Questions at end of lectures Flashcards
Describe the characteristics of life as defined by biologists. What signs of life are present in a fossil?
a
Describe the basic tenets of natural selection. What is wrong with the following statement? A seal’s body shape changes so that it is very hydrodynamic to swim in the ocean.
a
How does the term population relate to the term community? Cell to organism?
a
What is the role of the control group in hypothesis testing?
a
Describe the commonalities in biological knowledge generated by Indigenous people and academic biologists.
a
How does the polarity of water lead to hydrogen bonding? What substances will be hydrophobic?
a
Describe the different properties of the various states of water. How does this relate to evaporative cooling, freezing?
a
How is pH calculated? How do the relative concentrations of hydrogen and hydroxide ions of solutions of different pHs differ?
a
Describe some ways in which the physical properties of water can affect biological systems.
a
If the pH of a solution is decreased from 9 to 7, it means that the ___ .
a) concentration of OH- has increased two fold compared to what it was at pH 9.
b) concentration of H+ has decreased to one tenth of what it was at pH 9.
c) concentration of H+ has increased two fold compared to what it was at pH 9.
d) concentration of OH- has decreased to one hundredth compared to what it was at pH 9.
e) concentration of H+ has increased 100 fold compared to what it was at pH 9 and concentration of OH- has decreased to one hundredth of what it was at pH 9.
e)
What are the acids and bases? Describe some examples of the biological relevance of pH.
a
What are the buffers? What is the importance of buffers in biological systems?
a
Describe variety of different configurations that can be formed with carbon as a backbone for molecules.
a
What are isomers? Describe the different types of isomers. Why are they biologically meaningful?
a
Write the structure of the functional groups described in this lecture and describe the associated properties.
a
Describe the difference in the biological vs colloquial meaning of organic.
a
Which is a basic functional group that can accept H+ and become positively charged? a) --OH b) O || --C-- c) O || --C--O--H d) --NH2 e) --SH
d) amino group, because it can ionize
Describe the reactions involved in polymerization and depolymerization.
a
Describe the general structure of an amino acid. In what ways do the 20 major amino acids differ? Be able to classify the amino acids based on those differences.
a
Describe how polypeptides form, including the functional groups involved in formation of the bond.
a
Describe the four levels of protein 3D structure and how they are maintained. What is the importance of these 3D structures?
a
Describe with examples, the factors that can lead to malfunction of a protein and how can protein misfolding can be corrected. Use the following in your answer: gene, denaturation, chaperonin, sickle cell anemia.
a
What makes one amino acid different from another?
a) different side chains (R groups) attached to a carboxyl carbon
b) different side chains (R groups) attached to the amino groups
c) different side chains (R groups) attached to an alpha carbon
d) different structural and optical isomers
e) different asymmetric carbons
c)
Describe the general structure of monosaccharides and polysaccharides. Describe the structural variation in monosaccharides (linear).
a
Describe how glucose forms a ring in solution. What isomers are possible?
a
Describe the structures and functions of starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin.
a
Describe how starch and cellulose are formed. Why can humans digest starch but not cellulose?
a
Describe the components of a nucleoside and nucleotide.
a
Describe the arrangement of sugars, nitrogenous bases and phosphate in a polynucleotide in general and in DNA specifically.
a
The D enantiomer of glucose is found in living organisms. Chemists can make an L enantiomer of glucose but it cannot be used by the enzyme hexokinase. What is the best explanation for this?
a) L glucose has a different number of atoms than the other enantiomer.
b) L glucose is an open ring and the other isoform is a closed ring.
c) L glucose is a pentose sugar and the other isomer is a hexose sugar.
d) L glucose is a polymer and D glucose is a monomer.
e) The enzyme has evolved to fit the 3D structure of the other enantiomer.
e)
Describe the structure of a fatty acid and the ways in which different fatty acids and triacylglycerols can differ from one another.
a
Describe the structure and bonds involved in the formation of triacylglycerols and phospholipids.
a