A and P : Chemical basis of Life (wk 2) Flashcards
What are the major elements?
C, H, O, N ; Na, Cl, Mg, K, P, S
What are Trace elements?
Fe, Cu, I, Zn, Se
What elements make up 96% of the body?
CHON
What element can interact with enzymes due to its small size?
Hint: It makes stable yet, reactive molecules.
Carbon
What element is a component of water and cellular respiration?
Oxygen
Hydrogen is a component of water. What does it help with? What does it influence?
Helps with energy transfer and respiration. Influences pH.
What element is a component of nucleic acids and proteins?
Nitrogen
Which elements are cations? Is it Na, Ca, Mg, K?
all of the above
Does Na like to be inside or outside of the cell?
Outside of the cell (extracellular)
Does K like to live inside or outside of the cell?
Inside (intracellular)
What does S help with?
Energy production
What type of bond exchanges electrons? Hint” atoms of this bind are reactive and give each other electrical charges.
Ionic
What is the strongest bond?
Covalent
What is the weakest bond?
Hydrogen
True or False? Atoms that have covalent bonds share 1-3 electrons with each other. The electrons spend time in the outer electron shell of one atom and most of their time in the other atom.
True
What type of charge does atoms with hydrogen bonds attach to on a molecule?
Negative
An element has one type of atom. It is referenced by using a chemical symbol in the periodic table. Give an example of an element.
Mg, H, N, O, C, Cl, Na
Molecules have two or more atoms held together by chemical bonds that can be created or broken yo create new chemicals, substances, and bonds. Give an example of a molecule.
H2O ; CO2
What is a compound? Hint: difficult to break
Homogenous components that are chemically bonded.
What is a mixture?
Either homogenous or heterogenous components that can easily be separated due to filtration, straining, etc.
Define Solute. Give an example.
A substance in a mixture that is being dissolved.
Example: salt, sugar
Define Solvents. Give an example.
A substance that dissolves a solute in a mixture.
Example: water and alcohol
Define Solution. Give an example.
A type of liquid mixture that contains electrolytes.
Ex. IV fluids
___ identified as a hydrogen bond. It is a universal solvent and is an ideal transport medium. It also has a high heat vaporization, and acts as a lubricant.
Water
What is a colloid? Give an example.
A mixture where small particles are evenly spread throughout another substance.
Ex. Blood plasma when blood is spun down in a vial
What is a suspension? Give an example.
Things that don’t dissolve well and need to be mixed before use.
Ex. vaccines, medications, insulin
____ are H+. They donate protons and freely release H+ ions in water.
Acids
True or False? Bases are alkaline compounds that freely release OH- ions in the water.
True
What is a pH (power of hydrogen) scale?
A scale that measures acidity and alkalinity of the body. The most acidic is labeled as 1 and the most basic is labeled as 14. 7 is neutral.
What pH level does blood need to be at in order to properly handle CO2?
7.4
Define Buffers.
a mixture of weak acid and conjugate salt that resists pH change upon the addition of an acid or base.
Why are buffers important?
They stabilize solutions once they are added to a body’s blood pH to maintain a neutral level. If it isn’t maintained, the bodies proteins and enzymes will denaturalize and die.
What are the 5 things that influence reaction rate?
- Reactant concentration
- the physical state of the reactant
- surface area
- temperature
- the presence of a catalyst
______ are proteins that act upon substrates and decrease the activation rate needed for a chemical reaction.
Enzymes
What organic molecule is used for energy, energy storage, and cellular structure?
Carbohydrates
What is the difference between complex and simple carbohydrates?
Complex Carbohydrates are digested slowly and release glucose into the blood stream more gradually.
Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly and spike blood sugar high and fast.
What is the most abundant organic polymer in earth that ONLY herbivores can have.
Cellulose
What is the primary source of energy that comes from the food we eat?
Glucose
What is glycogen?
A source of glucose that is stored in the liver and maintains steady blood glucose. Is stored in skeletal muscles and is used for long-term energy storage.
What are lipids used for?
Insulation, cushion, fat soluble vitamins, chemical messenger in form of some hormones
What lipid has 3 tails/fatty acids? Hint: It is hydrophobic.
Neutral Fats/oils
What lipid has a water soluble head and hydrophobic tails (there are 2)? Hint: they create a bilayer used to transport water and non-polar molecules through them
Phospholipids
What lipid has 4 interlocking rings with chloesterol as the parent molecule.
Hint: used in bile production to aid in fat digestion and absorption.
Steroids
Eicosanoids form a 20-carbon fatty acid chain and ring structure. What are its 3 types?
- Prostaglandins (PGs)
- Thromboxane
- WBC
What do PGs and WBC mediate?
inflammation
What does a thromboxane control?
platelet function
What is the different between Saturated and Unsaturated neutral fats?
Saturated fats (i.e. lard) have single bonds with carbon bonds saturated with hydrogen atoms. Unsaturated fats have double carbon bonds with saturated hydrogen atoms.
What is the most abundant organic molecule in the body?
Hint: made up of CHON.
Proteins
What are the building blocks of protein?
Amino Acids
How many amino acids are used by the body? Which group defines the amino acid?
- 20 amino acids
- R-group
Where do essential fatty acids come from?
Hint: Think of Dr. Villm when he discusses the essential acids that a patient must have
Our food source!!!
What is a peptide?
a chain of 2 or more amino acids linked together.
What determines the specific combination, nature, and function that an amino acid will have?
DNA
What are the types of peptides in order?
- peptide
- Dipeptide
- Tri-peptide
- Polypeptide
- Proteins
