Foundation of Life

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Wax is made of one fatty acid molecule bonded to an alcohol. There are a variety of waxes and they're all hydrophobic. They are used as moisture barriers in insects as well as plants.

Nucleic Acids

Nucleic acids are the polymers that contain the information needed to direct the synthesis of protein. The repeating units in these long polymers are called nucleotides. There are two general categories of nucleic acids, RNA and DNA, and they are each made of four different nucleotides. The type of compound we call a nucleotide is comprised of a phosphate group, a sugar and a nitrogenous base. In RNA, the sugar is ribose and there are four possible bases: guanine, cytosine, adenine and uracil. In DNA, the sugar is deoxyribose (almost the same as ribose, but missing an oxygen atom) and the nucleotides are guanine, cytosine, adenine, and thymine (almost the same as uracil). DNA is usually double stranded while RNA is usually single stranded.

Important Facts

- hydrolysis is a chemical reaction that breaks large molecules apart by adding water

- monosaccharides (simple sugars) are the "building blocks" of carbohydrates

- phospholipids are a major component of cell memebranes

- amino acids are the "building blocks" of proteins

- peptide bonds join amino acids together to form proteins

- ATP is a nucleotide closely associated with energy

- Cholesterol is not a carbohydrate (it's a lipid)

- Mitochondria are associated with ATP production

- Endoplasmic reticula may be smooth or rough

- Ribosomes are associated with protein production

- Golgi bodies perform packaging (for secretion)

- lysosomes contain digestive enzymes

- plastids perform photosynthesis (chloroplasts are plastids)

- cells WALLs are NOT found in all cells

- ribosomes are not bound by membranes

- ADP and Pi form when ATP gives up energy

- Reactant is equivalent to "substrate" (in an enzyme catalyzed reaction)

- Anabolic means biosynthetic

- Key and lock is like enzyme and substrate

- Enzymes are usually proteins

- Enzymes are catalysts

- Concentration, temperature, and size all effect the diffusion rate through a membrane

- Movement against a concentration gradient is active transport

- Active transport requires ATP

- H2O and CO2 are required for photosynthesis

- Carbon enters the web of life via photosynthesis

- Chlorophyll reflects the green wavelengths of light

- Light is NOT required for light independent reactions

- Benson and Calvin discovered the light-independent reactions

- Carbon dioxide, water and oxygen all pass through stomata

- The sun is the ultimate source of energy for live on Earth

- Aerobic respiration liberates the most ATP energy from glucose

- Oxygen is the final electron acceptor in aerobic respiration

- Glucose is oxidized fully via this sequence: glycolysis, Krebs cycle, electron transfer (electron transport chain in mitochondria)

- Glycolysis takes place in the cytoplasm and produces two pyruvates

- Two turns of the Krebs cycle are required to fully oxidize glucose

- Yeast fermentation produces ethanol and CO2

- Lactate is produced by muscles under anaerobic conditions

- The Krebs cycle can use proteins and fats as energy sources

- Chromosomes replicate during interphase (the S period)

- Diploid means the cell has two sets of genetic information (paired chromosomes)

- The nuclear membrane breaks apart during prophase

- The spindle apparatus becomes visible during prophase

- Chromosomes align at the spindle equator during metaphase

- Chromosomes detach and move apart during anaphase

- The nuclear membrane re-forms during telophase

- Prophase, metaphase, anaphase, telophase is the correct sequence for mitosis

- Asexually produced daughter cells are identical to each other (and to the mother cell)

- By meiosis, a parent cell with 16 chromosomes produces daughter cells with 8 chromosomes

- Meiosis typically produces four haploid cells

- Crossing over and pairing of homologues usually occurs during prophase I

- Gametes are sex cells

- Meiosis II resembles mitosis

- Alleles are various forms of a gene

- AA, aa, BB, bb, and cc are all homozygous genotypes

- Recessive genes "disappear" in F1 plants (according to Mendle)

- Genes are located on chromosomes and sort independently during meiosis

- XX indicates a normal human female

- XY indicates a normal human male

- Genes on the same chromosome form a linkage group

- Amniocentesis involves sampling fetal cells floating in amniotic fluid

- Adenine pairs with thymine

- Guanine pairs with cytosine

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