Maintaning a Balance Flashcards
what is an enzyme?
an enzyme is a biological catalsyst, a chemical that speeds a reaction without being used up in the reaction
what is the structure of an enzyme?
enzymes are high molecular weight proteins . they consist of many amino acid chains held together by strong peptide bonds
what do enzymes express and what is it for?
enzymes express an active sight, a region on the enzyme where a subtrate will interact and a chemical reaction with entail
what is the effect of:
- ph on an enzyme
- temperature on an enzyme
- subtrate on an enzyme
- ph : a change in ph will effect the enzyme, an enzyme works best at a particular ph called the optimum ph
- temp : at low temps the reaction proceeds very slowly. as temp increases the rxn speeds up. if temp gets to high the enzyme will become denatured
- subtrate conc : increasing subtrate concentration will increase the rate of reaction, this rate will be at maximum once a plateau is reached, this is when the active sites of the enzymes are full
what are the models for subtrate, enzyme activity?
- lock and key theory
- induced fit model
why is the maintanence of a constant internal environment important for optimum metabolic efficiency ?
a constant internal environment, one that maintains a constant temp, ph and subtrate concentration encourages enzymes to work at optimum efficiency.
varying conditions may denature these enzymes, resulting in slower metabolic rates which could be fatal
what is hemostasis?
hemostasis is the process in which organisms maintain a relatively stable internal environment. this is achieved through the use of feedback systems.
ext: it is a coordination for the body to maintain a balance
what are the two stages of hemostasis?
- detecting changes
- counteracting the change
what happens during the detecting changes stage?
an organsism with detect information coming from the internal and external environment with a receptor, an organ which picks up a stimulus and transmits it to the organisms control center (brain)
what is the technical name for the information?
stimuli , any information which provokes a reponse by an organism
what are some examples of stimuli found in the external environment?
- smell
- light
- heat
- sound
- temperature
- texture
- day length
what are some examples of stimuli found in the internal environment?
- temperature
- levels of carbon dioxide, oxygen, salts , water, wastes
how do organisms counteract changes?
organisms will initiate hemostatic responses if the stable state has not been maintained. these responses are carried out by effectors
what is an effector?
an effector is a muscle or gland which will initiate a hemostatic response to counteract a change in the environment
what is the nervous system?
the nervous system is a system in organisms which works to regulate and maintain an animals internal environment and respond to changes in the external environment.
what are the two main parts of the nervous system?
- the central nervous system
- the peripheral nervous system
what is the central nervous system?
the central nervous system consists of the brain and spinal chord. it acts as a control centre to coordinate all the organisms response. it recieves information, interprets that information, and then initiates a response.
what is the peripheral nervous system?
a system of branching nerves throughout the entire body which connnect the receptors to the effectors
these nerves act as communication pathways which sends messages rapidly to the control centre and back again
what is the step by step process in hemostasis?
stimulus receptor control centre effector response
what is an ecototherm?
an ectotherm is an animal which has a limited ability in controlling its core temperature. its core temperature changes with ambient temperature
what is an endotherm?
an endotherm is an animal which is able to maintain a core body temperature. its metabolism and bodily processes are able to generate the heat required. because of this, endotherms require more energy than ectotherms, thus they eat more food.
what adaptive mechanisms are available for an endotherm to maintain its body temperature?
- panting
- sweating
- Insulation in the form of fat or hair
- Migration
- Hibernation
- burrowing
- nocturnal types of behaviour
- control of blood vlow, vasodilation and vasocontriction
How does the Red Kangaroo thermoregulate?
- shelters during the heat of the day
- releases heat by panting and sweating
- redirects blood flow through a dense network of blood vessels in the forelimbs in times of heat stress, then licks limbs to increase heat loss through evaporation. called vasodilation
how does the central netted dragon thermoregulate?
- the lizard may burrow into the ground or hide behind rocks or bushes to escape the hottest part of the day
- increases its body temperature by basking in the sun in the mornings
- when basking, it may raise its body slightly off the ground to allow convectional currents to flow to remove heat
- changes its colour
what are some respones by plants to temperature change?
- closing of stomates in response to high temperature to reduce water loss
- the ability to orientate leaves vertically to reduce the surface area exposed to the sun, reducing heat absorption and supporting convective cooling
- budding as temperature and length of the day increases in the spring
- germination(some seeds will only germinate upon sufficient exposure to the cold) –> this is called vernalisation
what is haemoglobin and what is its function?
haemoglobin is a complex molecule that gives blood its red colour. it enables red blood cells to carry oxygen. the protein-globin consits of peptide chains, each of wich has an iron-containing haem group. oxygen is carried in a loos combination called oxyhaemoglobin
whats bad about oxygen in the blood?
unlike CO2, oxygen is not very soluble in water. In 100ml of blood (which is mostly water) only 0.2ml of oxygen would dissolve, which is hardly any when considering the complexity and energy requirements of most mammals
what is the adaptive advantage of haemoglobin?
the haemoglobin molecule provides four sites in which oxygen can become attached. haemoglobin and its presence increases the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood by 100X.
haemoglobin also has the ability to loosely bind with carbon dioxide, aiding in CO2 transport to the lungs for its release
hence the adaptive advantage of haemoglobin is to give mammas the ability to transport large quantities of oxygen to the tissues and thus provide more than enough oxygen for living processes needed for growth and repair (cellular respiration)
what happens to the blood when it enters the lung tissue?
blood recieves oxygen and carbon dioxide is released
what happens to the blood when it enters general body tissue?
blood recieves carbon dioxide and oxygen is released, less glucose and amino acids
what happens to the blood when it enters the stomach tissue?
water diffuses into the blood increasing blood volume
what happens to the blood when it enters small intestinal tissue?
glucose and amino acids from foods diffuse into the blood, as well as more vitamins, glycerol, fatty acids and there is less oxygen
what happens to the blood when it enters the kidney tissue?
urea, excess water and salts are filtered by the kidneys ready to be excreted
what happens to the blood when it enters the liver tissue?
glucose is added or removed. unwanted substances such as alcohol are removed. some vitamins, excess lipids and iron are removed. excess amino acids are removed and converted into urea, which then re-eenters the blood
what happens to the blood when it enters the large intestine?
water, salts and vitamins are absorbed into the blood
what happens to the blood when it goes through endocrine tissue?
hormones are secreted into the blood stream
why is oxygen needed in living cells?
oxygen is vital for all living cells because it is one of the essential reactants in cellular respiration, a process which is used for growth, repair, maintencance, reproduction and heat productive for endotherms.
if an adequate oxygen supply is not available for a living cell, it will quickly die
why does carbon dioxide need to be removed from the body? come on just stick around for a bit
carbon dioxide when dissolved in water forms carbonic acid. in cells this becomes toxic as it lowers the pH of the cytoplasm, altering the environment to a more acidic one and ultimately denaturing enxymes which are essential to many important living chemical reactions and processes
this would also mean metabolic processes would become under regulated
carbon dioxide also forms carbonic acid in the blood, which is 90% water. this acid that forms in the blood reacts with special buffer systems so that it does not upset the pH of blood plasma
what are the five main mechanisms used to transport water in xylem?
- transpiration
- cohesion
- adhesion
- root pressure
- tension
how does transpiration help transport water through the xylem?
water in the plant is evaporated through the stomates, caused by heat from the sun and the surrounding environment
-water that is lossed through this evaporation draws other water molecules up due to a difference in pressure. this initiates what is called a transpiration stream
how does cohesion help transport water through the xylem?
water molecules stay tightly packed together due to hydrogen bonding. this establishes liquid columns, which have the ability to instantaneously transfer pressure or tension
how does tension help transport water through the xylem?
due to the strong cohesive forces, water is pulled up like a wire through the xylem. this helps resist the formation of bubbles in the stream
how does adhesion help transport water through the xylem?
water molecules are naturally attracted to the cellulose walls of the xylem. this force of attraction helps in pulling the water molecules up the xylem tubes
at night when transpiration stops, the water does not fall down the xylem but remains stuck to the walls of the xylem
how does root pressure help transport water through the xylem?
internal fluid pressure in the roots can somtimes cause water to rise up the stem in the xylem
pressure builds up and water is pushed up the stem
why must the concentration of water in cells be maintained within a narrow range for optimal function?
-cells are very sentisite to changes in solute concentration and thus may take in or release water in an attempt to restore this balances, which could kill them
-the concentration of water also effects enzyme- substrate interactions
if the concentration becomes to dilute, there are insufficient interactions between enzyme and subtrate leading to slower metabolic rates
if the substrate becomes to concentrated, dehydration occurs, there is insufficient water to carry out metabolism and waste conentration becomes higher, effecting the pH and enzymes in a negative way
-because of waters very high heat capacity, adequate amounts of water help to maintain contant temperatures in cells
why is the removal of wastes essential for continued metabolic activity?
- waste products such as ammonia and carbon dioxide take up space and change the pH of cell environments, denaturing enzymes and slowing metabolism. this metabolic deficiency can ultimately kill living cells
- excess salts can also be harmful as it can affect osmotic pressure
- nitrogenous wastes, those formed from the breakdown of proteins and amino acids are also toxic and can intefere with membrane transport. thus substances such as ammonia need to be removed very quickly and or transformed into a less toxi form (urea)
what is the urine concentration like in freshwater fish?
because freshwater fish are constantly absorbing water due to their high solute concentrations inside their body relative to their environment, these organims must excrete dilute urine in order to maintain a balance of water concentrations
what is the urine concentration like in saltwater fish?
because saltwater fish live in an environment where solute concentrations are higher outside of their bodies as compared to inside, water is constantly being released due to osmotic pressures. as such, these fish must excrete highly concentrated urine in order to retain water and maintain the balance
what is the function of a kidney, in general terms, in all organisms?
the kidney is an organ responsible for adjusting the levels of water and mineral ions in the body in order to maintain a constant concentraion of internal fluid for the cells
it is also responsible for the removal of waste material, in particular urea, which is a by product of the breaking down of proteins and amino acids, removing the amino group, NH2(deamination)
what are the parts of the kidney?
medulla renal artery renal vein pelvis cortex
what are the issues of diffusion in terms of the removal or dissolved nitrogenous wastees in some organisms?
- they are not selective process and rely on the RANDOM movement of molecules and a concentration gradient
- thus, some particles needed by the organism may be manipulated by these mechanisms without any repurcussion
- diffusion does not occur fast enough to maintain the required solute concentrations in cells. it also results in the loss of substances which are often needed by cells
whats the down side with osmosis in terms of the removal of dissolved nitrogenous wastes in some organisms?
- again, random movement of molecules and a concentration gradient required
- not fast enough by itself to maintain required solute levels in organisms
- as osmosis is only the movement of solvent molecules, water, water often is the subtance which is leaving cells due to differences in osmotic pressure, whilst still leaving some waste behind