Chemistry of Life
What property of water allows it to stick to itself?
What is cohesion?
What organelle makes proteins?
Ribosome
What is the main energy currency of cells?
ATP (adenosine triphosphate)
What’s the purpose of cell signaling?
To coordinate actions between cells and respond to stimuli.
What is a genotype?
The genetic makeup of an organism (e.g., Aa).
What macromolecule are enzymes made of?
Proteins
Which organelle packages and ships proteins?
Golgi apparatus
What organelle is responsible for cellular respiration?
Mitochondrion
What phase comes after metaphase in mitosis?
Anaphase
What’s the difference between dominant and recessive traits?
Dominant traits mask recessive ones when both are present.
Define dehydration synthesis.
A reaction that joins two molecules by removing water.
What’s the difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells?
Prokaryotes lack a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles.
Where does glycolysis occur?
In the cytoplasm
What is a cyclin?
A regulatory protein that controls cell cycle progression.
Perform a monohybrid cross for Aa x Aa. Probability of aa?
25% (1/4 chance)
Describe the structure of a phospholipid.
Hydrophilic phosphate head and two hydrophobic fatty acid tails.
Describe the role of the lysosome.
Breaks down waste and cellular debris.
Compare aerobic and anaerobic respiration.
Aerobic uses oxygen and makes more ATP; anaerobic does not.
Describe the G1 checkpoint.
Checks for cell size, nutrients, DNA damage before S phase.
What is the difference between meiosis and mitosis?
Meiosis creates gametes, 4 varied cells; mitosis makes 2 identical cells.
Compare the structure of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
Carbs: CHO, ring form; Lipids: CHO, long chains; Proteins: CHON, amino acids; Nucleic Acids: CHONP, nucleotides.
How does surface area-to-volume ratio affect diffusion in cells?
Higher ratios increase efficiency of diffusion and transport.
Explain chemiosmosis in oxidative phosphorylation.
Protons flow through ATP synthase, driving ATP production.
Describe a signal transduction pathway.
Signal → receptor → relay molecules → response.
Explain independent assortment and its genetic significance.
Genes on different chromosomes sort independently during meiosis, increasing variation.