Introduction to Biochemistry Flashcards
what bond type is the strongest and how is it formed?
covalent
the sharing of electrons
what is an ionic bond?
the attraction of opposite charges
what is a hydrogen bond?
the sharing of a hydrogen atom
what is a hydrophobic interaction?
an interaction of nonpolar substances in the presence of polar substances
what is the weakest type of bond?
Van der Waals interactions
how many covalent bonds can carbon make, and what shape does this result in?
four
tetrahedral
what atoms can carbon bond with?
carbon
hydrogen
nitrogen
oxygen
what is electronegativity?
the attractive force that an atomic nucleus exerts on electrons within a bond w
what is phosphorylation and what is it used for?
the addition of a phosphate
cell signalling reactions
what is acylation and what is it used for?
addition of an acyl group
joining molecules together
what is carboxylation?
addition of a carboxyl group
what is condensation?
when molecules are combined and water is removed
what is hydrolysis?
adding water to break up a molecule
what is the first law of thermodynamics?
energy can neither be created or destroyed
what is the second law of thermodynamics?
when energy is converted from one form to another, some becomes unavailable to do work
what is entropy?
the amount of disorder in a system
what equation is used to calculate the change in gibbs free energy?
ΔG = ΔH – TΔS
what is an exergonic reaction?
a reaction where the free energy of products is less than the free energy of reactants
what is the free energy change in an exergonic reaction?
negative
what type of reaction can occur spontaneously?
exergonic
what is an endergonic reaction?
a reaction where the free energy of the products is more than the reactants
what is the free energy change in an endergonic reaction?
positive
what do endergonic reactions need to occur?
energy input
what are the standard conditions?
temperature = 298K pressure = 1 atmosphere pH = 7
what type of reaction is ATP breakdown?
exergonic
what is metabolism?
all of the reactions occurring in the body
what two things are included in metabolism?
catabolism
anabolism
what is catabolism?
breaking down complex molecules into smaller ones, releasing energy
what is anabolism?
synthesizing complex molecules out of small ones, consuming energy
what are stereoisomers?
molecules that are non superimposable mirror images of each other
what are the four types of amino acids?
non polar/hydrophobic
polar
acidic
basic
what enzyme catalyses the formation of peptide bonds?
peptidyl transferase
what is an acid?
a substance that can donate a proton
what is a base?
a substance that can accept a proton
what determines the strength of an acid and what is this measured by?
how readily it donates a proton
the acid dissociation constant
what is the primary structure of a protein?
the sequence of amino acids
what is the secondary structure of a protein?
the localised shape of the polypeptide backbone
what are the three types of secondary protein structure?
alpha helix
beta strands and sheets
triple helix
what is tertiary protein structure?
the 3D structure of an entire polypeptide, including side chains
what is quaternary protein structure?
the spatial arrangement of a polypeptide chain with multiple subunits
