MSC-100 Practice Exam Review

Flashcards covering molecular biology, cell structure, transport, metabolism, and bioethics based on the MSC-100 practice exam.

Hydrogen Bonds (in Ice)

Forces that stabilize and keep water molecules in ice farther apart than in liquid water, causing ice to be less dense and float.

Hydration Shell

A sphere of water molecules that surrounds a solute molecule based on polarity.

Dissociation

The process by which an ionic compound, such as sodium chloride ($NaCl$), separates into individual ions like $Na^+$ and $Cl^-$ when placed in water.

Methanol

A wood alcohol with nonpolar covalent bonds that does not form hydrogen bonds among its molecules, making it unable to dissolve $NaCl$.

Dehydration Reactions

The chemical mechanism by which cells make polymers from monomers.

Hydrolysis

The chemical mechanism by which polymers are broken down into monomers using water; a polymer 11 monomers long requires 10 water molecules to fully hydrolyze.

Cellulose

A major structural component of plant cell walls; it is a polymer composed of glucose monomers.

Nucleic Acids

Biological molecules responsible for storing and transmitting hereditary information.

Anabolic Pathways

Metabolic pathways that consume energy to build up polymers from monomers.

Catabolic Pathways

Metabolic pathways that release stored energy by breaking down complex molecules.

Enzyme-catalyzed Reactions

Reactions that occur faster than in the absence of an enzyme, while the free energy change remains the same.

Sucrase

An enzyme that facilitates the hydrolysis of sucrose by breaking the bond between glucose and fructose and forming new bonds from the atoms of water.

Succinate Dehydrogenase

An enzyme that catalyzes the conversion of succinate (the substrate) to fumarate (the product).

Malonic Acid

A competitive inhibitor that resembles succinate and inhibits the reaction of succinate dehydrogenase.

Prokaryotic Cell

A type of cell containing DNA, a cell wall, a plasma membrane, and ribosomes, but lacking an endoplasmic reticulum.

Ribosomes

Organelles present in large numbers in cells that specialize in producing proteins.

Lysosome

A cellular organelle involved in Tay-Sachs disease, where the cell becomes clogged with large and complex lipids.

Mitochondria

Organelles that produce ATP in the dark (cell respiration) and are the site where cyanide binds to interrupt ATP production.

Chloroplasts

Heavier plant organelles that produce ATP in the presence of light.

Selective Permeability

A membrane property that allows small and hydrophobic molecules to pass through most easily.

Diffusion

A passive process in which molecules move from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration without energy expenditure.

Hypotonic Solution

A solution with a lower solute concentration than the cell, which would cause a patient's red blood cells to swell if distilled water were transfused.

ATP Hydrolysis (Energy)

The energy source required for membrane activities such as moving $Na^+$ ions out of the cell.

Lipids

A class of biological molecules including waxes and steroids that are insoluble in water and are important constituents of cell membranes.

HeLa Cells

The first immortal human cell line, taken from Henrietta Lacks in 1951 without her knowledge or consent.

Cohesion

The molecular property of water where water molecules stick to each other, often demonstrated in labs alongside surface tension and hydrogen bonding.

Antigen Tests

A series of tests used on blood samples to determine blood types through observations of reactions for A, B, or Rh factors.

Fluidity

A concept of the plasma membrane, often modeled by soap film in a bubble membrane lab, illustrating how phospholipids and proteins behave.