Cellular Processes Flashcards
Membrane
A semi-permeable phospholipid bi-layer that is the key structural component of the organelles and what surrounds the cells. Mediates what moves in and out of the cell.
Chloroplast
Organelle that is the site of photosynthsis
Vacuole
Organelle where water is stored
Mitochondria
Organelle that is the site of aerobic respiration
Active transport
Movement of substances in or out of the cell that requires energy (ATP) at a protein pump because molecules are moving against the concentration gradient
Passive transport
Movement of substances in or out of the cell that does not require energy because the substance is moving with the concentration gradient
Diffusion
Movement of substances from high to low concentration
Facilitated diffusion
Movement of substances, from high to low concentration, across the cell membrane using specialised transport proteins/protein channels
With the concentration gradient
Movement of substances in the direction of an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration
Against the concentration gradient
Movement of substances in the direction of an area of low concentration to an area of high concentration
Osmosis
Movement of water molecules across a semi-permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration
Flaccid
Term used to describe a cell that is limp or loose due to lack of water pressure against the cell membrane
Turgid
Term used to describe a cell that is filled with water and is pushing against the membrane
ATP
Molecule used by the cell as an energy source. Made in cellular respiration
Endocytosis
Movement of molecules into the cell by the folding of the cell membrane
Exocytosis
Movement of molecules out of the cell by the folding of the cell membrane
Respiration
The process in which the cell produces usable energy in the form of ATP from oxygen and glucose (water and carbon dioxide a byproducts of this process)
Aerobic respiration equation
Glucose + Oxygen → Water + Carbon dioxide
Aerobic respiration
Respiration that requires oxygen to release energy from glucose in the form of high yield of ATP
Anaerobic respiration
Respiration that does not require oxygen to release energy from glucose in the form of ATP
Photosynthesis
Process in which energy from sunlight is used to produce glucose from water, carbon dioxide. (Oxygen is a by-product of this process)
Photosynthesis equation
Water + Carbon dioxide (+light energy) → Glucose and Oxygen
Light dependent Phase
First phase of photosynthesis in which light energy is used to split water producing oxygen and hydrogen
Light Independent Phase
Second phase of photosynthesis in which hydrogen and carbon dioxide are used to produce glucose
ADP
Molecule made after phosphate is removed from ATP and energy is released
Glucose
Sugar that is a source of chemical potential energy
Enzyme
A protein that is a biological catalyst - increases the rate of chemical reactions in the cell through creating better orientation and in turn more collisions between substrate (reactants)
Catalyst
A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change
Active site
The area of an enzyme which has a very specific shape so that the substrate(s) can bind
Substrate
Molecule/substance that binds with an enzyme in a chemical reaction
Co-factor/Co-ezyme
Molecule that binds to an enzymes active site to complete the shape
Non-competitive inhibitor
Substance that binds to an enzyme and changes the shape of the active site stopping the substrate from binding
Competitive Inhibitor
Molecule that binds to an enzymes active site which blocks that substrate from binding
Semi-conservative replication
When DNA replication has occurred each molecule has one strand of parental DNA and one strand of newly synthesized DNA
Nucleotide
The subunit of DNA, made of a sugar, phosphate, and a nitrogenous base
Mitosis
Cell division where the replicated chromosomes separate to create two identical cells
S Phase
Synthesis stage, also know as the stage for DNA replication
G1 Phase
The cell makes the requirements for cell division e.g. the enzymes and the nucleotides
Cell cycle
The series of events that take place in a cell leading to its division
G2 Phase
The cell makes the requirements for mitosis such as growth and production of new proteins
Hydrogen bonds
Weak bonds between the nitrogenous bases that make DNA double stranded
Complementary base pairing
The way in which the nitrogenous bases of the DNA molecules align with each other, i.e. A binds with T G binds with C
Organelle
An organelle is a subcellular structure that has one or more specific jobs to perform in the cell
