The Processes of life Flashcards
What is the process whereby green plants make their food?
Photosynthesis
What is the end product of photosynthesis?
Glucose
What is glucose?
A sugar
What is respiration?
The process used by all organisms to release energy from food.
When do plants respire?
All the time, but only at night can we measure their respiration as during the day the photosynthesis uses up more CO2 than they produce.
What do organisms use energy for?
Think! - Anything from movement to active transport, keeping warm to producing the large molecules to grow
What is an enzyme?
A biological catalyst, a protein that speeds up reactions.
What is a protein made up of?
Amino acids. (Amine is a NH2 group)
How do cells know how to build an enzyme?
They use the genes
What are the chemicals that enzymes work on?
Substrates
What are the chemicals that are produce in the reaction?
Products
What is the shape of an enzyme?
A complex 3D shape that has an area for the substrate to fit into
What is the part of the enzyme that the substrate fits into?
Active site
What phrase is used to describe the model of how enzymes work?
Lock and Key
What do enzymes need to work at their optimum?
A specific pH and temperature
What is the body temperature of most mammals and birds?
Around 37C
What is the optimum temperature for most enzymes?
Around 37C
What happens to the reaction speed of a reaction (with an enzyme) as the temperature is increased?
The reaction speed increases as enzyme activity increases, up until the point where the protein is denatured by the heat
What happens to an enzyme if the pH changes too much?
The shape of the active site changes. If the change is permanent the protein is denatured.
What is photosynthesis?
It is a series of chemical reactions that use energy from sunlight to build large food molecules in green plants and phytoplankton
What is the overall word equation for photosynthesis?
Carbon dioxide and water —-light energy—–>glucose and oxygen
What absorbs the sunlight?
Chlorophyll
Where in the plant cell would you find the chlorophyll?
In the chloroplasts
Where in the plant cells would you find the enzymes used for photosynthesis?
In the chloroplasts
What is the product of photosynthesis?
Glucose
What is the glucose used for?
Chemicals needed for growth - cellulose, protein; starch to store energy; used for respiration
What is needed for the plant to synthesise amino acids?
Glucose and nitrates
What is produced as a waste product of photosynthesis?
Oxygen
What is the symbol equation for photosynthesis?
6CO2 + 6H2O —> C6H12O6 + 6O2
What is the basic unit of life?
The cell