The Chemistry Of Life

Question 0

List four major types of organic compounds.

Answer 0

Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic Acid

Question 1

What are elements and compounds? Give an example of each.

Answer 1

Elements are a pure substance made out of one type of atom and can’t be broken down into other substances. (Carbon)
A compound is a substance that consists of two or more elements.(H2O)

Question 2

What determines the primary structure of proteins?

Answer 2

Polypeptide

Question 3

State two functions of proteins.

Answer 3

It helps some to keep their shape, and some make up muscle tissue. Proteins speed up chemical reactions in cells. Others are antibodies. Some carry carry messages or materials.

Question 4

Identify the three parts of a nucleotide.

Answer 4

Three smaller molecules of sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogen base

Question 5

Butter is a fat that is a solid at room temperature. What type of fatty acids does butter contain? How do you know?

Answer 5

Butter contains saturated fatty acids. I know this because being a saturated fatty acid makes the molecules to cause straight chains and pack together tightly allowing them to stored energy.

Question 6

Assume that you are trying to identify an unknown organic molecule. It contains only carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen and is found in the cell walls of a newly discovered plant species. What type of organic compound is it?

Answer 6

Cellulose

Question 7

Explain why carbon is essential to life on Earth.

Answer 7

Carbon is essential to life because it it’s ability to form stable bonds with many elements, including itself. This property allows carbon to form a huge variety of very large and complex molecules.

Question 8

Compare and the structures and functions of simple sugars and complex carbohydrates.

Answer 8

Structure
Carbohydrates: small, repeating units that form bonds with each others to make a larger molecule
Sugar: 
Function 
C: used to store energy
S: for energy by cells of most organisms

Question 9

Explain why molecules of saturated and unsaturated fatty acids have different shapes.

Answer 9

Saturated fatty acids form straight chains because the carbon atoms are bonded to as many hydrogen atoms possible. They are packed tightly together so they can store energy.
Unsaturated fatty acids form bent chains because the carbon are not bonded to as many hydrogen atoms as possible.

Question 10

Small molecule that is building block of proteins

Answer 10

Amino acid

Question 11

Organic compound such as or starch

Answer 11

Carbohydrate

Question 12

Force that holds molecules together

Answer 12

Chemical bond

Question 13

Process that changes some chemical substances into others

Answer 13

Chemical reaction

Question 14

Pair of nucleotide bases that bond together- either adenine and thymine (or uracil) or cytosine and guanine

Answer 14

Complementary base pair

Question 15

Substance with a unique, fixed composition that consists of two or more elements

Answer 15

Compound

Question 16

Double-stranded nucleic acid that makes up genes and chromosomes

Answer 16

DNA

Question 17

Double spiral shape of the DNA molecule

Answer 17

Double helix

Question 18

Pure substance that cannot be broken down into other types of substances

Answer 18

Element

Question 19

Organic compound such as fat or oil

Answer 19

Lipid

Question 20

Anything that takes up space and has mass

Answer 20

Matter

Question 21

Simple sugar such as glucose that is a building block of carbohydrates

Answer 21

Monosaccharide

Question 22

Organic compound such as DNA or RNA

Answer 22

Nucleic acid

Question 23

Small molecule containing a sugar, phosphate group, and base that is a building block of nucleic acids

Answer 23

Nucleotide

Question 24

Compound found living things that contains mainly carbon

Answer 24

Organic compound

Question 25

Chain of nucleotides that alone or with another such chain makes up a nucleic acid

Answer 25

Polynucleotide

Question 26

Chain of amino acids that alone or with another chain makes up a protein

Answer 26

Polypeptide

Question 27

Chain of monosaccharides that makes up a complex carbohydrates such as starch

Answer 27

Polysaccharide

Question 28

Organic compound make up of amino acids

Answer 28

Protein

Question 29

Single-stranded nucleic acid that helps make proteins

Answer 29

RNA

Question 30

Molecule in lipids in which carbon atoms are bonded to as many hydrogen atoms possible

Answer 30

Saturated fatty acids

Question 31

Molecule in lipids in which some carbon atoms are bonded to other groups of atoms rather than to hydrogen atoms

Answer 31

Unsaturated fatty acid

Question 32

Energy needed to start a chemical reaction

Answer 32

Activation energy

Question 33

Endothermic reaction in organisms

Answer 33

Anabolic reaction

Question 34

Chemical reaction that occurs inside the cells of living things

Answer 34

Biochemical reaction

Question 35

Exothermic reaction in organisms

Answer 35

Catabolic reaction

Question 36

Chemical reaction that absorbs energy

Answer 36

Endothermic reaction

Question 37

Protein that speeds up biochemical reactions in an organism

Answer 37

Enzyme

Question 38

Chemical reaction that releases energy

Answer 38

Exothermic reaction

Question 39

Sum of all the biochemical reactions in an organism

Answer 39

Metabolism

Question 40

Substance that forms as the results of a chemical reaction

Answer 40

Product

Question 41

Starting material Ina chemical reaction

Answer 41

Reactant

Question 42

Solution with a pH lower than 7

Answer 42

Acid

Question 43

Solution with a pH level higher than 7

Answer 43

Base

Question 44

Type of chemical bond that forms between molecules: found between water molecules

Answer 44

Hydrogen bond

Question 45

Scale that is used the measure acidity

Answer 45

pH

Question 46

Difference in electrical charge between different parts of the same molecule

Answer 46

Polarity

Question 47

Mixture that has the same composition throughout

Answer 47

Solution

Question 48

Identify the roles of reactants and products in chemical reactions

Answer 48

Reactants- substance that starts a chemical reaction | Products- substance that forms as a result of a chemical reaction

Question 49

What is the general equation for an endothermic reaction?

Answer 49

Reactants + Heat ---> Products

Question 50

What are biochemical reactions? What is an example?

Answer 50

A biochemical reactions are chemical reactions that take places inside the cells of living things. Metabolism is the sum of all biochemical reactions in the organism.

Question 51

How do enzymes speed up biochemical reactions?

Answer 51

An enzyme works by reducing the amount of activation energy that is needed to start the reaction.

Question 52

How does a chemical equation show that matter is always conserved in a chemical reaction?

Answer 52

A chemical equation shows that matter is always conserved in a chemical reaction by that there is a same amount of each element in the products as there was in the reactants.

Question 53

Why do all chemical reactions require activation energy?

Answer 53

They all need activation energy to get started. They need a boost of energy to get the reactants molecules moving so they can bump into each other and when they bump together, they may repel each other because of intermolecular forces pushing them apart.

Question 54

Explain why organisms need enzymes to survive.

Answer 54

Because without them, biochemical reactions take place too slow because of the temperature to maintain life.

Question 55

Where is most of Earth's water found?

Answer 55

Oceans

Question 56

What is polarity? Describe the polarity of water.

Answer 56

Polarity is the difference in electrical charge between different parts of the same molecule. The oxygen atom having a slightly negative and the hydrogen atoms having a slightly positive charge is the polarity of water.

Question 57

What is the pH of a neutral solution?

Answer 57

7 | Blood has the pH level of 7.

Question 58

Describe an example of an acid or a base that is involved in human digestion.

Answer 58

Enzyme pepsin that breaks down proteins in the stomach needs an acidic environment. The pancreas secretes a strong base into the small intestine, and this base neutralizes the acid.