Jeckel Fall 2026 Exam #2 Study Suggestions

A complete set of vocabulary flashcards covering the core concepts, biochemical pathways, thermodynamic laws, and cellular transport mechanisms detailed in the Jeckel Fall 2026 Exam #2 study guide.

pH

A measure of relative hydrogen ion ($\text{H}^+$) versus hydroxide ion ($\text{OH}^-$) concentration on a logarithmic scale, where each unit reflects a 10-fold change in acidity or basicity.

Condensation Reaction

A chemical reaction that forms larger polymers from monomers by joining molecules together with the removal or loss of a water molecule.

Hydrolysis Reaction

A chemical reaction that breaks polymers down into smaller monomers through the addition or gain of a water molecule.

Hypertonic Solution

An extracellular solution with a higher solute concentration than the cytoplasm of the cell, causing net water movement out of the cell.

Hypotonic Solution

An extracellular solution with a lower solute concentration than the cytoplasm of the cell, causing net water movement into the cell.

Isotonic Solution

A solution having an equal solute concentration relative to another solution, resulting in no net movement of water across the membrane.

Osmosis

The passive diffusion of water molecules across a selectively permeable membrane down its concentration gradient.

Passive Transport

The spontaneous movement of solutes across a membrane down their concentration gradient without requiring cellular energy input (e.g., simple diffusion and osmosis).

Active Transport

The movement of substances across a membrane against their concentration gradient requiring energy, occurring via primary/secondary pumps or bulk transport (endocytosis and exocytosis).

Phospholipids

Amphipathic membrane molecules composed of hydrophilic head groups and hydrophobic fatty acid tails that spontaneously arrange into fluid bilayers.

Enzyme

A biological catalyst that increases the rate of chemical reactions by lowering the activation energy without being consumed.

Active Site

The specific physical region of an enzyme where substrate molecules bind and undergo catalysis.

Competitive Inhibition

A mechanism where an inhibitor competes directly with the substrate by binding to the enzyme active site.

Allosteric (Non-competitive) Inhibition

Regulation occurring when an inhibitor binds to an alternative non-active site, changing the enzyme conformation and reducing its catalytic activity.

First Law of Thermodynamics

The principle of energy conservation stating that energy can be transferred and transformed, but cannot be created or destroyed.

Second Law of Thermodynamics

The thermodynamic rule stating that every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy (disorder) of the universe.

Endergonic Reaction

A non-spontaneous chemical process that requires an input of energy, resulting in a positive change in free energy ($\Delta G > 0$).

Exergonic Reaction

A spontaneous chemical process that releases free energy, characterized by a negative change in free energy ($\Delta G < 0$).

Potential Energy

Energy stored within an object or system based on its physical position (e.g., an object at the top of a hill) or chemical structure (chemical bonds).

Glycolysis

The initial phase of cellular respiration occurring in the cytoplasm that breaks down glucose into pyruvate, yielding ATP and $\text{NADH}$.

Pyruvate Oxidation

The intermediate metabolic stage converting pyruvate into acetyl-CoA, producing $\text{CO}_2$ and $\text{NADH}$.

Citric Acid Cycle

The mitochondrial pathway that fully oxidizes acetyl-CoA, releasing $\text{CO}_2$ while producing ATP, $\text{NADH}$, and $\text{FADH}_2$.

Electron Transport Chain (ETC)

A series of membrane-bound multiprotein complexes that transfer electrons to generate a proton gradient used for synthesizing ATP.

Substrate-Level Phosphorylation

The direct formation of ATP from ADP via the transfer of a phosphate group directly from a phosphorylated metabolic intermediate.

Oxidative Phosphorylation

The indirect synthesis of ATP from ADP driven by chemiosmosis and electron transport reactions.

Chemiosmosis

The movement of protons ($\text{H}^+$) down an electrochemical gradient across a membrane to drive ATP synthesis via ATP synthase in photosynthesis and cellular respiration.

Photosystems

Light-absorbing pigment-protein complexes embedded in thylakoid membranes that capture light energy and excite electrons during photosynthesis.

Light-Dependent Reactions

Thylakoid-based photosynthetic processes that utilize water and light energy to produce ATP, $\text{NADPH}$, and oxygen gas ($\text{O}_2$).

Light-Independent Reactions

Stroma-localized photosynthetic reactions (Calvin cycle) that consume ATP and $\text{NADPH}$ to assimilate carbon dioxide into sugars.

Oxidation-Reduction (Redox) Reactions

Coupled chemical processes where oxidation represents the loss of electrons (such as $\text{NADH} \rightarrow \text{NAD}^+$) and reduction represents the gain of electrons (such as $\text{NAD}^+ \rightarrow \text{NADH}$).

Catabolic Pathway

A metabolic breakdown process, such as digestion or cellular respiration, that degrades macromolecules into monomers and releases energy.

Anabolic Pathway

A biosynthetic metabolic process, such as photosynthesis, that consumes energy to construct macromolecules from smaller monomers.

Light Energy Wavelength

The distance between consecutive crests of light waves, inversely related to photon energy (shorter wavelengths carry higher energy).