It’s a Macromolecular World
Which macromolecule is made of nitrogenous bases in its monomers and contains phosphorus in its structure?
What is a nucleic acid?
What function of life ensures internal stability like body temperature and pH?
What is homeostasis?
What’s the smallest unit of life that performs all life functions?
What is a cell?
What structure on an enzyme binds the substrate?
What is the active site?
True or False: All proteins function as enzymes.
False – Proteins can also be structural, hormonal, or antibodies.
Identify the biomolecule with a glycerol backbone and three fatty acid tails. What is its role in organisms?
What is a triglyceride, used for long-term energy storage?
Which two metabolic processes represent energy release and energy use, respectively?
What are catabolism and anabolism?
Differentiate between tissues and organs with examples.
What is tissues are groups of similar cells (like muscle tissue), organs are combinations of tissues (like the heart)?
What happens to an enzyme when exposed to a very high temperature?
What is denaturation?
True or False: Nucleic acids are polymers made of sugars, phosphate groups, and nitrogen bases.
True – the monomers are nucleotides.
Differentiate between α-glucose and β-glucose based on molecular structure.
What is the position of the hydroxyl group on carbon 1 — down in alpha, up in beta?
Explain the role of nutrition as a function of life in autotrophs vs. heterotrophs.
What is that autotrophs synthesize their food via photosynthesis or chemosynthesis, while heterotrophs consume organic material?
Arrange in order from smallest to largest: molecule, organ, tissue, organism, atom.
What is atom → molecule → tissue → organ → organism?
Describe the enzyme-substrate complex using the "lock and key" analogy.
What is the enzyme (lock) fits a specific substrate (key), forming a complex to allow the reaction to proceed?
True or False: Lipids dissolve easily in water.
False – they are hydrophobic and nonpolar.
Explain why lipids are insoluble in water but carbohydrates are not.
This is because lipids are nonpolar/hydrophobic, while carbohydrates are polar and hydrophilic.
Name the process by which organisms remove toxic waste. What is one human example?
What is excretion? For example, the removal of urea via the kidneys.
What level of ecological organization includes both abiotic and biotic factors?
What is an ecosystem?
How does substrate concentration influence enzyme activity, and why does the effect plateau?
What is increased substrate speeds up reaction until enzymes are saturated and working at maximum rate?
True or False: All carbohydrates are made of only carbon and hydrogen.
False – they also contain oxygen (CHO).
Describe the condensation reaction that forms a peptide bond. Include what is removed and the type of bond formed.
What is the removal of water between the amino group of one amino acid and the carboxyl group of another to form a covalent peptide bond?
Evaluate how growth and reproduction differ as life functions, even though both increase biological material.
What is that growth increases the mass/size of an organism, while reproduction creates new individuals?
Explain the role of decomposers and where they fit into the ecological pyramid.
What is that decomposers break down dead matter and recycle nutrients, functioning outside traditional trophic levels, but are essential for nutrient cycling?
Compare hydrolysis and condensation reactions using examples of biomolecules.
What is hydrolysis breaks polymers into monomers using water (e.g., protein → amino acids), while condensation builds polymers and releases water (e.g., glucose → starch)?
True or False: Enzymes are used up during the reactions they catalyze.
False – Enzymes are reusable catalysts.