Chapters 6-8 Flashcards
Metabolism
The totality of an organism’s chemical reactions
Differentiate between catabolic and anabolic
Catabolic reactions involve breaking down molecules and releasing energy. Anabolic pathways consume energy to build molecules.
What is the study of how energy flows through living organisms?
bioenergetics
Define energy
The capacity to cause change
Differentiate between kinetic and potential energy. Give examples of each.
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion (contraction of leg muscles); Potential energy is energy matter possesses because of its position or
condition (the energy in the bonds of molecules).
State the 1st law of thermodynamics.
Energy can be transferred or transformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed.
Are organisms closed or open systems?
Open systems. If they were closed they would not be able to exchange matter with the outside word.
State the 2nd law of thermodynamics.
Every energy transfer or transformation increases the entropy of the universe.
What is entropy?
A measure of disorder, or randomness. The more random matter is in its arrangement, the more entropy it has.
What kind of energy can do work when temperature and pressure conditions are uniform?
Free energy (a.k.a. Gibbs free energy (G))
What symbol is used to represent change in free energy?
Delta G (Triangle G)
Differentiate between exergonic and endergonic. Specify which is/are spontaneous.
Exergonic reactions release energy; endergonic reactions absorb energy. Exergonic reactions are spontaneous.
What would happen if cells reached chemical equilibrium?
They can do no work, and therefore would not survive. A process is spontaneous and can do work only if it is working toward
equilibrium. However, in cells, equilibrium is never reached because of the constant changes they endure (for example, in our cells, a
constant intake of oxygen and excretion of carbon dioxide). See fig 6.7
Name the three kinds of work done by a cell.
Chemical work, Transport work, mechanical work.
What does “ATP” stand for?
Adenosine Triphosphate
Name the three parts of an ATP molecule.
Adenine (nitrogenous base), ribose(pentose sugar), three phosphate groups
How is energy released from a molecule of ATP? What molecule results?
Energy is released by removing the terminal phosphate group. ADP (adenosine diphosphate) results.
How is energy released from a molecule of ATP? What molecule results?
Energy is released by removing the terminal phosphate group. ADP (adenosine diphosphate) results.
Are coupled reactions endergonic or exergonic. Why?
Exergonic. The purpose of coupling reactions is so that the reaction will occur spontaneously. In order to occur spontaneously, the free
energy must be negative. Negative changes in free energy result from exergonic reactions. See fig.6.9
Compare and contrast enzymes and catalysts.
Catalysts are chemical agents that speed up a reaction without being consumed by the reaction. Enzymes are a class of biological catalysts (specifically protein, for now). Enzymes are very specific to the reaction they catalyze.
What is activation energy?
The energy of activation (EA) is the initial investment of energy needed to start a reaction.