THE CHEMISTRY OF LIFE

Water is a ____ molecule because the oxygen atom carries a slight ____ charge, while the hydrogen atoms carry a slight ____ charge

Polar, negative, positive

What do you call the attraction between the hydrogen of one water molecule and the oxygen of another?

Hydrogen Bonds

Where do you find Acids on the pH scale?

0 to just below 7

Where do you find Bases on the pH scale?

Just above 7 to 14

List some unique properties of water

• High surface tension due many Hydrogen bonds

• High Specific Heat- take water longer than the air  to fluctuate  temperature

• Less dense when frozen

• Cohesion- easily bonds to other water molecules

• Adhesion- easily bonds to other molecules (inside of a plant stem)

• Universal Solvent- Water is able to dissolve many important  molecules (for example, bloodstream)

What substances do not dissolve easily in water?

Polar substances like lipids (hydrophobic)

What do you call water molecules sticking to other WATER molecules?

Cohesion

This is the most common solvent in a cell

Water

In order to be considered organic, a molecule must contain this element

Carbon

How many electrons does carbon have in its outermost energy level?

4

Molecules that are long chains and large rings can be made in cells because carbon loves to bond with what?

Other carbon atoms and many atoms of other elements, such as Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfer

What kind of covalent bonds can carbon make with other atoms?

single, double , triple bonds

The formation of polymers from monomers occurs as a result of this type of reaction

dehydration synthesis  (WATER IS REMOVED TO MAKE THE BIGGER MOLECULE)

The breakdown of polymers into smaller monomers occurs as a result of this type of reaction

Hydrolysis (WATER IS ADDED BACK WHEN THE MOLECULE IS BROKEN APART)

What are the four groups of macromolecules

Carbohydrates   Lipids      Proteins      Nucleic Acids

Give examples of carbohydrates

Mono (glucose), di (sucrose), and polysaccharides (starch)

How do plants store glucose? (a molecule)

Starch

How do you store glucose? (a molecule)

Glycogen

Give examples of lipids

fats, oils , waxes, pigments, steroids

Where would you find long chains of amino acids, linked by peptide bonds?

Proteins

What piece of an amino acid makes it unique from other amino acids?

R group

Give examples of nucleic acids

DNA, RNA

What is the function of DNA?

Store genetic information, direct cell activities

In a chemical reaction, these are the substances that get changed (the “ingredients”)

Reactants

In a chemical reaction, these are the new substances formed

Products

The amount of energy needed to initiate a chemical reaction

Activation Energy

These reactions absorb energy overall.  Draw a picture of the energy of this reaction.

Endothermic reaction 

These reactions release energy overall.  Draw a picture of the energy of this reaction.

Exothermic Reactions

Without these, the chemical reactions in your cells would occur too slowly to support life’s processes

Enzymes

Reactants in an enzyme-catalyzed reaction are called

Substrates

What is the name of the place on an enzyme where the substrate binds?

Active site

List two factors that can impact the activity of an enzyme

pH and temperature

If any of your answers to #32 above changes too drastically, what happens to the enzyme?

Enzyme can become denatured, changing the shape of the  active site, causing the substrate to not fit, and subsequently, the reaction to not occur

Draw a graph comparing the energy pathways of a reaction without an enzyme and one with an enzyme