Water properties
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic Acids
100

What about the chemical structure of water allows it to form hydrogen bonds?

Interactions of partial charges

100

The monomer and polymer of a carbohydrate are:

What is monosaccharide and polysaccharide?

100

What is the monomer of a lipid?

What is lipids have no monomer?
100

What is the difference between a polypeptide and a protein?

Polypeptide = chain of amino acids linked together

Protein = polypeptide chain that has undergone protein folding and has taken on its final 3 dimensional shape and function

100

What is the name of the type of covalent bond that joins nucleotides together?

What is a phosphodiester linkage?

200

Does hydrogen bonding occur only between water molecules? Why or why not?

Although we mainly associate hydrogen bonding with water molecules, especially in biology, remember that this feature is not only specific to water.  It refers to the ability of hydrogen atoms to bond with adjacent partially charged atoms of adjacent molecules.  H - bonds can also form between O-H, N-H

200

Name the main elements that comprise carbohydrates.

Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen (must have all 3 of these)

200

Why is cholesterol considered to be one of (if not the most important) steroids?

Its function as a biological precursor molecule--used to make other important biomolecules like hormones; important component in maintaining cell membrane fluidity

200

What is the monomer of a protein and what are its main structural components? 

What is an amino acid?  What is a carboxyl group, amino group, hydrogen atom, and R group?

200

What are the two main categories of nucleic acids and what is at least one major function of each?

DNA

RNA

300

What is heat of vaporization and how does this relate to the phenomenon behind why working out on a humid day is much more difficult?

Heat of vaporization refers to the amount of heat a liquid must absorb for 1g to convert from liquid to gaseous state.

300

Give me the chemical formula for theoretical carbohydrate containing 7 oxygen atoms.

C7H14O7

300

Do lipids have polar bonds? Explain

Yes, many lipids have polar bonds, but the overall nature of the molecule is hydrophobic due to the presence of extensive hydrocarbon tails

300

Name the two main categories of proteins (name / difference) and give at least one example of each.

What are fibrous (look like long fibers) and globular (spherical in shape)?   Sorry but "shaped like a glob" won't count even though it sounds cooler.  

Fibrous examples:Collagen, elastin, fibrin, keratin, actin, myosin, etc.

Globular examples: Immunoglobulins, enzymes, hemoglobin, insulin, myoglobin, etc.

300

The ________ of one nucleotide is joined covalently to the ____________ of an adjacent nucleotide.

What is sugar and phosphate?

400

What is the difference between thermal energy and temperature?  Which is volume dependent/independent?

Thermal energy refers to the total kinetic energy. Temperature is similar, but deals with average kinetic energy

•Thermal = volume dependent;    temperature = volume independent

400

Name the monomer that makes up:

Starch

Cellulose

What is 

glucose?

also glucose?

400

What is the most important function of phospholipids and how does the structure of a phospholipid fit its function?

(Again, must be specific in your answer to get credit for a 400 pt question)

Most important function = cell membrane components / formation of bilayers.  Phospholipids can do this because of the presence of hydrophilic heads that orient on the outer portion of membrane to interact with intracellular/extracellular fluid (which is mostly water) and hydrophobic tails that congregate in the interior to hold the membrane together.  

400

What is the primary factor that determines a protein's function and why is this the case?  

(Must be specific--I am looking for two key parts to this answer)

The sequence of amino acids is the primary component that determines a protein's shape and therefore its function.  The variable regions or side chains of amino acids and how they specifically interact is what determines the shape that a protein can fold into.

400

Name the components of a nucleotide and tell which of those components differ between the two major polymers of nucleotides.

Nucleotides contain a sugar, phosphate, and nitrogenous base.

DNA and RNA differ in both their sugar component and their nitrogenous bases.

500

Name the 4 major emergent properties of water and describe each.

Cohesive behavior

Ability to moderate temperature

Expansion upon freezing

Versatility as a solvent

500

Name the 3 major carbohydrate polymers and at least one of their main functions.  (Must be specific as this is a 500 pt question!)

Starch: Enables plants to store excess glucose 

Cellulose: Plant cell wall component; could also say that it helps humans secret digestive enzymes and digestive fluids

Glycogen: Stores glucose in animal cells; undergoes hydrolysis to release glucose

500

Fats can be broken down further into two types: saturated and unsaturated fats.  This is due to the presence or absence of one or more double bonds.  Saturated fats are typically solid at room temperature, while unsaturated fats are typically liquids.  Which type of fat must contain double bonds and WHY?

Unsaturated fats must contain double bonds due to the fact that they are typically liquids at room temperature.  Solids and liquids differ in how tightly their molecules are able to "pack together" (solids pack molecules very close together, where liquid molecules are more spread out).  Because double bonds do not rotate freely, it results in "bends" in hydrocarbon chains.  These bent chains are not able to interact as closely, and therefore can not form tight, compact solids.

500

Sickle-cell disease (characterized by "sickle" or curved red blood cells) is an inherited blood disorder caused by a single amino acid substitution in the primary structure of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying component of red blood cells. Hemoglobin is responsible for transporting oxygen through blood vessels of the body.  What effect/syptoms would you typically see in sickle-cell-diseased patients and why would this occur?

AA substitution would clearly result in a different type of protein folding in the hemoglobin (why it takes on a sickle shape rather than a globular shape).  One of the most common problems associated with sickle-cell disease is heart/coronary problems due to impeded blood flow.   Red blood cells travel through blood vessels to carry oxygen, but this new "sickle" shape causes them to get stuck and become unable to move smoothly.  This leads to frequent vessel blockages and circulation problems.

500

How do DNA and RNA play a role in gene expression?

Answer must include:

DNA contains genetic information that is used as a template for making mRNA.

mRNA is the nucleic acid that physically interacts with ribosomes or the protein-making machinery of the cell to direct protein production.  

Both of these together are essential components of gene expression, which is the term for the over all process of converting the information stored in DNA into functional proteins.

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