Summer bio
Got it! Here is the complete list of all the key terms and definitions extracted from all three of your test lessons so you have everything in one place.
### Lesson 1: Biochemical Compounds
* Monomer: One single building block molecule that can link up with others to form a larger molecule.
* Polymer: A large molecule made of two or more monomers linked together in a chain.
* Carbohydrate ("Carb"): A family of sugar molecules made up of Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), and Oxygen (O) that provide immediate energy.
* Monosaccharide: A simple single-molecule sugar (e.g., Glucose, Fructose, Galactose, Ribose).
* Disaccharide: A sugar molecule made of two simple sugars linked together (e.g., Sucrose).
* Polysaccharide: A complex carbohydrate made of three or more sugars linked in chains (e.g., Starch and Cellulose in plants, Glycogen in animals).
* Lipid (Fat): A trememndous energy source composed of carbon and hydrogen chains, used to store excess calories efficiently in adipose tissue.
* Triglyceride: A lipid structure formed by one glycerol molecule linking three fatty acid chains together.
* Saturated Fat: A type of animal fat (like butter or meat fat) that is solid at room temperature and has all carbon atoms fully "saturated" with hydrogens (no double bonds).
* Unsaturated Fat: A plant fat (like canola or olive oil) that is liquid at room temperature and contains double bonds (missing some hydrogens), which creates bends in the chain.
* Protein: Chains of amino acids linked together that are used to build and repair body structures, and act as chemical messengers.
* Amino Acid: The building block of proteins. They all share the same general basic structure except for one portion called the R-group, which varies.
* Essential Amino Acids: The 8 specific amino acids your body cannot make on its own, meaning you must get them directly from food (the other 12 are non-essential).
* Nucleic Acid: Macromolecules (like DNA and RNA) that hold the instructions or "code" essential to all living things.
* Nucleotide: The monomer unit of a nucleic acid, consisting of a nitrogenous base, a 5-carbon pentose sugar, and a phosphate group.
* DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid): A double-stranded helix held by hydrogen bonds that contains the genetic code for all proteins and life functions. Its bases are Adenine, Thymine, Guanine, and Cytosine (A, T, G, C).
* RNA (Ribonucleic Acid): A single-stranded copy of the code for exactly one protein that carries the blueprint out to the ribosome. It swaps out Thymine for Uracil (U).
### Lesson 2: Protein Synthesis
* Gene: A specific sequence of nucleotides in DNA that codes for a particular protein (like adrenalin, pepsin, or insulin).
* Transcription: The first step of protein synthesis where double-stranded DNA is unzipped and its information is copied into a single strand of mRNA inside the nucleus.
* Translation: The final step of protein synthesis where the mRNA moves into the cytoplasm, binds to a ribosome, and its code is read to build an amino acid chain.
* mRNA (Messenger RNA): The intermediate RNA molecule that acts as the mobile blueprint instruction for building a protein.
* rRNA (Ribosomal RNA): The physical structural RNA that makes up the ribosome—the "construction site" where proteins are put together.
* tRNA (Transfer RNA): The delivery molecules that carry the correct amino acids from the cytoplasm over to the ribosome building site.
* Codon: A triplet sequence of three nucleotides read on the mRNA strand by the ribosome; each single codon encodes for one specific amino acid.
* A Site (Attachment Site): The first binding slot inside the ribosome where the incoming tRNA matches up with the mRNA codon.
* P Site (Polypeptide Extension Site): The middle slot in the ribosome where the growing amino acid/protein chain is held and extended.
* E Site (Exit Site): The final slot in the ribosome where the empty tRNA goes to leave the ribosome after dropping off its amino acid.
### Lesson 3: Enzymes
* Enzyme: A highly specialized type of protein that acts as a biological catalyst to speed up biochemical reactions without being consumed or altered.
* Catalyst: Any substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction by lowering the required activation energy.
* Substrate: The specific reactant molecule(s) that an enzyme targets and binds to during a reaction.
* Active Site: The specifically shaped region or pocket on the enzyme molecule where the substrate attaches.
* Enzyme-Substrate Complex: The temporary structure formed when an enzyme has successfully bound its substrate molecules into its active site.
* Activation Energy: The minimum amount of energy required to kickstart a chemical reaction.
* Denaturation: A structural change where an enzyme loses its specific 3D shape (often due to extreme temperature or wrong pH levels), making its active site useless so it can no longer function.
(Note: The Enzyme slide deck was an older presentation format containing mostly visual diagrams, so the core textbook definitions for the Active Site, Substrate, and Denaturation terms have been filled out clearly to match your Grade 11 Ontario curriculum goals!)