Lecture 1 - Intro: Functional Groups in Biological Molecules & Amino Acids

Question 1

What are the top 5 causes of death?

Answer 1

1. Heart Diseases (heart attacks)
2. Cancer
3. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease)
4. Stroke or Cerebrovascular Disease
5. Accidents

Question 2

Approximately how many people die each year?

Answer 2

Approximately 2.5 million

Question 3

AIDS with regard to Life, Death, and Biochemistry “Leading Cause of Death List”

Answer 3

There was a period when AIDS was the #8 cause of death in the US. Now it is dropped out of TOP 15 - not because there is cure for AIDS but ability to keep people going much longer in recent years.

Question 4

Back in the 1900’s leading cause of death was?

Answer 4

INFECTIOUS DISEASES

Tuberculosis aka “Consumption”

Question 5

List from GREATEST composition to LEAST composition components that makeup the human body.

Answer 5

WATER (mostly water) (61%)

PROTEIN (17%)

FAT (14%)

CARBOHYDRATES (relatively minor though major function) (1.4%)

NUCLEIC ACIDS (<1%)

Question 6

What is the significance of Carbohydrates in the body? (Despite its relatively small percentage in the body composition)

Answer 6

Not making up much of a percentage but it has a very important role in many respects:

Energy

Metabolism

Macromolecules are often modified by the presence of carbohydrates: you have glycolipids, glycoproteins (majority of proteins in body)

Question 7

What is the major component of living organisms?

Answer 7

Water

Question 8

Water is a great solvent and reacts as a ________ in many biological reactions such as digestion

Answer 8

NUCLEOPHILE

Question 9

Water can dissociate for form:

Answer 9

Hydrogen and Hydroxyl Ions

Question 10

The concentration of hydrogen ions in aqueous solution is described by the negative logarith of the hydrogen ion concentration. This is known as

Answer 10

pH

Question 11

pH + pOH =

Answer 11

14

Question 12

___ is a major determinant of the rate of biological reactions catalyzed by enzymes

Answer 12

pH

Question 13

In living systems, what can buffer the pH?

Answer 13

Weak acids and bases

Question 14

How can the dissociation of weak acids and bases be expressed?

Answer 14

By the Henderson-Hasselbalch equation

pH = pK + log [A-] / [HA]

where pK is the NEGATIVE LOGARITH OF THE DISSOCIATION CONSTANT for the Acid HA

pH = pK + log [conjugate base] / [conjugate acid]

Question 15

Where does buffering occur?

Answer 15

+/- 1 pH unit relative to the pK

Question 16

Water is a great solvent so it facilitates movement of things around the body. It also provides protons (part of the system in some hydrolytic reactions which is when:

Answer 16

A bond is split by the addition of water

*important in enzymology

Question 18

what is the pK?

Answer 18

negative log of the dossociation constant

Question 19

If you want to make up a buffer for an enzyme assay, what must you do?

Answer 19

You look up your list of buffers and you choose one that has a pK closest to the pH that you want to keep the solution at.

Question 20

What is homeostasis?

Answer 20

A balance between synthesis and breakdown

(anabolism and catabolism)

Question 21

What are anabolism and catabolism

Answer 21

greek prefix ANA = up

greek prefix CATA = down

ANABOLISM: SYNTHESIS - making things

CATABOLISM: BREAKDOWN

Question 22

The chemical reactions in the body can be termed _____ and this includes both the production _______ and breakdown ______ of the molecules which make up the tissues of the body.

Answer 22

METABOLISM

ANABOLISM - production

CATABOLISM - breakdown