Biochemistry Test 1 Flashcards

Atom → Molecule → Cell → Tissue → Organ → Organ System → Organism

The major molecules you should know are:

• Proteins → do most of the cell's work (enzymes, structure, transport, etc.)
• Carbohydrates → provide/store energy
• Lipids → make up cell membranes and store energy
• Nucleic acids (DNA & RNA) → store and use genetic information
• Nucleus → stores DNA; controls gene expression
• Ribosomes → make proteins
• Mitochondria → produce lots of ATP
• Cell membrane → controls what enters and leaves the cell
• Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) → makes/processes proteins and lipids
• Golgi apparatus → modifies, sorts, and ships proteins
• Lysosomes → break down cellular waste and materials

1. Atoms and elements

Everything in your body is made of atoms.

An atom has:

• Protons → positive charge (+)
• Neutrons → no charge
• Electrons → negative charge (−)

The most important elements in living organisms are often remembered as CHNOPS:

• Carbon
• Hydrogen
• Nitrogen
• Oxygen
• Phosphorus
• Sulfur
• ⚡ 4. Acids, bases, and pH
  • Acids increase the concentration of H⁺ (hydrogen ions).
  • Bases decrease H⁺ or increase OH⁻ (hydroxide ions).
  • pH tells you how acidic or basic something is.
  Remember: Low pH = acidicHigh pH = basicpH 7 = neutral

Carbon is the central element of biochemistry because it can form four strong covalent bonds with other atoms, including other carbon atoms.

Carbon can form:

• Chains → straight or branched
• Rings
• Single, double, or triple bonds

These structures form the backbone of the major biological molecules:

• Carbohydrates → sugars and starches
• Lipids → fats and oils
• Proteins → amino-acid-based molecules
• Nucleic acids → DNA and RNA

After running the experiment, they found that organic molecules, including several amino acids, had formed.

Amino acids are important because they're the building blocks of proteins.

⭐ Why is it important?

The experiment showed that some organic molecules necessary for life could form spontaneously from simpler inorganic substances under certain conditions, without a living organism.

It did NOT create life. It demonstrated a possible chemical pathway for producing some of life's building blocks.

. What are self-replicating RNA molecules?

Scientists propose that very early in Earth's history, some RNA molecules may have been able to make copies of themselves.

This is important because reproduction/replication is a key requirement for evolution:

RNA copies itself → copies vary → some copies work better → those copies become more common

Over many generations, natural selection could potentially make these molecules more complex.

⚙️ 2. What are ribozymes?

A ribozyme is an RNA molecule that can act like an enzyme.

Normally, we think of:

• Proteins → enzymes that speed up chemical reactions
• RNA → carries genetic information

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Why is water such a good solvent?
The key word is polar.

A water molecule has:

A slightly negative end near the oxygen

Slightly positive ends near the hydrogens

Because of these charges, water can surround and separate charged or polar molecules.

For example:

Salt → Na⁺ + Cl⁻

Water molecules surround the ions and pull them apart, allowing the salt to dissolve.

Electronegativity is an atom's ability to pull shared electrons toward itself when it's bonded to another atom.

Think of it as a tug-of-war over electrons.

Polarity and polar bonds

These two ideas are closely related to electronegativity.

They're generally weaker than covalent bonds, but they're extremely important in biology because lots of weak interactions together can create strong, stable structures.

1.

micelle is a small spherical structure formed when certain molecules called amphipathic molecules are placed in water.

A hydrogen bond is a weak attraction between a partially positive hydrogen atom and a partially negative electronegative atom, usually oxygen or nitrogen.

It's important to remember that a hydrogen bond is not the same as a covalent bond. The atoms aren't sharing electrons with each other; they're being attracted by their partial charges.

These two concepts tell you how acidic a solution is and how strongly an acid gives up H⁺ ions.

1. What is Ka?

Ka = acid dissociation constant.

It measures how easily an acid releases a hydrogen ion (H⁺) when dissolved in water.

For a generic acid:

HA ⇌ H⁺ + A⁻

• HA = acid
• H⁺ = hydrogen ion
• A⁻ = what remains after the acid loses H⁺