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BLGY1115 > Origin of Life > Flashcards

Origin of Life Flashcards

1
Q

What is special about earth that allowed life to emerge?

A
  • the presence of water

- day/night cycle

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2
Q

Properties of Water

A
  • high specific heat capacity
  • undergoes two state transitions in the temperature range on Earth
  • state changes require many times more heat than increasing the temperature
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3
Q

Why is water conducive to life?

A
  • it controls the Earths temperature, can absorb a lot of energy to prevent fluctuations in temperature
  • water condenses as it rises into the atmosphere and dissipates heat
  • white clouds reflect light which has a cooling effect
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4
Q

Why is a day/night cycle conducive to life?

A
  • regular cycle of hot and cold temperature
  • could lead to continual break down and reassembly of molecules meaning useful molecules for life are more likely to be formed
  • different enzymes can be active in day and night
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5
Q

Model

Definition

A
  • attempt to explain a process which is not directly observable due to size or complexity
  • a model can never be proved, only not yet disproven
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6
Q

What is a detergent?

A

a phospholipid composed of a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail

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7
Q

What are detergent cells and how are they formed?

A
  • detergent monomers are placed in water
  • detergent monomers line up to ‘hide’ hydrophobic parts from the water.
  • under certain conditions this leads to the formation of a phospholipid bilayer enclosing a space, a cell
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8
Q

What two categories can lipids be divided into?

A

phospholipids and triglycerides

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9
Q

Structure of a Triglyceride

A

glycerol molecule attached to three fatty acid chains

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10
Q

Structure of a Phospholipid

A

glycerol molecule attached to two fatty acids and a phosphate

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11
Q

How is melting temperature related to carbon chain length?

A

the longer the carbon chain, the higher the melting point

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12
Q

Unsaturated

A
  • has double bonds which causes bends in the chain
  • lower melting temperature
  • hard to form a solid as the bendy chains don’t line up very easily
  • will only form a solid at very low temperatures
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13
Q

Saturated

A
  • no double bonds
  • straight chains
  • easily form crystalline solid structures
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14
Q

What are the two types of phospholipid?

A
  • glycerophospholipids

- -syphingolipids

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15
Q

Glycerophospholipids Structure

A
  • glycerol backbone

- 2 fatty acid chains

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16
Q

Syphingolipid Structure

A
  • sphingosine backbone with hydrophobic hydrocarbon tail

- one fatty acid tail

17
Q

What came first, photosynthesis or chemolithotrophy?

A

It is generally believed that photosynthesis came befor chemolithotrophy as many chemolithotrophs are aerobic and there was no oxygen present on the early earth

18
Q

Photosynthesis

A
  • always occurs across a membrane as a proton gradient has to be maintained
  • uses light as an energy source to create a proton gradient for ATP production
  • autotroophic
19
Q

Chemolithotrophy

A
  • converts oxidations to biological fuel using oxygen or sometimes nitrate as an electron acceptor
  • produces ATP
  • uses ATP for the Calvin Cycle
  • can function in the dark
  • have internal membranes
20
Q

Heterotrophy

A
  • use of organic substances that can act as electron donors (can be oxidised)
  • use glucose that autotrophs have made
  • glucose is the most universal carbon and energy source
  • if glucose is unavailable, heterotrophs will break down polysaccarides to form glucose
  • don’t always require oxygen
21
Q

Grotthus Mechanism

A
  • the small size of protons cannot explain their unusually high diffusion rate in an electric field
  • this mechanism describes ‘proton hopping’ between water molecules
  • water is particularly good at conducting protons
22
Q

The Fourth Phase of Water

A
  • the structure of water is very complex due to the hydrogen bond network
  • there are many different ways that water molecules can arrange themselves
  • e.g. adding certain sugar molecules to water can cause it to become solid above its freezing point
23
Q

ATP

A
  • holds a lot of energy
  • high energy phosphoryl bonds between phosphates
  • large amounts of energy can be released through the hydrolysis of ATP
  • ATP hydrolysis requires an enzyme and is an exergonic reaction
  • as it requires an enzyme, ATP hydrolysis can be strictly controlled
24
Q

Exergonic Reaction

Definition

A
  • release energy
  • usually spontaneous
  • usually the break down of a molecule
25
Q

Endergonic Reaction

Definition

A
  • require energy
  • not spontaneous
  • usually build up molecules
26
Q

Coupled Reaction

Definition

A

if energy from an exergonic reaction is used to carry out an endergonic reaction , the two reaction are said to be coupled

27
Q

Glucose Uptake

A

-requires ATP

28
Q

GTP

A
  • an alternative to ATP
  • comparable amount of energy to ATP
  • usually used for regulating mechanisms
29
Q

Substrate Level Phosphorylation

A

does not require an electron transport chain

30
Q

Electron Transport Phosphorylation

A

does require an electron transport chain

31
Q

Oxidation

A

transfer of electrons from an electron donor to an electron acceptor

32
Q

Glycolysis

A

1) Glucose (outside cell)
- ATP->ADP
2) Glucose-6-Phosphate (inside cell)
3) Fructose-6-Phosphate
- ATP->ADP
4) Fructose-1, 6-Bisphosphate
- 2ATP->2ADP
- 2NAD->2NADH
- 2H2O
5) 2xPhosphoenolpyrvate
- 2ADP->2ATP
6) 2xPyruvate

33
Q

What monomers make up proteins?

A

amino acids

34
Q

What monomers make up polysaccharides?

A

sugarphosphates

35
Q

What monomers make up lipids?

A

fatty acids

36
Q

What monomers make up RNA?

A

ribonucleotides

37
Q

What monomers make up DNA?

A

deoxyribonucleotides

38
Q

What is the energy from ATP hydrolysis used for?

A
  • transport of nutrients across the membrane
  • manufacture of cellular building blocks
  • polymer synthesis
  • membranes and cell walls
  • keep cells in steady state OR dynamic equilibrium

BLGY1115 (10 decks)

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