biochemistry Flashcards
how is a covalent bond formed
when unpaired electrons are shared
what is a redox reaction
electrons transferred from one molecule to another
what is oxidation
loss of electrons
what is reduction
gain of electrons
what is an exergonic reaction
delta g negative
occur spontaneously
what is an endergonic reaction
delta g positive
cant occur spontaneously
what is coupled to allow many reactions in the body to occur
an unfavourable reaction (positive delta G) and a favourable one (negative delta G) such as breakdown of ATP and H2O
what is metabolism
all the reactions taking place in the body
what can metabolism be divided into
catabolism and anabolism
what is catabolism
breadking down complex molecules into smaller ones
releases energy
what is anabolism
synthesising complex molecules from smaller ones
consumes energy
what is an acid
proton donaters
what is a base
proton acceptors
what does the strength of an acid depend on
how readily it donates a proton
how is acid strength measured
the acid dissociation constant, Ka
what is the equation for pH
pH = -log10[H+]
what is the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation
ph = pka + log [base]/[acid]
what is a buffer
a solution used to control the ph of a reaction mixture
when does ph = pka
when the [acid] is equal to the [conjugate base]
what is the primary structure
one dimensional, the sequence of amino acid residues
what is the secondary structure
the localised conformation of the polypeptide backbone
what is the tertiary structure
the 3D structure of an entire polypeptide
what is the quaternary structure
the spatial arrangement of polypeptide chains in a protein with multiple subunits
what bond holds secondary structures together
hydrogen
what are the 3 types of secondary structures
alpha helix
beta strands and sheets
triple helix