What are the four types of organic molecules found in living organisms?
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids
What are the four most common elements found in living things?
Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, and Nitrogen (CHON)
What are proteins composed of and what is their function?
CHON - code for DNA/RNA, form bones and muscle, enzymes, hemoglobin, antibodies
What are polar covalent bonds?
Polar covalent bonds are the bonds formed between hydrogen and oxygen atoms within water molecules. They result in slightly positive Hydrogen atoms and slightly negative oxygen atom.
What is high heat of vaporization?
The ability to absorb heat upon evaporation - it is used as a cooling mechanism
What are the solvent properties of water?
Water is the universal solvent, therefore much of the biochemistry in a cell occurs in water. (blood)
What are the five components that make up blood?
Red Blood Cells, White Blood Cells, Water, Platelets, misc. solutes
What are four common solutes found in blood plasma?
glucose, amino acids, fibrinogen, and hydrogencarbonate
What is glucose used for, and what size carbohydrate is it?
monosaccharide - chemical fuel for respiration
What is sucrose used for and what size carbohydrate is it?
disaccharide - transported from leaves of plants to other locations in the plant by vascular tissue
What is the primary structure of a protein?
linear sequence of amino acids joined by peptide linkages
What is the tertiary structure of a protein?
Folded polypeptide chains into specific shapes - globular
What are the characteristics of fibrous proteins?
Chain extended, Insoluble, Resistance to pH/temperature changes, Structural material
What are the characteristics of globular proteins?
Chain folded, soluble, colloidal, susceptible to pH/temperature changes, compact rounded molecules
How does ingestion work?
Food is chemically digested in alimentary canal by hydrolysing enzymes and requires water as a reactant
What are the advantages of carbohydrates as storage mechanisms?
more easily digested and soluble in water
What are the advantages of lipids as storage mechanisms?
Contain more energy per gram, insoluble in water (doesn't interfere with osmosis)
Through which process are monosaccharides connected to form disaccharides?
Condensation - requires water
What are nucleotides?
subcomponent of DNA that contains: a phosphate group, a sugar (deoxyribose), and a nitrogenous base
What must the environment be like for replication to occur?
Nucleus during interphase, DNA is in chromatin, Helicase & polymerase are present in nucleoplasm, Free nucleotides are present in nucleoplasm
What happens during replication?
1. Helicase separates the double helix into two single strands by breaking the hydrogen bonds between nitrogen bases
2. Nucleotides in the cytoplasm begin to attach to the "unzipped" double helix - the first nucleotide attaches, then the second nucleotide that follows it becomes covalently bonded to the first by the enzymes polymerase - forming a new strand (1/2 the double helix)
What happens during transcription?
1. Helicase unzips one part of the DNA where the gene that needs to be copied is located, 2. RNA polymerase moves along one side of the DNA, attaching free RNA nucleotides to it. Only one side is used, 3. The mRNA will detach from the DNA after being transcribed and float free in nucleoplasm until floating out of holes in nuclear membrane
What happens during Translation?
1. mRNA aligns with a ribosome, so that first two codons are within the ribosome.
2. Corresponding tRNA will attach to the mRNA in the ribosome.
3. An enzyme creates a peptide bond between the amino acids of the tRNA in the ribosome.
4. the mRNA moves through the ribosome repeating this whole process until it is done
What are enzymes?
proteins with a specific 3D shape that contains an active site that perfectly fits a substrate.
What factors affect enzyme-catalysed reactions?
Temperature - faster particle collision, but maxes out at the point at which the enzyme loses its shape
⁃ substrate concentration - more substrates means a higher chance of pairing with an active site, yet this will plateau at the point in which an enzyme is at its maximum working power
What is rapid oxidation?
release of chemical energy not controlled by enzymes, uncontrolled energy release (burning)