Life at a Cellular level Flashcards
What are cells?
Basic unit for living organisms
Why are cells small?
So they have larger ratios, can allow gases to be exchanged easily and can diffuse
What is a prokaryotic cell?
Bacteria
What is a eukaryotic cell?
Human cell
What do prokaryotic cells not contain?
Nuclei, mitochondria and membrane-bound structures
What do eukaryotic cells contain?
Nuclei and membrane-bound structures
What are stem cells?
Unspecialised cells that can differentiate into other cell types
What are cancer cells?
Cells that fail to respond to cell-cycle regulations and divide uncontrollably throughout the body
What is the 1st law of thermodynamics?
Energy can’t be created or destroyed
What is the 2nd law of thermodynamics?
Energy transformations increase entropy as heat is produced
What is a dynamic steady state?
Equilibrium can not be reached as the products in one pathway can be used in another. It is a Continuation state due to food supplying and waste removing. Entropy can be used to increase the order of other compounds.
What is metabolism?
The chemical process by living organisms that allows food to be broken down for tissue growth. It is a mix of anabolic and catabolic reactions.
What is an anabolic reaction?
Energy is required. Non-spotaneous. Delta G= +ve
What is a catabolic reaction?
Energy is released. Spontaneous. Delta G= -ve.
What happens to the energy released by catabolic reactions?
It is used up by anabolic reactions in oder to produce more ordered compounds
What is the function of free-energy carriers?
They couple anabolic and catabolic reactions using phosphate group transfers
What are examples of free-energy carriers?
ATP and ADP
Where are electron carriers used?
In redox reactions
What are examples of electron-carriers?
NAD, NADP and FAD
What is substrate level phosphorylation?
ATP is produced by the phosphate group of a phosphorylated compound being transferred to ADP
What is oxidative phosphorylation?
The process by which enzymes oxidise cells to release energy which is used to create ATP