Topic #1 Flashcards
Biological Themes
What is biology?
The science of how life works.
What are the steps of forming a theory?
- Observe (ask a question)
- Form a hypothesis (possible answer to question)
- Experimentation
- Reject or accept the hypothesis (this is where theories come from)
What is the formula of variability for all samples?
Ohm^2=(Sum(xi-x*)^2)/N
What is the formula of variability for a subset?
S^2=(Sum(xi-x*)^2)/(n-1)
What are the seven traits of a living thing?
Homeostasis and regulation Evolutionary adaptation Response to the environment Order Growth and development Reproduction Energy processing
What traits of a living thing do NOT apply to viruses?
Homeostasis and regulation
Energy processing
Growth and development
Define Heterotroph
An organism that must ingest its food and break it down
What is the formula for photosynthesis?
6H2O + 6CO2 + Sunlight = C6H12O6 + 6O2
What is the formula for respiration?
C6H12O6 + 6O2 = 6H2O + 6CO2 + Energy
What is an atom?
smallest unit of matter that has distinct properties
What is a molecule?
Bonded group of atoms
What is an organelle?
Defined structure that performs a specific function
What is a cell?
Simplest complete unit of structure and function
What is tissue?
Group of cells with similar structure and function
What is an organ?
Group of tissues that perform a similar function
What is a system?
Group of organs that perform an overall function
What is an organism?
Total living creature composed of many systems
What is a population?
Localized group of organisms of the same species
What is a community?
Populations of species living in the same area
What is an ecosystem?
The collection of community interactions that include abiotic factors such as soil, temperature and water
What is a biome?
large scale communities classified by predominant vegetation type and distinctive combinations of plants and animals
What is the biosphere?
Sum of all a planets ecosystems
What is a species?
A group or organisms with similar structure and functional characteristics that can reproduce with themselves and create fertile offspring
What are the three things necessary for a cell?
- It can store and transmit info
- It has a plasma membrane
- It can harness energy from the environment
What are the two groups of life? What are their domains/kingdoms?
- Prokaryotes (Archaea and Bacteria)
2. Eukaryotes (Plantae, Fungi, Animalia)
What are the properties of prokaryotes?
- no nucleus
- organelles are not membrane-bound
- small (0.1-10 um (micro metres))
What are the properties of eukaryotes?
- nucleus
- membrane-bound organelles
- larger (10-100 um)
- include all multi-celled organisms
Domain Bacteria?
- most ancient orgs on earth
- we have 100 00 00 00 00 in our body
- have peptidoglycan cell walls
- have spherical, rod or spiral/curved shapes
Domain Archaea?
- Live in extreme environments (Methanogens, halophiles, thermophiles, acidophiles)
Kingdoms of domain Eukarya
- Plantae
- Fungi
- Animalia
* Protista*
Kingdom Plantae info
- autrotrophs
- multicellular
- cellulose cell walls
- cannot move on their own
Plant cell walls are made of what?
Cellulose
Kingdom Fungi info
- Absorb food through enzyme secretion
- mostly multicellular (mushrooms, molds)
- some are unicellular (yeasts)
- reproduce by releasing spores
- chitin cell walls
- decompose dead organic matter
- more similar to animals than plants
Fungi cell walls are made of what?
Chitin
Kingdom Animalia info
- heterotrophs that ingest
- always multicellular
- never have cell walls
Not-A-Kingdom Protists info
- colonial/primitive multicellular
- 3 types: plant-like, fungi-like, animal-like
Plant-like protists
- photosynthetic
- cellulose cell walls
- responsible for 50% of all photosynthesis
- ex. algae
Animal-like protists
- can move around
- no cell wall
- some are parasitic (protozoans)
- ex. paramecium, amoeba
Fungi-like protists
- absorb foods
- reproduce w spores
- may have chitin cell walls
- ex. slime molds
Taxonomy list acronym?
Dear King Philippe Calls Out For Good Service
Or
Dear Kevin Please Come Over For Good Sex
Taxonomy list?
Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Oder, Family, Genus, Species
What are the main elements essential for life?
CHNOPS
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur
Covalent bonds
Sharing electrons
Ionic bonds
Donating/taking electrons
Hydrogen bonds
between polar water molecules and other polar regions
What are hydrophilic and hydrophobic compounds?
Hydrophilic: must be polar, water loving molecules, water soluble
Hydrophobic: non-polar, not water soluble
Amphipathic: has polar and non-polar regions
Van der waals bonds
dipole-dipole
dipole-induced dipole
dispersion
- ex. Geckos have changing dipole interactions on their feet to help them climb
Properties of water
- Water is cohesive (water moves up trees, surface tension)
- Moderates temp change (evaporative cooling)
- Ice is less dense that liquid (forms 4 h-bonds, bonds are longer that in liquid, so atoms are further apart)
- Adheres to hydrophilic surfaces
- Solvent of life
Carbon Properties
- can make four bonds
- makes bonds with various other elements
- makes many bond structures (rings, chains, double/triple)
- Very VERSATILE
- Can make isomers (Structural, stereo, diastereomer
What reaction is needed to go from polymer to monomer?
Dehydration/Condensation (remove an H2O)
- Synthesizing a polymer
What reaction is needed to go from monomer to polymer?
Hydrolysis (add H2O)
- Breaking down a polymer
What are the four categories of biomolecules?
- Carbohydrates
- Nucleic Acids
- Proteins
- Lipids
What are the roles of carbohydrates?
- store energy
- provide structural function
What is the name for one, two or many carbs?
monosaccharide, disaccharide, polysaccharide
Formula for monosaccharide
Cn(H2n)On
Examples of monosaccharides
What do they look like?
Glucose (6 membered ring, OH points down), fructose (5 membered ring), galactose (6 membered ring, OH points up)
- all hexose sugars
Formula for polysaccharide
Cn(H2O)n-1
Examples of polysaccharides and which monosaccharides are needed to make them
Sucrose: Glucose + Fructose
Maltose: Glucose + Glucose
Lactose (beta linkage): Glucose + Galactose
How much sugar?
Triose: 3 carbon sugars
Tetrose: 4 carbon sugars
Pentose: 5 carbon sugars
Hexose: 6 carbon sugars
What is a bond between two carbohydrate monomers called?
Glycosidic linkage/bond
What is glycogen? What is is made of? What links?
Animal storage of sugar. Made of linked/branched glucose. Alpha 1-4 and alpha 1-6 glycosidic links
What is Starch? What is is made of? What links?
Plant storage of sugar. Amylose and Amylopectin. Made of glucose
What is the difference between amylose and amylopectin?
Amylose is for long term storage and is an unbranched chain of glucose with alpha 1-4 links only. Amylopectin; however, is branched for short term usage and is made up of glucose with alpha 1-4 or alpha 1-6 links.
What is cellulose?
Carbohydrate, provides strength and structure to plants, straight due to beta 1-4 linkages between glucose, cannot be digested by people.
What are the roles of Nucleic acids?
Carriers of genetic info, DNA and RNA
What are the monomers or nucleic acids?
Nucleotides
What is each nucleotide made of?
Phosphate group (Hydrophobic), pentose sugar (Hydrophilic), Nitrogenous base (Hydrophilic). - Overall amphipathic
What are nitrogenous bases made of?
Purines (adenine, guanine) and pyrimidines (guanine, thymine, uracil)
What are the purines and pyrimidines in DNA and RNA?
DNA: Cytosine, Adenine, Thymine, Guanine
RNA: Cytosine, Adenine, Uracil, Guanine
What are the bonds between nucleotides called?
Phosphodiester bonds
Which bases go together?
%A = %T or %U %G = %C
What is the structure of a nucleic acid?
double helix
how do you read the double helix structure?
5 prime hat, 3 prime tail
What are the roles of proteins?
considered the effectors of most cell functions, widely diverse
What are the monomers of proteins?
Amino acids
What are the bonds between amino acids called?
Peptide bonds. Between the C double bonded to O and the nearest N
What makes up an amino acid?
Carboxyl group (acidic), amino group (basic), side chain (R) - overall: amphipathic (if R = hydrophobic) or hydrophilic (if R = hydrophilic)
Why is proline special?
Its side chain is bonded to the backbone. This means that it is not very flexible
Why is Glycine special?
Its side chain is just made up of one hydrogen. This makes it smaller and more flexible than other amino acids
How many amino acids are there?
20
What is a zwitterion?
contains simultaneously negative and positive charges but remains a net charge of zero.
amino acid: carbonyl group (negative charge), amino group (positive)
What is the name for many amino acids bonded together?
Polypeptide chain or protein
Why is amino acid order important?
Structure determines function. If the order changes, it could create genetic mutation.
What is the primary structure?
list of amino acids present in order in a protein
What is the secondary structure?
consists of coils (alpha helix) and folds (beta sheet) in the polypeptide chain caused by backbone interactions
What is the tertiary structure?
total 3D structure and is determined by side chain interactions
What us the quaternary?
Results when a protein consists of multiple polypeptide chains. Not all proteins will have a quaternary structure.
Protein function examples…
Enzymes, storage, hormonal, motor/contractile, defensive, transport, receptor, structural, etc…
What is denaturation of a protein?
Protein unfolding, loses ability to complete function. Can be caused by temp, pH, solvent change
What is the common property that categorizes lipids?
Hydrophobic
What are the types of Lipids
- Fatty acids
- Phospholipids
- steroids
What are the traits and types of fatty acids?
- mostly hydrophobic and small bit hydrophilic, therefore amphipathic
- saturated and unsaturated
What us the difference between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids?
Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more C double bond C, which means they pack less densely and are more fluid at lower temps. They are healthier. Saturated fatty acids pack more densely and are solid at room temp.
What is the structure of fatty acids?
Hydrocarbon chain, carboxyl group
What is the formula for saturated fatty acids?
(CH2)nO2
What is the formula for unsaturated fatty acids?
CnH2(n-x)O2
What is fat? What is it made of?
Triglyceride: 3 fatty acids + Glycerol
What are the bonds in triglycerides called?
ester bonds
What are the traits of triglycerides?
- Hydrophobic
- Serves as energy storage
- includes “ester” bonds
What are phospholipids made up of?
Glycerol + 2 fatty acids + phosphate polar head group (hydrophilic)
Overall: amphipathic
What are phospholipids most commonly used for?
Create the cell/plasma membrane
What is the structure of steroids? What is an example?
4 fused rings
Cholesterol
What are traits of steroids?
- largely hydrophobic (However, OH makes amphipathic)
- can play many roles
- cholesterol disrupts cell membrane
- ex. hormones, vitamin D
What are the components of cell theory?
- basic structural and functional unit of all living organisms
- cells come from pre-existing cells
- cells characteristics are passed from parent to offspring
- proteins are produced by ribosomes
- cells have a plasma membrane
What are the 3 structures that phospholipid make in water? Why?
- Bilayer (plasma membrane)
- Liposome
- Micelle
* in all cases, the tails (fatty acids) cannot touch water because they are hydrophobic*
Why is the cell membrane considered fluid?
Lateral (often) and flip flopping movement of phospholipids within membrane (rare)
What us the role of cholesterol in the cell membrane?
Increases membrane fluidity at room temperature (pushes apart fatty acids) and decreases fluidity at higher temperatures (fills in the gaps)
What are the two types of proteins found in or around the cell membrane?
Integral membrane proteins (in the membrane, hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions)
Peripheral membrane proteins (usually inside the cell, hydrophilic)
What are the roles of membrane proteins?
- nutrient transport
- enzymatic activity
- signal transduction
- cell to cell recognition
- intercellular joining
- attachment to cytoskeleton and extracellular matrix
What are the biomolecules that are attached to the cell membrane?
- Proteins (50% of plasma membrane)
- Glycoproteins (sugar and protein, outside cell, amphipathic)
- Glycolipids (sugar and lipid, outside cell, amphipathic)
What is the clustering of glycolipids, glycoproteins and cholesterol called?
lipid rafts
What are the only things that can pass through the cell membrane’s selective barrier without regulation?
water and gas
What are the means of transport of nutrients through the cell membrane? Examples?
- Simple diffusion (osmosis, no energy needed)
- Facilitated diffusion (carrier proteins, channel proteins, no energy needed)
- Active transport (proteins and ATP, energy needed)
What is osmosis?
Water moving from high to low concentrations
What is a hypertonic solution?
higher concentration of particles, less water
What is a hypotonic solution?
lower concentration of particles, more water
What limits cell size?
the cell needs to meet minimum requirements. Must have sufficient surface area to fulfill cell needs (volume).
What is the use of the prokaryote cell wall?
Protects against osmosis and infection
What is the nucleoid?
no membrane, contains large circular DNA, non essential genes
What do prokaryotic cells use for motility?
Pilus and flagellum
How do prokaryotic cells reproduce?
asexually
Do prokaryotic cells need oxygen?
Some do, some don’t. There aerobes, anaerobes, facultative anaerobes etc…
What is the benefit of the small size of prokaryotic cells?
Helps with diffusion, the cells can grow/divide/evolve more quickly
What are some traits of eukaryote organelles?
- usually membrane bound
- have specific function
- “float” in the semi-fluid cytosol
What is cytoplasm made of (very generally)?
cytosol + organelles
What are the main differences between eukaryote and prokaryote cells?
Eukaryote cells are much bigger and have membrane-bound organelles.
What are the role and traits of the nucleus?
- stores genetic info (DNA) as chromosomes
- surrounded by nuclear envelope (double bilayer connected to the end-membrane system, trafficking through nuclear pores)
- Nucleolus
What is the collection of all chromosomes called?
chromatin
What is the nucleolus?
an area of RNA (rRNA) production in the nucleus
What makes up the endomembrane system?
- Nucleus
- Endoplasmic reticulum (rough and smooth)
- Golgi apparatus
- Lysosome
- Vacuoles and vesicles
What is the role of the rough ER?
- specializes in protein production (especially membrane bound proteins)
- is rough because of ribosomes on the outside
What is the role of the smooth ER?
- Focuses on lipid synthesis
- does not have ribosomes
What is the role of the golgi apparatus?
sorts proteins and lipids, modifies them (such as glycolipids) and sends them to targets (internal or external)
What is the role of the lysosome?
has pH of ~5 and contains digestive enzymes that can degrade various biomolecules (lipases, nucleases, proteases, carbohydrases)
What is the role of the vacuole/vesicle in EM system?
involved in entry and exit of particles including food and water
What is the role of the peroxisome?
- involved in degrading alcohol and long fatty acids
- produces hydrogen peroxide while doing so, and is specifically designed for eliminating this toxic compound
What are the role/trairs of a ribosome?
- not membrane bound
- consists of RNA and proteins
- smaller than other organelles
- bigger than typical protein
- produces proteins
- found floating in the cytosol or bound to membranes
What are the three types of vacuole? What are their functions?
- Central Vacuole: found in mature plant cells, they hold organic compounds and water
- Food Vacuole: are formed by phagocytosis
- Contractile Vacuole: are found in many freshwater protists and they pump excess water out of cells
What are the traits/functions of mitochondria?
- Energy producing centre (powerhouse of the cell)
- responsible for respiration and producing ATP from glucose in almost all eukaryotes
- Abundance corresponds to oxygen usage and energy requirements in a cell (animals have more than plants)
- double bilayer that contains many proteins and encloses a liquid area filled with enzymes (2 membranes)
- contains some ribosomes and circular DNA
What are the roles/traits of the chloroplast?
- energy production centre
- responsible for photosynthesis and converting CO2 into glucose
- exists in plants and algae (protists)
- double bilayer encloses a liquid area filled with enzymes and “thylakoids” (sacs of chlorophyll) (3 membranes)
- also contains some circular DNA and ribosomes
Why do chloroplasts and mitochondria have more than one membrane?
Endosymbiosis
- it is a believed that a prokaryotic cell may have been absorbed by that of a eukaryote and a symbiotic relationship formed, resulting in the presence of DNA and another membrane
What makes up the cytoskeleton?
- Microtubules
- Microfilaments
- Intermediate filaments
What is the role of the cytoskeleton?
- provides structure for cell and movement system
What are the roles/traits of microtubules?
- large, hollow, made of tubulin
- radiate out of centrosome to provide structure
- use cilia and flagella for movement (made of micro tubules)
- serve as highways for vesicular movement
What is the centrosome?
- T-shaped
- microtubules form spindles that radiate outwards from it (9 triplets of microtubules)
What is the role/traits of microfilaments?
- smallest of cytoskeleton
- made of protein actin chains
- two strands wrapped in mini helix
- present in microvilli
- regulates cell movement
- involved in vesicular transport and muscle contarctions
What is the role/traits of intermediate filaments?
- intermediate in size
- less frequently disassemble
- form sturdy, cable-like structures
- help maintain structure (ex. nucleus)
- large variety of proteins among different cells
- can link multiple cells
