Atomic Adventures
What are the three main subatomic particles that make up an atom?
Answer: Protons, neutrons, and electrons.
What is the chemical formula for a water molecule?
Answer: H₂O.
What element is the backbone of all biological macromolecules?
Answer: Carbon.
What term describes a change that involves the breaking and forming of chemical bonds?
Answer: Chemical reaction.
What macromolecule is primarily responsible for storing genetic information?
Answer: Nucleic acids.
What is a chemical element?
Answer: A pure substance made of one type of atom.
What does it mean when a molecule is described as "polar"?
Answer: It has a positive charge at one end and a negative charge at the other.
How many covalent bonds can a carbon atom form?
Answer: Four covalent bonds.
What is the role of a catalyst in a chemical reaction?
Answer: It speeds up the reaction without being consumed.
What are the building blocks of proteins?
Answer: Amino acids.
Approximately how many elements are common in living organisms?
Answer: About two dozen.
What type of bond forms between the positive and negative ends of adjacent water molecules?
Answer: Hydrogen bonds.
Name the four types of macromolecules based on carbon found in living organisms.
Answer: Carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.
What type of energy is required to initiate most chemical reactions?
Answer: Activation energy.
Which macromolecule serves as long-term energy storage and makes up cell membranes?
Answer: Lipids.
What is an isotope?
Answer: Atoms of the same element with different numbers of neutrons.
What property of water allows it to dissolve many other substances?
Answer: Its polarity and hydrogen bonding capabilities make water a universal solvent.
What term describes the building blocks that link together to form polymers in macromolecules?
Answer: Monomers.
What is the process called where enzymes convert substrates into products?
Answer: Catalysis.
What type of bond links amino acids together to form proteins?
Answer: Peptide bonds.
Which subatomic particle determines the charge of an atom and participates in chemical bonds?
Answer: Electrons.
How much more acidic is a pH of 4 over a pH of 5
Answer: 10x
Why is carbon's ability to form four covalent bonds crucial for forming complex biological macromolecules?
Answer: It allows carbon to create diverse and stable long chains and structures essential for the complexity of life.
If the shape of an enzyme's active site is altered, what effect does this have on the enzyme's catalytic ability?
Answer: The enzyme will not be able to attach to the substrates and will lose its ability to catalyze the reaction.
Describe the process of protein synthesis, including both transcription and translation.
Answer: