically identical daughter cells.

Meiosis

Meiosis is a specialized type of cell division that produces haploid gametes for sexual reproduction.

Genetic Variation

Genetic variation refers to differences in DNA sequences among individuals, essential for evolution.

Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium

The Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium describes the genetic variation in a population that is not evolving.

Biogeochemical Cycles

Biogeochemical cycles are pathways by which chemical substances move through biotic and abiotic compartments of Earth.