U.1 K.A.6 Metabolic Pathways Flashcards
What name is given to the thousands of biochemical reactions that occur in living cells?
Metabolism
The quantity of energy consumed by an organism per unit time is a measure of what rate?
Metabolic rate
Name two types of metabolic pathway.
- Anabolic
- Catabolic
Which type of metabolic pathway involves the breakdown of complex molecules to simpler ones?
Catabolic
Which type of metabolic pathway involves the build up of complex molecules from simpler ones?
Anabolic
Which type of metabolic pathway releases energy as it is breaking complex molecules down?
Catabolic
Which type of metabolic pathway requires energy as it builds up small molecules to complex molecules?
Anabolic
In a metabolic pathway, what do two opposing arrows mean?
The reaction is reversible
Metabolic reactions sometimes have places where steps can be bypassed, what are these pathways known as?
Alternative routes
Give three properties of a catalyst.
- Increases the rate of reaction
- Remains unchanged at the end
- Lowers the activation energy
What name is given to biological catalysts?
Enzymes
What state is reached when two reactants have bonds broken and they are in a position that is unstable and ready to form a product?
Transition rate
What substance are enzymes made of?
Protein
What name is given to the area on an enzyme that meets with the substrate?
Active site
What determines the shape of the active site?
The sequence of amino acids in the polypeptide chain that makes up the enzyme molecule