MSC-100 Practice Exam Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering topics in MSC-100 including water chemistry, macromolecules, cell biology, membrane transport, and bioethics.

Hydrogen Bonds (in Ice)

Bonds that stabilize and keep the molecules of ice farther apart than the water molecules of liquid water, allowing ice to float.

Hydration Shell

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

Dissociation

The process by which an ionic compound like $NaCl$ breaks into individual ions such as $Na^+$ and $Cl^-$ when placed in water.

Dehydration Reactions

The chemical mechanism by which cells make polymers from monomers.

Hydrolysis

The chemical process of breaking down polymers into monomers through the addition of water molecules.

Cellulose

A major structural component of plant cell walls composed of glucose monomers.

Nucleic Acids

Biological molecules that store and transmit 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

A biological catalyst that speeds up a reaction without being consumed; it does not change the free energy change of the reaction.

Competitive Inhibitor

A substance that reduces the activity of an enzyme by mimicking the substrate and competing for the active site, such as malonic acid competing with succinate.

Prokaryotic Cell

A type of cell that contains DNA, a cell wall, a plasma membrane, and ribosomes, but lacks an endoplasmic reticulum.

Ribosomes

Cellular structures present in large numbers in cells specializing in protein production.

Lysosome

The organelle involved in breaking down complex lipids; it is the site of abnormality in Tay-Sachs disease.

Chloroplasts

Plant organelles that produce ATP in the light.

Mitochondria

Organelles that produce ATP in the dark (cellular respiration) and are the primary site where cyanide binds.

Diffusion

A passive process in which molecules move from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.

Hypotonic

A solution with a lower solute concentration compared to another; if blood fluid is hypotonic to red blood cells, the cells will swell.

Active Transport

Membrane activities that require energy from ATP hydrolysis, such as moving $Na^+$ ions out of a cell.

Hydrophobic

Materials that do not dissolve in water or repel water, such as wax or the interior of a lipid bilayer.

HeLa Cells

The first immortal human cell line, taken from Henrietta Lacks in 1951 without her consent, used for medical breakthroughs despite ethical issues involving power and race.

Cohesion

The property of water molecules sticking to each other, often due to hydrogen bonding.

Surface Tension

A measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid, demonstrated by water's molecular properties.

Selective Permeability

The property of a plasma membrane that allows it to regulate the passage of specific substances based on size and polarity.

Antigen Test

A test used to deduce blood type by observing reactions for A, B, and Rh factors to determine heredity and genes.

BTB (Bromothymol Blue)

A color-changing indicator used to measure the effects of physical activity on cellular respiration and carbon dioxide production.