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Biological Molecules Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

Define monomer

A

Smaller units from which larger molecules are made

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2
Q

Define polymers

A

Molecules made from a large number of monomers joined together

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3
Q

Define condensation reaction

A

Occurs when two molecules combine to form a more complex molecule with the removal of water

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4
Q

Define hydrolysis reaction

A

Occur when larger molecules are broken down into smaller molecules with the addition of water

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5
Q

What are the isomers of glucose

A

Alpha glucose and beta glucose

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6
Q

What bond is in carbohydrates

A

Glycosidic

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7
Q

What are the 3 main disaccharide reactions

A

Glucose + glucose -> maltose
Glucose + galactose -> lactose
Glucose + fructose -> sucrose

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8
Q

What is starch

A

Plant based energy storage molecule made of 2 types of alpha glucose polymers: branched and unbranched

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9
Q

What are the properties of starch (4)

A

Insoluble - doesn’t affect water potential
Compact - doesn’t take up much space
Large - cannot diffuse out the cell
Branching - multiple sites for enzyme driven hydrolysis

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10
Q

What is cellulose

A

Used in plant cell walls and contains long chains of B-glucose. Chains align using hydrogen bonds to form microfibrils

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11
Q

What are the properties of cellulose

A

Straight - unbranched chains run parallel and form crosslinks
Hydrogen bonds - provides strength
Insoluble - doesn’t affect water potential

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12
Q

Name the reducing sugars

A

Glucose, galactose, fructose, lactose and maltose

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13
Q

Explain the test for reducing sugars

A
  1. Benedicts solution + heat
  2. Positive test turns red
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14
Q

Explain the chemical reaction in a positive reducing sugar test

A

Forms red copper (1) oxide insoluble precipitate

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15
Q

Name a non-reducing sugar

A

Sucrose

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16
Q

How do you test for a non-reducing sugar

A
  1. Disaccharide is hydrolysed by heating in dilute HCl acid
  2. Then neutralised with sodium hydrocarbonate
  3. Heat with Benedict’s reagent
  4. Solution will turn red as the ‘free’ reducing sugars can react
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17
Q

How do you test for starch

A
  1. Add iodine to room temperature sample
  2. Positive test is from yellow to blue-black
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18
Q

What are lipids made from

A

1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids

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19
Q

What bond connects the glycerol and fatty acids

A

Ester bonds

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20
Q

How do you know if the molecule is saturated or unsaturated

A

R groups with only single bonds are saturated
Double bonds and single are unsaturated

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21
Q

What is a triglyceride

A

Energy storage molecule made of 1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids

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22
Q

What are the properties of triglycerides

A

Easily hydrolysed to fatty acids and glyceroll then respired to make ATP
High number of energy storing carbon hydrogen bonds
Non-polar so insoluble and doesn’t affect water potential
Low mass to energy ratio so can be stored in a small volume

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23
Q

What are the roles of lipids in the body

A

Energy storage, waterproofing, organ protection, electrical insulation of neurons, thermal insulation, membrane component

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24
Q

What are phospholipids made of

A

Glycerol, 2 fatty acids and a phosphate group

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25
Q

What are the properties of phospholipids

A

Hydrophilic head
Hydrophobic tail
Polar nature so form phospholipid bilayers
Easily combine with carbohydrates forming glycolipids

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26
Q

How do you test for lipids

A
  1. 2cm^3 sample in a grease free test tube
  2. 5cm^3 of ethanol is added and the sample is shaken
  3. Add water and shake
  4. Cloudy white emulsion indicates positive test
27
Q

What are proteins made from

A

Amino acids

28
Q

Describe the primary structure of proteins

A

Order of amino acids in the polypeptide chain

29
Q

Describe the secondary structure of proteins

A

Hydrogen bonds form alpha helices or beta pleated sheets

30
Q

Describe tertiary structure of proteins

A

Overall 3D shape formed by ionic bonds, disulfide bridges and hydrogen bonds

31
Q

Describe quaternary structure of proteins

A

Multiple polypeptides join together and prosthetic groups may also bind

32
Q

What bond is in proteins

A

Peptide bonds O=C-N-H

33
Q

How do you test for proteins

A
  1. Sample added to clean test tube
  2. Equal parts Biuret reagent added to sample
  3. Positive test is from blue to purple
34
Q

What is an enzyme

A

Proteins that act as biological catalysts by lowering the activation energy

35
Q

How do active sites work

A

Specific tertiary structures which combine with complementary substrates to form enzyme-substrate complexes

36
Q

Describe the induced fit model

A

Active site changes shape as the substrate binds, straining the bonds in the substrate so they can be broken more easily

37
Q

What determines enzyme activity

A

Number of successful collisions between active sites and substrate molecules and changing the active site’s shape reduces the number of successful collisions, decreasing the rate of reaction

38
Q

What is the effect of increasing temperature on rate of reaction

A

Increases kinetic energy of molecules so there are more successful collisions. Above the optimum the enzyme denatures

39
Q

What is the effect of changing pH on rate of reaction

A

Changing away for optimum alters charges of amino acids. A further change denatures it

40
Q

What is the effect of increasing substrate concentration on the rate of reaction

A

Successful collisions increases until every active site is saturated with substrate and the graph plateaus

41
Q

What is the effect of increasing enzyme concentration on the rate of reaction

A

Successful collisions increases until there is too little substrate to fill the active sites and the graph plateaus

42
Q

What are competitive inhibitors

A

Reversibly bind the active site, reducing the rate of reaction by inhibiting formation of enzyme-substrate complexes

43
Q

What are non-competitive inhibitors

A

Bind away from the active site, disrupting the tertiary structure of the active site preventing enzyme-substrate complexes forming

44
Q

What are DNA nucleotides made of

A

A phosphate group
A deoxyribose sugar
A nitrogenous base (ACGT)

45
Q

What bond is between nucleotides

A

Phosphodiester

46
Q

Which are purines and pyrimidines

A

G and A are double ring so purines and C and T are single ring so pyrimidines

47
Q

What is the structure and functions of DNA

A

DNA forms a double helix with complementary bases
DNA has a sugar phosphate backbone that protects the bases
DNA is large to store lots of data

48
Q

How many bonds does A-T and G-C form

A

2 and 3

49
Q

What is the process of semi-conservative replication

A
  1. DNA helicase unwinds the double helix and breaks hydrogen bonds between bases
  2. Free nucleotides pair up with their complementary bases
  3. DNA polymerase catalyses the condensation reaction forming phosphodiester bonds between DNA nucleotides
50
Q

Outline semi-conservative replication

A

New molecule contains 1 new and 1 old strand

51
Q

What was Meselson and Stahl’s method

A
  1. Bacteria were grown in heavy N-15 medium leading to heavy DNA
  2. Bacteria moved to light Nitrogen-14 medium
  3. DNA extracted and centrifuged showed that it was a medium density, indicating that it was half parent DNA and half newly-synthesised DNA
52
Q

What are RNA nucleotides made of

A

A phosphate group
A ribose sugar
A nitrous base (AUCG)

53
Q

What bonds are produced in RNA

A

Phosphodiester

54
Q

What is the structure and function of RNA

A

Single stranded
Uracil instead of thymine
mRNA transfers information stored in one gene from the nucleus to the ribosomes
Ribosomes and tRNA are 2 other types of RNA in protein synthesis

55
Q

What is ATP made of

A

3 phosphate groups, a ribose sugar and adenine

56
Q

What bond is between each phosphate group in ATP

A

High energy covalent bonds

57
Q

What is the structure and function of ATP

A

Easily hydrolysed by ATP hydrolase to inorganic phosphate (Pi) and ADP releasing a small amount of energy
Involved in metabolism, movement, active transport, secretion and the activation of molecules

58
Q

What do hydrogen bonds form between in water

A

Electronegative oxygen and electropositive hydrogen

59
Q

What is the property and function of water

A

Metabolite - used up in hydrolysis, made in condensation
Solvent - polar molecule, can dissolve ions for transport
Hydrogen bonds - allows for cohesion for transpiration pull in the xylem
High specific heat capacity - acts as a buffer to temperature change
High latent heat of vaporisation - reduction of temperature via sweating

60
Q

What are inorganic ions

A

Charged particles and have specific bodily functions

61
Q

What are Iron (Fe) ions

A

Inorganic compounds found in haemoglobin

62
Q

What are phosphate ions

A

Inorganic ions used in ATP synthesis

63
Q

What are hydrogen ions

A

Inorganic ions that determine pH of a solution

64
Q

What are sodium ions

A

Inorganic ions used in transport of glucose and amino acids. Also used in nervous communication

Biology (3 decks)

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