Study Guide - Bio 101 Exam 1

What is life
o Describe the common characteristics of living things.
o Describe why all living things are genetically related.
Atomic structure and bonding (Chapter 2)
o Correctly assign electrons to their correct electron shells when given the atomic number of
an element.
o Define isotopes and radioisotopes and their significance.
o Compare and contrast polar covalent bonds and non-polar covalent bonds.
o Describe how ionic bonds are formed. Also: Explain how an ion is formed from a neutral
atom.
o Define ion, cation, and anion being able to recognize them when given examples.
o Explain why salt dissolves in water.
o Describe how hydrogen bonds are formed. Sketch potential H-bonds between neighboring
molecules of water or of identical molecules.
o Compare the relative strengths of covalent bonds, ionic attractions, hydrogen bonds, and
van der Waals forces.
o Define hydrophilic and hydrophobic and be able to recognize molecules that fit into these
categories.
o Describe hydrophobic interactions.
The chemistry of water (Chapter 2)
o List some of the properties that water has due to its hydrogen bonds.
o Explain why ice floats.
o Explain how water’s high heat capacity (related to high specific heat) and heat of
vaporization is beneficial to living organisms.
o Define acids and bases.
o Describe what the pH scale measures.
Building organic molecules (Chapter 3.1)
o List the four types of macromolecules found in cells and the monomers from which they
are constructed.
o Be familiar with the important functional groups and their properties.
o Define and recognize structural isomers and optical isomers.
o Describe condensation/dehydration reactions.
o Discuss the events that occur during a hydrolysis reaction.
o List the important functions of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, and nucleic acids.

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Proteins (Chapter 3.2)
o Be able to identify an amino acid and point out its amino, carboxyl, and R groups.
o Be able to describe the properties of amino acids based on their side chains (charged + and
–, polar uncharged, nonpolar, etc.).
o Describe disulfide bonds and the amino acids involved in these covalent reactions.
o Identify peptide linkages, N terminus, and C terminus of a polypeptide.
o Explain why a protein’s shape is crucial to its function.
o Describe what is meant by primary, secondary, and tertiary structure, and identify the types
of attractive forces that are important in each case.
o Describe and identify an α helix and a β sheet.
o Define denaturation and describe what happens to a protein’s function.
o Identify environmental factors that affect protein structure.
o Describe quaternary structure and the attractive forces that stabilize it.
o Recognize noncovalent interactions (e.g., H-bonds) between proteins.
o Describe the function of chaperone proteins.
Carbohydrates (Chapter 3.3)
o Describe the general structure of carbohydrates.
o Be able to recognize a monosaccharide.
o Recognize glucose in its chain or ring form (and α versus β).
o Recognize glycosidic linkages and explain the significance of an α-glycosidic linkage vs. a
β-glycosidic linkage in maltose versus cellobiose.
o Define oligosaccharides and describe two important functions.
o Define polysaccharides and give examples.
o Recognize the structures and know the functions of starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin.
Lipids (Chapter 3.4)
o Explain why lipids are hydrophobic and why they are not hydrophilic.
o Explain how triglycerides are constructed from glycerol and fatty acids.
o Describe what makes a fatty acid saturated or unsaturated.
o Recognize the structure of a cis unsaturated fatty acid vs. trans unsaturated fatty acid.
o Describe phospholipids and how they arrange themselves to form a membrane.
o Define amphipathic and how it relates to phospholipids.
o Recognize the structure and know the functions of carotenoids, steroids, and waxes.
Nucleic Acids (Chapter 4.1)
o List and identify the three components to a nucleotide.
o Describe and recognize ribose and deoxyribose.
o Define and recognize pyrimidines vs. purines, and know which bases are in each category.
o Describe how two nucleotides are linked together by a phosphodiester bond.
o Describe how the secondary structure of nucleic acids is determined by hydrogen bonds
between nitrogenous bases.
o Be able to give the complementary base pair sequence (in DNA and RNA) when given a

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strand of DNA.
o Recognize and describe DNA and RNA structure: similarities and differences.
o Describe the important functions of nucleic acids.
o Describe the flow of information from nucleic acid to protein.
Cell Theory and Prokaryotic Cells (Chapter 5.1–5.2)
o Describe cell theory and its implications for studying life.
o Explain the importance of surface area-to-volume ratio in cells.
o Compare characteristics of prokaryotic cells and eukaryotic cells.
o Label in a diagram and describe the structure and function of the prokaryotic structures
discussed in class: flagella, pili, and general structure of the cell wall.