1.2 Organisation Flashcards
What are cells?
Cells are the basic building blocks of all living organisms
What is a tissue?
A tissue is a group of cells with a similar structure and function
Give examples of tissues
Muscular tissue
Epithelial Tissue
What is an organ?
An organ is a collection of tissues, performing specific functions
Give an example of an organ, and what types of tissues it contains?
The stomach is an example of an organ, which contains muscle tissue and epithalial tissue
What is an organ system?
An organ system is a group of organs, working together to perform bodily functions
Give two example of an organ system
- Digestive System
- Circulatory System
What do organ systems form?
Organ systems work together to form the organism - which is the whole living thing
What is the purpose of the digestive system?
The purpose of the digestive system is to digest and absorb food
What are the three main nutrients?
Carbohydrates, Protein & Lipids
Explain why food/nutrients need to be broken down?
Because they are large molecules that are too large to be absorbed into the bloodstream
What do digestive enzymes do during digestion?
During digestion, digestive enzymes convert large, insoluble food molecules into smaller, soluble molecules that can be absorbed into the bloodstream via the small intestine
What are enzymes made up of?
How do they function?
- Enzymes are large protein molecules
- They function as biological catalysts and speed up the rate of the reaction but are not used up in it
What are enzymes made up of?
Enzymes are made up of large protein molecules, which are formed from long chains of amino acids that are folded up to produce an enzyme molecule with a unique shape (active site)
What is the active site?
The active site is the unique shape within the enzyme molecule where only a specific type of substrate molecule will fit into
Why do enzymes only catalyse specific reactions?
Enzymes only catalyse specific reactions due to the unique shape of their active site
Describe the lock and key theory
- The active site has a shape that is complementary to one type of substrate
- When an enzyme and substrate with complementary shapes collide, they substrate binds into the active site of the enzyme
- The enzyme catalyses the breakdown of the substrate
- The products are released from the active site
What is metabolism?
Metabolism is the sum of all the reactions happening in a cell or in the body
What do enzymes do in terms of metabolism?
Enzymes speed up the metabolic reactions in the body
What types of metabolic reactions do enzymes catalyse?
- Building larger molecules from smaller molecules (eg. glucose to starch)
- Changing one molecule to another (eg. fructose to glucose)
- Breaking down larger molecules into smaller molecules (eg. carbohydrates to glucose)
How are enzymes held together?
Enzymes are held together by chemical bonds that can be affected by temperature or pH
Which 2 factors have an effect on enzyme action?
- Temperatures
- pH
Explain why increasing temperature affects enzyme activity
- As the temperature increases, there is more kinetic energy, which means the number of successful collisions between the active site and substrate increase
- This increases enzyme activity
What is the optimum temperature for Enzymes
Around 37°C
What happens to enzymes at extremely high temperatures?
- The change the shape of the active site, so that the substrate can no longer fit into the active site
- Which results in the enzyme becoming denatured
What is a denatured enzyme?
A denatured enzyme is when the active site loses its shape so that the substrate no longer fits
What happens to enzymes at:
- Low temperatures
- Extremely High Temperatures
- At low temperatures, they work slowly
- At high temperatures they denature
Describe the optimum pH for most enzymes
The optimum pH for most enzymes is 7.
Why do enzymes denature at extremely low/high pHs?
- If the pH is too high or too low, it will affect the forces that hold the chains of amino acid
- This will change the shape of the active site, so that the substrate will no longer fit in the active site of the enzyme, and the enzyme becomes denatured
How do we calculate the rate of enzyme reaction?
By calculating the gradient of the graph
Name the 3 types of digestive enzymes and descibe their functions
- Carbohydrase breaks carbohydrates into Simple Sugars (like glucose)
- Protease breaks proteins into Amino Acids
- Lipase breaks Lipids into Glycerol and Fatty Acids
What does a lipid molecule consist of?
A lipid molecule consists of a molecule of glycerol attached to three molecules of fatty acids
What is amylase?
Amylase is a type of carbohydrase that breaks starch into glucose
Where are the main digestive enzymes produced and broken down?
The site of action is where enzymes break down substances
- Lipase is produced in the pancreas and small intestine and its site of action is the small intestine
- Protease is produced in the stomach, pancreas and small intestine and its site of action is the stomach and small intestine
- Carbohydrates and Amylase are produced in the salivary glands and pancreas, and break down substances in the mouth and small intestine
What is the purpose of hydrochloric acid?
Hydrochloric acid breaks the food down quickly and helps the enzymes to digest the food quickly
Also kills any pathogens
What is bile?
Bile is a sour alkaline substance that is produced in the liver and stored in the gallbladder
What are the two functions of bile?
- Bile is alkaline to neutralise the hydrochloric acid in the digested food, to prevent enzymes from becoming denatured
*Speeds up enzyme activity in the small intestine
2. Bile emulsifies fat/lipid by breaking it down to form small droplets, which increases the surface area
Explain why bile is alkaline
- Bile is alkaline to neutralise the hydrochloric acid in the digested food, to prevent enzymes from becoming denatured
- Bile is also alkaline because the enzymes in the small intestine have a higher optimum pH than those in the stomach, so by creating alkaline conditions, bile speeds up the rate of enzyme activity
Explain why bile emulsifies fat
- Bile emulsifies fat by breaking the fat / lipid into smaller droplets
- To increase the surface area, which increases the rate of fat breakdown and digestion
What are the products of digestion used for?
- The products of digestion are used to build new carbohydrates, lipids and proteins
- Some glucose is used in respiration