Water (A1.1) + Nucleic Acids (A1.2) + Carbs and Lipids (B1.1) + Proteins (B1.2) Flashcards
Define a hydrogen bond
force when a slightly positive hydrogen atom in one polar molecule is attracted to slightly negative atom of another polar molecule
Buoyancy as a physical property of water (2)
buoyancy = force exerted upward by fluid which counteracts gravity
density of object < density of liquid = buoyancy force > gravity = object will float
Why does ice float on water (2)
ice is less dense as water
pattern of hydrogen bonding of ice is less dense
Viscosity as a physical property of water
pure water has low viscosity - hydrogen bonds are weak so not as much internal friction
Define cohesion
ability of water molecules to stick together
Cohesion of water for water transport in plants (5)
water is sucked upwards in continuous columns
column of water under tension from both ends
tension from roots due to attraction between soil + water
tension from leaves as water lost by evaporation + attraction between water and leaf cell walls
water moves upwards because force in leaves > force in roots
Explain surface tension of water (2)
cohesion between water molecules > attraction between water and floating object
object must break hydrogen bonds to break the surface of water
Define adhesion for water (2)
hydrogen bonds forming between water + surface of solid composed of polar molecules
allows water to stick to other objects
Define capillary action
the ability of a liquid to flow through a narrow tube without external forces
Why water is a good solvent (5)
polar nature of water molecule forms shells around both charged + polar molecules
prevents molecules from clumping together so they remain in solution
water’s partially negative oxygen pole attracted to positive ions
water’s partially positive hydrogen pole attracted to negative ions
both dissolve
Define hydrophilic
substances chemically attracted to water
Examples of hydrophilic substances (2)
glucose
positive or negative ions (e.g sodium + chloride ions)
Define hydrophobic (3)
substances not attracted to water
more attracted to other hydrophobic substances
insoluble in water
Examples of hydrophobic substances (2)
non-polar molecules (not positive or negative)
lipids
Metabolism in water solvent property (2)
solutes can move + interact
allows for substrates to touch the active sites of enzymes
Thermal conductivity as a property of water
high thermal conductivity = good at absorbing/transferring heat
Define thermal conductivity
the rate at which heat passes through a material
Define viscosity (3)
how easily a fluid is able to flow
more viscosity –> more friction + resistance to flow
due to internal friction when on part of a fluid moves faster relative to another part
Applications of water’s thermal conductivity
high water content in blood –> can carry heat from parts of body to parts that need more heat or parts that dissipate heat
Define specific heat capacity
energy required to raise the temperature of 1g of material by 1 C
Specific heat capacity as a characteristic of water (2)
increase in temperature must have hydrogen bonds broken with energy
must lose an equal amount of energy to cool down
Applications of specific heat capacity of water (2)
aquatic habitats are more thermally stable
helps mammals maintain constant body temperatures
Why water is able to be retained on earth (2)
distance between sun and earth = temperatures are not high enough to vaporize water
strong gravity = oceans is held to surface, gases kept within atmosphere
Define the Goldilocks Zone (2)
habitable zone around a star
location depends on size of star, amount of energy it emits, size of planet
Parts of nucleotides (3)
pentose sugar with 5 carbon atoms
phosphate group : acidic and negatively charged part of nucleic acids
base that contains nitrogen - has either 1 or 2 rings of atoms in its structure
Phosphate group nucleotide diagram
O-
|
O- – P – O –
||
O
Deoxyribose sugar nucleotide diagram
– CH2
| O
CH CH – N
CH CH
| |
OH OH
How are nucleotides linked together
covalent bonds formed between phosphate of one nucleotide and the pentose sugar of another
What is the DNA and RNA backbone made of
chain between sugar and phosphate
Bases in DNA (4)
Adenine (A)
Cytosine (C)
Guanine (G)
Thymine (T)
Bases in RNA (4)
Adenine (A)
Cytosine (C)
Guanine (G)
Uracil (U)
Links between bases of DNA (2)
Adenine forms hydrogen bonds with thymine
guanine forms hydrogen bonds with cytosine
Strands of DNA nucleotides in relation to each other (2)
(anti)parallel - parallel but run in opposite directions
one strand ends with phosphate group other ends with deoxyribose (pentose sugar)
Differences between DNA and RNA (3)
DNA is double-stranded, RNA is single-stranded
RNA has uracil instead of thymine in DNA
pentose sugar of DNA is deoxyribose, pentose sugar of RNA is ribose
How do RNA nucleotide join together
condensation reaction - molecules combine while losing water
What happens in semi-conservative replication of DNA (3)
2 strands of double helix separate - hydrogen bonds break
free nucleotides pair with exposed complementary bases
changes 1 DNA molecule into 2 identical ones
Number of possible combinations of DNA bases (2)
4^n
where n is the number of bases
Define gene expression (2)
process which genetic code in DNA translated into protein
allows DNA to code for proteins
Define codons in genes (2)
groups of 3 bases
64 possible codons
Functions of codons in genes (3)
most codons specify a particular amino acid
one codon signals that protein synthesis should start
3 codon signal that protein synthesis should stop
Define transcription in genes
process where one DNA strand is used as template to produce RNA
How is a gene expressed (3)
copying base sequence - copy made using RNA
adenine in RNA pairs with uracil instead of thymine
synthesiszing a protein - base sequence of RNA translated into amino acid sequence of protein
Define translation in DNA
process where transcribed RNA is translated by ribosomes to produce proteins
Define a purine (3)
Adenine
Guanine
have 2 carbon rings
Number of hydrogen bonds between adenine + thymine
2 hydrogen bonds
Number of hydrogen bonds between guanine + cytosine
3 hydrogen bonds
Describe the 5’ to 3’ directionality of DNA (3)
5 and 3 = 5th + 3rd carbon on pentose
phosphate binds at 5’ and 3’
one strand will start with 5’ and end with 3’, other strand will start with 3’ and end with 5’
Define a pyrimidine (4)
Thymine
Cytosine
Uracil
has one ring
Directionality of DNA in DNA replication (2)
nucleotides added to the 3’ end of polymer
5’ phosphate of free nucleotide links to 3’ end of growing polymer
Directionality of DNA in DNA transcription (2)
nucleotides added to 3’ end of polymer
5’ phosphate of free nucleotide links to 3’ end of growing polymer
Directionality of DNA in DNA translation (3)
ribosome reads RNA sequence
ribosome that carries out translation moves along RNA to 3’ end
5’ to 3’ directionality
Why purines are complementary with pyrimidines (3)
purine to purine bond length will be too long
pyrimidine to pyrimidine bond length will be too short
complementary base pairing stabilises DNA shape
Appearance of nucleosome (2)
length of DNA wrapped twice around cores of 8 histone molecules (2 copies of 4 different histones)
additional histone molecule (H1) reinforces binding of DNA to nucleosome core
How are chromosomes formed from nucleosomes (3)
nucleosomes joined together by linker DNA
nucleosomes stacked onto each other
stacks form chromosomes
Purpose of the Hershey-Chase experiment
proving that DNA made up genetic material instead of protein
Materials used in the Hershey-Chase experiment (3)
virus - T2 bacteriophage
bacteriophage inner DNA coated in radioactive phosphorous
bacteriophage outer protein coated in radioactive sulfur
Hershey-Chase experiment results (3)
bacteriophages with radioactive phosphorous infected non-radioactive bacteria, all infected cells became radioactive
next-generation of bacteriophages produced from infected bacteria were all radioactive
bacteriophages coated in radioactive sulfur + virus coats separated = no radioactivity inside infected cell
Describe Hershey-Chase experiment (5)
bacteriophage added to bacteria
blender separates bacteriophage capsid from DNA in bacteria
centrifuge separates bacteriophage from virus to allow investigator to detect radiation location
Phosphorous - virus capsid in liquid is not radioactive, bacteria are
Sulfur - viruse capsid in liquid are radioactive, bacteria are not
Chargaff’s experiment (3)
extracted DNA from cells + mixed them with acid
acid breaks bonds between pentose sugar + base
bases separated using paper chromatography + concentration of bases measured
Chargaff’s results (2)
concentration/amount of adenine equal/similar to thymine
concentration/amount of cytosine equal/similar to guanine
Importance of Chargaff’s experiment (3)
hinted at complementary base pairing
helped watson and crick build their double helix model
dispelled tetranucleotide hypothesis
Tetranucleotide hypothesis (2)
DNA contains repeating sequence of 4 bases (4 nucleotides occur in equal amounts)
DNA was single-stranded
Define macromolecules
molecules composed of a large number of atoms