FINAL Unit 1 Flashcards
What is the cell theory?
- all living organisms are made up of cells
- cell is fundamental unit of life
- cells come from pre-existing cells
What are the 3 characteristics that define cells as the smallest unit of life?
- contain DNA that encode genes for all RNA and protein in the cell
- bounded by plasma membrane that encloses cell and is important for nutrient uptake and signalling
- use metabolism to convert energy from environment to do the work of the cell in cytoplasm and mitochondria (and chloroplasts)
What is the difference between eukaryotic and prokaryotic cells?
prokaryotic: no nucleus (have a nucleoid)
eukaryotic: have a nucleus and internal organelles
What is the endosymbiont theory? What is the evidence?
mitochondria and chloroplasts were free-living cells that were taken up and lived inside early eukaryotes
evidence:
- mitochondria are same size and shape as bacteria
- have prokaryotic-type circular chromosome
- DNA sequences more like bacteria than eukaryotic cells
What is the phylogenetic tree?
describes relationships among organisms over evolutionary history
- all cells evolved from universal common ancestor
- 3 domains: Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
- hypothesized that eukarya descended from archaea
- all plants and animal on branches within eukarya
- time runs from roots to branches
What is diffusion?
- movement of molecules due to random motion
- net movement of molecules across membrane will passively diffuse across membrane from high to low concentration until equilibrium is reached
- diffusion still continues but there is no net movement
What is osmosis?
- diffusion of water across membrane
- semipermeable membrane allows passage fo water but not solute
Passive diffusion vs. Facilitated diffusion
water moves in and out of cells by passive diffusion and can move into a cell more readily by facilitated diffusion using protein channels called aquaporins
What is osmotic pressure?
continuous diffusion of water across cell membrane builds up pressure
Describe an isotonic solution.
same concentration of solute inside and outside the cell
Describe a hypotonic solution.
concentration of solute inside > outside the cell
Describe a hypertonic solution.
concentration of solute inside < outside the cell
What occurs in a hypotonic solution?
osmotic pressure builds, cell membrane might expand a little, but then will burst
What occurs in a hypertonic solution?
cell shrivels due to water leaving the cell
What are mechanisms to prevent cell lysis (bursting)?
- animal cell
- plant cell
- protozoan
- bacterial cell
animal cell: active shunting of ions from the cell
plant cell:
- cell wall: surrounds plasma membrane and resists cell expansion when cell takes in water, and can maintain cell shape in some organisms
- vacuoles: exert hydrostatic pressure on cell walls and provide rigidity —> dehydrated plant cell collapses vacuoles, relieves hydrostatic pressure, results in wilting
protozoan: discharging contractile vacuole
bacterial cell: have cell wall called peptidoglycan that helps counteract osmotic pressure build-ip during osmosis
List the bond/interaction types from strongest to weakest.
covalent ionic ion-permanent dipole hydrogen bonding permanent dipole-permanent dipole permanent dipole-induced dipole ion-induced dipole induced dipole-induced dipole
What is a covalent bond?
formed by shared pair of electrons
What is a polar covalent bond?
electrons are shared unevenly between atoms
also called a permanent dipole: one atom is partially negatively charged, one partial positive
What is a nonpolar covalent bond?
electrons are shared equally
How is polar/nonpolar determined?
by electronegativity of atoms in a bond
What is an ionic bond?
- positive and negative ions held together by electrostatic attraction
- electronegativity difference between two atoms is so extreme that electrons are completely pulled from one atom to the other
What is an ion-permanent dipole bond?
electrostatic attraction between ionic group on a molecule (ie. NH^3+ or CO2-) and the dipole of a polar covalent bond
What is hydrogen bonding?
- special kind of dipole-dipole attraction that forms when dipoles involved include hydrogen atom and atom with lone pairs, specifically electronegative atoms O, N, F, or S
- donor group: functional group supplying H
- acceptor group: functional group supplying lone pairs, can form as many hydrogen bonds as it has lone pairs available
- strength influenced by electronegativity of atoms involved in bond
- more electronegative atom of H bond acceptor = stronger bond
- more electronegative atom bonded to donor H (ie. S or N) = stronger bond
What is a permanent dipole-permanent dipole bond?
- among molecules that contain polar bonds, an electrostatic interaction can from between the positive and negative ends of dipoles
- much weaker than ionic bonds because the charges involved are only partial +/- charges
What is a permanent dipole-induced dipole bond?
dipole approaches nonpolar group, permanent dipole will create an induced dipole in nonpolar group
What is an induced dipole?
when ion goes near nonpolar group, it’ll attract or repel electrons in nonpolar group
- since electrons in bond are constantly moving, occasionally they become unevenly distributed around atoms in bond, creating a small temporary induced dipole
What is an ion-induced dipole?
new induced dipole is electrostatically attracted to the ion
What is an induced-induced dipole bond?
two induced dipoles
- are short-lived because induced dipoles are temporary
What is electronegativity?
measure of atom’s tendency to attract electrons to itself in covalent bonds (stronger tendency = larger electronegativity)
higher lower
O > N»_space; S = C = H = P
What is a polar molecule?
has regions of +/- charge, tend to interact with other polar molecules (ie. O-H, N-H, S-H, C-O, O-P)
What is a nonpolar molecule?
does not have regions of +/- charge (ie. C-H)
What is a neutral molecule?
no charge
What is a charged molecule?
anion: negative charge
cation: positive charge
What is a hydrophobic molecule?
water-fearing, nonpolar
molecules poorly able to undergo hydrogen bonding with water
What is a hydrophilic molecule?
water-loving, polar
can undergo hydrogen bonding with water, readily dissolves in water
What is the hydrophobic effect?
polar molecules excluded nonpolar molecules to drive biological processes such as protein folding and formation of cell membranes
What is an amphipathic molecule?
has both hydrophobic and hydrophilic parts
What are the 4 key characteristics of living organisms?
- complexity, with precise spatial organization on several scales
- ability to change in response to environment
- abilities to metabolize and to reproduce
- capacity to evolve
What is the first law of thermodynamics?
energy cannot be created no destroyed and can only be transferred from one form to another
- total energy of universe is constant but the form it takes changes
- living organisms acquire energy from environment and transform to chemical form cells use
- all organisms obtain energy from sun or chemical compounds: some energy for work, some energy dissipated as heat
What is the second law of thermodynamics?
degree of disorder in universe tends to increase
- addition of energy increases order of system (decreases disorder)
- entropy: amount of disorder
- living organisms are highly organized, energy is needed to maintain this
- cells is not an isolated system: take into account cell and environment
- release of heat as organisms harness energy means total combination of cell + environment’s entropy increases
What are the important molecular interactions involved in macromolecule synthesis?
- intramolecular bonds: covalent, ionic, hydrophobic
- intermolecular bonds: non-covalent
- interaction with surrounding water molecules
What is cytosol?
aqueous environment of the cell (outside of nucleus and organelles)
What is critical for cell structure and function?
how macromolecules interact with polar water molecules
What do non-covalent interactions determine?
3D structure of macromolecules and their interactions with water (polarity is important)
What is a function group?
one or more atoms that have particular chemical properties on their own
- “add chemical character to carbon chains”
- polar, therefore molecules that contain these groups become polar and soluble in aqueous environment, and they are reactive (joining simple molecules often takes place between functional groups)
Describe carbon skeletons.
- nonpolar
- functional group permits them to interact with water and link macromolecules