Life, Evolution and Natural Selection
Life emerges at the level of...
the cell.
What are atoms?
Atoms are the smallest individual units that have properties of an element.
What is Polarity?
A separation of charge leading to a molecule having a dipole with a negatively charged end and a positively charged end.
What are structorial isomers?
Are molecules with the same molecular formula, but their atoms have different arrangements or bonds.
What is an enzyme?
An enzyme is a protein made by a living organism to speed up (catalyze) chemical reactions.
What are the three domains of life?
Domain Bacteria, Domain Archaea & Domain Eukarya.
Define electronegativity.
How much an atom wants or pulls electrons.
Why are water and carbon so important for the existence of the molecules of life?
They are important because of their unique chemical properties that are able to form and stable molecules.
Which categories of amino acid would you expect to find on a water-soluble protein’s surface and which would you expect to find in the interior?
Hydrophilic on protein's surface and hydrophobic on protein's interior.
What does an enzyme structure look like?
Enzymes have a globular structure with a pocket of a binding site for another molecule. This binding site is called the active site.
How long does evolution take?
Over thousands or hundred of thousands of years.
What is the octet rule?
The octet rule is a chemical rule of thumb that atoms of main-group elements tend to combine so that each atom has eight electrons in its outer shell - the same configuration as a noble gas.
What are the emergent properties of water that support life on Earth?
Cohesion, adhesion, moderate temperature and expansion of freezing.
What are the 4 classes of biomolecules?
proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.
What do enzymes do? How do enzymes do their jobs?
Enzymes catalyzes a chemical reaction. Enzymes act upon substrate molecules and decrease the activation energy necessary for a chemical reaction to occur by stabilizing the transition state.
Explain why there is no "goal" involved when natural selection results in evolutionary change of a population.
There is no goal because natural selection isn't a specific trait that is favored or wanted, it is resulted of the environment.
What are Ionic bonds and covalent bonds?
Ionic bonds transfer electrons and covalent bonds share electrons.
What is the definition of an acid and a base?
An acid is any hydrogen-containing substance that is capable of donating a proton (hydrogen ion) to another substance. A base is a molecule or ion able to accept a hydrogen ion from an acid.
What are biomolecules often called? How are they built?
Macromolecules and they are built by linking smaller units called monomers together through covalent bonds, forming larger molecules called polymers, in a process called dehydration synthesis, where a water molecule is removed each time two monomers join; essentially "building up" the macromolecule by losing water.
Do enzymes change the amount of energy added or released by bonds being formed or broken? Or is it only the speed of the reaction that changes? Why?
No, they only speed up the reaction by lowering the activation energy for a reaction to occur.
Describe 5 ways forces that cause populations to change their frequencies of traits.
(1)Very large population(2)No gene flow between populations(3)No mutations(4)Random mating(5)No natural selection
Which four elements are most important and prevalent to life on Earth?
Oxygen, Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen. (O,C,H,N)
What are the functional groups of organic compounds?
Hydroxyl group, Carbonyl group, Carboxyl group, Amino group and Methyl group.
What types of attractions (chemical bonds and intermolecular forces) are possible during each level of protein structure?
Primary structure involves the sequence of amino acids joined together. Secondary structure involves local interactions between back bone components. Tertiary structure involves interactions between the R groups. Quaternary structure is when two or more polypeptides are associated together.
What are all things that can affect enzyme activity?
Temperature, pH level, salt concentration, enzyme concentration, inhibitors or activators, cofactor or coenzyme and substrate concentration.