Biochemistry Chapter 1 – Flashcards
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What are the Qualities of Living Organisms?
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1) Complicated and highly Organized 2)Biological structures serve functional Purposes 3)Living systems are actively engaged in energy transformation 4)Living systems have the capacity for self replication
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Percent of Hydrogen in the Human Body
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The human body contains 63% hydrogen
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Percent of Oxygen in the Human Body
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The human body contains 25.5% oxygen
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Percent of Carbon in the Human Body
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The human body contains 9.5% carbon
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Percent of Nitrogen in the Human Body?
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The human body contains 1.4% nitrogen
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How Many Covalent Bonds Can Carbon Form?
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Carbon can form as many as four covalent bonds
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What are two important properties of the covalent bonds formed by carbon?
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1) Carbon can form covalent bonds with itself 2) When carbon only forms single bonds, it has a tetrahedral conformation
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What are the major precursors for the formation of biomolecules
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1) Water (H₂O) 2) Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) 3) Ammonium (NH₄⁺) 4) Nitrate (NO₃⁺) 5) Dinitrogen (N₂)
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Molecular Organization hierarchy
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Inorganic Precursors -> Metabolites -> Building Blocks -> Macromolecules -> Supramolecular Complexes -> Organelles -> The Cell
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Metabolites
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Simple organic molecules that are intermediates in cellular energy transformations. (Glucose, Citrate, Pyruvate)
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Building Blocks
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Amino acids, sugars, nucleotides, fatty acids, glycerol
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Macromolecules
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Covalent linkage of "building blocks" creates macromolecules. (Proteins, polysaccharides, polynucleotides, lipids, membranes)
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Supramolecular Complexes
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Combination of macromolecules that work together to serve sub-cellular functions. Their components are not held together by covalent bonds. They are held together by hydrogen bonds, ionic attractions, Van der Waals forces, and hydrophobic interactions. (Ribosomes, chromosomes, and cytoskeletal elements)
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Organelles
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Only found in eukaryotic cells. (mitochondria, chloroplasts, nucleus)
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Nucleus
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Contains genetic information in the cell, in the form on DNA
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Mitochondria
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Carry out aerobic metabolic functions that release energy
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Chloroplasts
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Allow cells to carry out photosynthesis.
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Membranes
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Supramolecular assemblies that define the boundaries of cells and organelles. Hydrophobic interactions are very important in maintaining membrane structure.
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What does structural polarity mean?
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Molecules are not symmetrical, they can be thought of as having a head and a tail.
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Van der Waals Forces
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They are the result of induced electrical interactions between closely approaching atoms or molecules as their negatively charged electron clouds fluctuate instantaneously in time.
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Hydrogen Bonds
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Relative strength is proportional to the polarity of the H bond donor and H done acceptor. More polar atoms form stronger H bonds.
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Ionic Bonds
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Strength also depends on the relative polarity of the interacting charged species. Some ionic interacts are also H bonds.
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Hydrophobic interactions
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Force is a complex phenomenon determined by the degree to which the structure of water is disordered as sincere hydrophobic molecules or molecular regions coalesce.
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Van der Waals contact distance
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the interatomic distance that results if only Van der Waals forces hold two atoms together.
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Ligands
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Molecules or atoms that bind specifically to another molecule.
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Enzymes
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Biomolecular catalysts that mediate cellular reactions.
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What is the net ATP generated through glucose metabolized by the mitochondria?
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30-38 ATP
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Prokaryotes
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Consists of two groups known as Archea and Bacteria. They are single seller organisms that lack nuclei and other organelles.
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Eukarya
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They consist of single celled protists, and all multicellular life forms, which include fungi, plants, and animals. They have true nuclei and other organelles such as mitochondria.
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Whole genome sequencing
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The determination of the complete nucleotide sequence within the DNA of an organism.
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What are the minimum requirements for a gene set?
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1) Some degree of metabolism and energy production. 2) Capacity to replicate genetically based on a template molecule that encode information. 3) The formation and maintenance of a cell boundary.
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Types of archaea
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Thermoacidophiles, halophiles, and methanogens
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Thermaocidophiles
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Archea that love heat, and acid
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Halophiles
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Archea that are salt-loving
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Methanogens
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Bacteria that generate methane from CO₂ and H₂
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Nucleoid
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This is where a single circular chromosome is localized within a prokaryote.
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Lamellae
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The site of photosynthetic activity in the cell membranes of cyanobacteria
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Plastids
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The Organelles of photosynthesis found in higher plants cells
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Flagella
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Single long filaments used for mobility by some bacteria
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Mitosis
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Divison of a single cell into two identical daughter cells that retain the genetic information from the parent cell
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Bacteriophages
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Viruses that specifically infect baceria
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Lysis
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Disintegration of a cell that is due to infection by a virus
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Lysogeny
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When the genetic information of a virus integrates itself into the chromosomes of the host where it becomes dormant and inactive.
