BOTAFUN Long Exam 1

Modules 1-4

How did the word “botany” came to be?

Greek (botane) -> Greek (botanikos) -> French (botanique) -> English (botanic) -> BOTANY (late 17th century)

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\*botane = plant

What is a plant?

Organisms that belong to the Plant Kingdom

* Eukaryotic
* More complicated cell parts
* Multicellular
* Cellulosic cell walls
* Contains chloroplasts with chlorophylls a and b that enables photosynthesis
* Photosynthetic
* Lacks the power of locomotion/movement from one place to another by step
* They move in the sense that pollen grains can get dispersed
* Produces embryos that are parts of seeds

Study of the external qualities of plants

Plant morphology

Can also be called external anatomy

Plant morphology

Study of the internal part of the plant

Plant Anatomy

Can also be called internal morphology

Plant anatomy

Study of plant cells

Plant cytology

Study of the DNA of plants

Plant molecular biology

Study of plant reproduction/function

Plant physiology

Study of algae/seaweeds

Phycology

Study of moss

Bryology

Study of ferns

Pteridology

Study of fungi

Mycology

Fungi implications in medicine

Athlete’s foot/alipunga

Psychotic mushrooms

Interrelationships among plants and between their environment

Plant ecology

Plant heredity and variation

Plant genetics

Biology and evolution of plants

Paleobotany

Geographical distribution of plants

Phytogeography or geobotany

Plant classification, identification, description, nomenclature, diversity

Taxonomy or systematics

Who is the father of taxonomy?

Carolus Linnaeus

Study of living and fossil spores and pollen grains

Palynology

Study of traditional plant knowledge

Ethnobotany

Forest conservation and forest products

Forestry

Study of crops

Agronomy

Science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants

Horticulture

Plants with commercial importance

Economic botany

Branch of pharmacology dealing with medicinal substances

Pharmacognosy

Study of the causes of plant disease

Phytopathology

Important medicinal plants used in the area of treatment, food supplements, and phytotherapy

Pharmaceutical botany

Study and use of plants in biomedicine

Medical botany

Group of activities to prevent plants from extinction

Plant conservation

Repair of damaged ecosystems and address of biodiversity concerns

Restoration ecology

4 Aspects/Challenges that encompass botany

Health: medicinal treatments

Food: alternative sources of food

Energy: renewable energy sources

Environment: environmental conditions

Define plant blindness

A cognitive bias that disables people from noticing plants in one’s own environment

Ways to resolve plant blindness

Constantly promote and educate about plants

Interact with plants

Grow your own plants

Be open-minded to novel interest on plants

What is the issue with Nobel Prizes?

The 7 listed prizes did not cite botany. Instead, it went towards chemistry, medicine, or physiology

Photosynthesis-Calvin Cycle

Melvin Calvin (Chemistry, 1961)

Chlorophyll-Photosynthetic Reaction Center

Richard Martin Willstatter (Chemistry, 1915)

Alkaloids (prize)

Sir Robert Robinson (Chemistry, 1947)

Artemisinin: Cure against the Malarial parasite

Youyou Tu (Physiology or Medicine, 2015)

Green Revolution

Norman Borlau (Nobel Peace Prize, 1970)

Genetic Transposition in Maize

Barbara McClintock (Physiology or Medicine, 1983)

Small RNAs that silence genes (for viral diseases) Discovered in plant cells

Andrew Fire & Craig Mello (Physiology/Medicine, 2006)

How is botany a scientific discipline?

Scientific method

General steps in the scientific method

1. Recognize a problem
2. Develop a hypothesis
3. Design and perform an experiment
4. Analyze and interpret the data
5. Share new knowledge

6 criteria of science

1. consistent
2. observable
3. natural
4. predictable
5. testable
6. tentative

Scientists are _______, among others?

Honest

Plants have trace elements of the following EXCEPT:

A. Boron

B. Iron

C. Manganese

D. Zinc

E. Copper

F. Molybdenum

G. Tin

G. Tin

All organisms are composed of _____

Matter

What 4 elements make up around 96 to 99.5% of living matter?

Oxygen

Hydrogen

Carbon

Nitrogen

Water is ____ of the entire plant body

70%

What are inorganic molecules?

A group of molecules/compounds that have no carbon

How does polarity work?

“Electrons in a polar covalent bond are unequally shared between the two bonded atoms, which results in partial positive and negative charges. The separation of the partial charges creates a dipole. The word dipole means two poles: the separated partial positive and negative charges. A polar molecule results when a molecule contains polar bonds in an unsymmetrical arrangement”

“Since oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, the two bonds that are formed will be polar covalent, which means that a partial negative charge will be on the more electronegative atom - oxygen - and two partial positive charges will be on the less electronegative atoms - hydrogen”

Benefits of being polar

Being attracted to a lot more compounds

Involved in more reactions

_____________ form when a covalently-bonded H is attracted to a negatively-charged atom in a neighboring molecule

Hydrogen bonds

Characteristics of water that benefit living things

Liquid at room temperature

Universal solvent for polar molecules

Water molecules are cohesive, which means they really stick together

Slow temperature change

Is water an organic or inorganic compound?

Inorganic

What is produced when water dissociates?

Hydrogen ions (H+) and hydroxide ions (OH-)

These are molecules that contain a carbon

Organic compounds

Are all compounds with carbons organic? What are examples of such?

No, not all carbon compounds are organic. Some examples are:

• CO2, CO (carbon oxides)

• CO3, HCO3 (carbonates/bicarbonates)

• HCN (cyanides)

• Compounds with one C and usually with no H

What are the four basic types of organic molecules?

Carbohydrates

Lipids

Proteins

Nucleic Acids

What are the building blocks of carbohydrates?

Monosaccharides

What are the building blocks of lipids?

Glycerol and fatty acids

What are the building blocks of proteins?

Amino acids

What are the building blocks of nucleic acids?

Nucleotides

What is the ratio of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in carbohydrates?

1:2:1 respectively

Sugars and starches are called what

Saccharides

Where does the name “carbohydrate” come from?

ratio of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen to form C6H12O6

What makes most carbohydrates water-soluble?

Alcohol (-OH) groups attached

How can carbohydrates be classified?

Number of sugar molecules

Location of carbonyl group

Size of carbon skeleton

Differentiate monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides with each other

Monosaccharides: simple sugars

Disaccharides: condensation synthesis required to link two monosaccharides with each other through glycosidic bonds

Polysaccharides: bound together through polymerization of covalent bonds of 3 or more monosaccharides

What are carbohydrates used for?

Energy production, storage, and structure

This is the main food molecule used by most living things that is produced through photosynthesis

Glucose

[T/F] Glucose can be assembled into starch and cellulose

True

Fruit sugar used to sweeten food products

Fructose

What are examples of monosaccharides?

Glucose

Fructose

Ribose, Deoxyribose

Vitamin C

If monosaccharides have the same chemical formula, what differentiates them from each other?

Their structure, specifically ISOMERS

What are isomers?

Any two or more compounds with the same molecular formula but with different structures

What is this molecule?

Glucose

What is this molecule?

Fructose

What is this molecule?

Galactose

Describe the two types of isomers

Structural: same constituent atoms but different bonding patterns

Stereoisomers: same molecular formula and sequence but differ in 3D (geometric isomers and enantiomers)

Differentiate geometric isomers from enantiomers

Geometric isomers: different spatial arrangements using the cis-trans

Cis - same molecules on the same side; Trans - same molecules on opposite sides

Enantiomers: mirror images

Carbohydrates as quick sources of energy

• When we work, even when we sleep, all our cells are working

• Cells use up energy when they work

  • Immediate source of energy are: carbohydrates

  • So if we want to lose weight, we go on carb-free diets

• If we consume our carbs already, the stored carbs are the one that is lost

• If we are active and we don’t eat carbs, the next source of energy are the lipids

  • Lipids provide us energy

  • Hence, we don't see the results of our diet immediatel

What are the monomers of carbohydrates?

Glucose, fructose, galactose

How do two monosaccharides link together to form disaccharides?

Process of condensation synthesis or dehydration synthesis, where two molecules are combined to form a single molecule, usually with the loss of a small molecule such as water

How do you break up disaccharides?

Through hydrolysis, where a larger molecule forms two (or more) smaller molecules and water is consumed as a reactant. Water is introduced to break up the bond

Most common disaccharides are:

Maltose: malt sugar; glucose + glucose

Sucrose: common table sugar; glucose + fructose

Lactose: milk sugar; glucose + galactose

What is this molecule?

Lactose

What is this molecule?

Sucrose

What is this molecule?

Maltose

These are bound together through polymerization

Polysaccharides

Most important polysaccharides for plants are

Cellulose

Starch

Polysaccharides can be classified into:

Structural polysaccharides

Storage polysaccharides

3 structural polysaccharides:

Cellulose

Chitin

Pectin

Also known as fibers

Cellulose

Most abundant organic compound on Earth

Cellulose

How much cellulose do plants produce per year?

100 billion tons

Toughest organic compound to digest

Cellulose

Insects, spiders, and crustaceans use this to build their exoskeletons

Chitin