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Biological molecules Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

What’s the general formula for monosaccharides?

A

(CH2O)n n=3-7

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2
Q

What are monosaccharides?

A

Sweet-tasting soluble substances

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3
Q

Why are they called reducing sugars?

A

A sugar that can donate electrons to another chemical

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4
Q

What do alpha and beta glucose look like?

A

Alpha hydroxyl group is on the bottom of the right and beta is in the top right

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5
Q

What is Benedict’s reagent?

A

An alkaline solution of copper (II) sulfate

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6
Q

What happens when a reducing sugar is heated with Benedict’s reagent?

A

Forms an insoluble red precipitate of copper (I) oxide

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7
Q

What colours do the Benedict’s reagent test move through?

A

Blue, green, yellow, orange then red depending on the concentration of sugar molecules

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8
Q

What happens when monosaccharides are joined together?

A

Condensation reaction forms glycosidic bond

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9
Q

What disaccharides are reducing sugars?

A

Maltose is and sucrose isn’t

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10
Q

How do we test for non-reducing sugars?

A

Add dilute hydrochloric acid in a test tube and boil for 5 minutes, the HCl will hydrolyse the disaccharide present int its constituent monosaccharides, add sodium hydrogen carbonate to neutralise and then perform Benedict’s reagent

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11
Q

Are polysaccharide soluble?

A

No, they are large, this makes them suitable for storage

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12
Q

How many alpha glucose molecules are in starch?

A

200-100,000

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13
Q

What’s the main role of starch?

A

Energy storage

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14
Q

Why does starch not affect water potential?

A

It’s insoluble, no osmosis

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15
Q

Why does starch being large and insoluble benefit it?

A

It does not diffuse out of cells

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16
Q

Why is starch being compact beneficial?

A

Stored in a small place

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17
Q

Why is starch being made of alpha glucose beneficial?

A

Hydrolysis allows transport and readily used in respiration

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18
Q

Why is starch having branched ends beneficial?

A

Each can be acted on simultaneously meaning that glucose monomers are released very rapidly

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19
Q

How is glycogen stored?

A

Mainly as granules in the muscles and liver

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20
Q

What are the structures of glycogen?

A

Insoluble-no osmosis and doesn’t diffuse out
Compact- increase storage efficiency
Highly branched- ends can be acted on simultaneously by enzymes

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21
Q

What’s the shape of cellulose?

A

Straight, unbranched chains which run parallel to one another, allowing hydrogen bonds to form cross-linkages between adjacent chains

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22
Q

What do cellulose molecules group together to form?

A

Microfibrils, which are in turn arranged into parallel groups called fibres

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23
Q

How does cellulose prevent the cell wall bursting by osmosis?

A

Exerting an inward pressure that stops any further influx of water, as a result living plant cells are turgid and pushed against one another, making non-woody parts of the plant semi-rigid

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24
Q

How does carbon-based life lead to a variety of life on Earth?

A

Readily forms bonds with other carbon atoms, which allows various lengths to form a backbone (versatility of the atom)

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25
Q

What are the roles of lipids?

A

Waterproofing, source of energy, insulation and protection

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26
Q

How does the structure of triglycerides relate to their properties?

A

Low mass: energy, good storage
Insoluble: no osmotic effect
High hydrogen oxygen ratio: releasing water when oxidised

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27
Q

What type of bonds form the secondary structure of proteins?

A

Hydrogen bonds

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28
Q

What is the role of DNA?

A

Base sequence of genes codes for functional RNA and amino acid sequence of polypeptides
Genetic information determines inherited characteristics

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29
Q

What is the theory of evolution?

A

The idea that all organisms evolved from one or a few ancestors as we all have the same biochemistry

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30
Q

What’s the difference between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids?

A

Saturated don’t have any double bonds whereas unsaturated do between carbon atoms, causing the chain to kink

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31
Q

Why are lipids insoluble?

A

Long fatty acid hydrocarbon tails are hydrophobic

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32
Q

What do lipids do in the body?

A

Insulate, hormone coordination, energy yield and energy storage

33
Q

Why are lipids different from carbs and proteins?

A

They all contain hydrocarbons and a variety of different components relating to their lipids function

34
Q

What type of proteins are enzymes?

A

Globular

35
Q

What are prosthetic groups?

A

Non-protein groups associated with quaternary structures of protein, such as iron containing haem group in haemoglobin

36
Q

What are the key words for enzymes?

A

Activation energy, substrates and enzyme-substrate complexes

37
Q

What does the induced fit model propose?

A

Active site forms as the enzyme and substrate interact, the enzyme is flexible and moulds around the substrate

38
Q

How do pH changes affect an enzyme?

A

Alters amino acid charges so no ES complexes form and may break the bonds in tertiary structure

39
Q

What’s the name of the bond between two mono nucleotides?

A

Phosphodiester bond

40
Q

What are the four types of RNA nucleotides and how do they bond?

A

Adenine- Uracil
Cytosine- Guanine

41
Q

How are the two polynucleotide chains bonded together?

A

Hydrogen bonds

42
Q

How many complimentary base pairs form the H bonds?

A

C-G form 3
A-T form 2

43
Q

What’s DNA responsible for?

A

Passing genetic information from cell to cell and generation to generation

44
Q

How many base pairs of DNA are there in a typical mammalian cell?

A

3.2billion

45
Q

What are the four requirements for semiconservative replication?

A

Four types of nucleotides, both strands act as a template, DNA polymerase and source of chemical energy

46
Q

What breaks down the hydrogen bonds in semi-conservative replication?

A

DNA helicase

47
Q

What type of molecule is ATP?

A

Phosphorylated macromolecules

48
Q

How does ATP store energy?

A

Between phosphate groups- bonds have low activation energy, so they release a considerable amount of energy

49
Q

How is ATP broken down?

A

Hydrolysis by ATP hydrolase
ATP + H2O = ADP + Pi + E

50
Q

How is ATP synthesised?

A

Addition of a phosphate molecule to ADP:
Photophosphorylation
Oxidative phosphorylation
Substrate level phosphorylation

51
Q

What enzyme catalyses ATP synthesis?

A

ATP synthase

52
Q

What is photophosphorylation?

A

Chlorophyll-containing plant cells during photosynthesis

53
Q

What is oxidative phosphorylation?

A

In plant and animal cells during respiration

54
Q

What is substrate level phosphorylation?

A

In plant and animal cells when phosphate groups are transferred from donor molecules to ADP

55
Q

Why is ATP a good short term energy store?

A

The energy released from ATP is less than glucose, releasing smaller ad more manageable quantities
Hydrolysis of ATP is a single immediate reaction

56
Q

When is ATP used?

A

Metabolic processes
Movement
Active transport
Secretion
Activation of molecules

57
Q

How is ATP used in metabolic processes?

A

Provide the energy needed to build up macromolecules from their basic units

58
Q

How is ATP used in movement?

A

Provides the energy for muscle contraction, it gives the energy for the filaments of muscles to slide past one another and therefore shorten the overall length of a muscle fibre

59
Q

How is ATP used in active transport?

A

Energy changes shape of the protein carrier in plasma membranes

60
Q

How is ATP used in secretion?

A

Formation of lysosomes necessary for the secretion of cell products

61
Q

How is ATP used in activation of molecules?

A

Inorganic phosphate released during the hydrolysis of ATP can be used to phosphorylate other compounds in order to make them more reactive, thus lowering the activation energy in enzyme-catalysed reactions

62
Q

What are the properties of water?

A

High specific heat capacity, high latent heat of vaporisation and cohesion and surface tension

63
Q

Why is high latent heat of vaporisation beneficial in water?

A

Sweat is an effective means of cooling

64
Q

Why is cohesion a beneficial property of water?

A

Pull water up through xylem
When water molecules meet air they are pulled back into the body of water so it doesn’t escape

65
Q

Why is water important in metabolism?

A

Hydrolysis
Aqueous mediums for chemical reaction
Photosynthesis

66
Q

Why is water important as a solvent?

A

Gases dissolve, wastes dissolve, inorganic ions and enzymes dissolve, this allows transport

67
Q

Why is evaporation as cooling an important feature of water?

A

Allows them to control their temperature

68
Q

Why is water being transparent beneficial?

A

Aquatic plants can photosynthesise as light can pass through

69
Q

What percent of jellyfish are water?

A

98%

70
Q

What percent of mammals are water?

A

65%

71
Q

What are lipids?

A

Macromolecules containing oxygen, hydrogen and carbon atoms

72
Q

What is cellulose?

A

A polymer of long-chain beta glucose joined by glycosidic bonds

73
Q

What is a carbonyl?

A

A carbon atom double bonded to an oxygen atom

74
Q

What is a monomer?

A

A small basic molecular unit

75
Q

What are triglycerides?

A

One molecule of glycerol with 3 fatty acids attached through ester bonds

76
Q

What are phospholipids?

A

Lipids found in cell membranes , which is a glycerol bonded with two fatty acids and a phosphate group

77
Q

What is an ester bond?

A

A hydroxyl group (OH) and carboxyl group (COOH) bonded together in a condensation reaction

78
Q

What is starch?

A

A mixture if two polysaccharides amylose and amylopectin

Biology (22 decks)

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