Skip to main content
Indietro

General Biology: Key Concepts from Chapters 5-7

I pulsanti di controllo sono stati cambiati in modalità "navigazione".
1/29

Termini in questo insieme (29)

  • Dehydration and hydrolysis reactions

    Dehydration reactions build polymers by removing water, while hydrolysis breaks polymers into monomers by adding water.

  • Difference between aldose and ketose sugars

    Aldose sugars have a carbonyl group at the end (aldehyde), ketose sugars have it within the carbon chain (ketone).

  • Difference between starch and glycogen

    Both are glucose polymers, but starch is for energy storage in plants, glycogen is more branched and stored in animals.

  • Structural carbohydrates

    Cellulose and chitin are structural carbohydrates that build cell walls and exoskeletons rather than store energy.

  • Insoluble fiber and indigestibility

    Insoluble fiber like cellulose is indigestible because most animals lack enzymes to break its beta-glycosidic bonds.

  • Why corn oil is liquid and lard is solid at room temperature

    Corn oil has more unsaturated fatty acids with kinks, preventing tight packing; lard has more saturated fats, making it solid.

  • Phospholipids are amphipathic

    Amphipathic means having both hydrophilic (polar head) and hydrophobic (nonpolar tails) regions, causing membrane formation.

  • Basic structure of amino acids

    All amino acids have an amino group, carboxyl group, hydrogen atom, and a variable R group attached to a central carbon.

  • Nucleotide components and DNA vs RNA differences

    Nucleotides have a phosphate group, pentose sugar, and nitrogenous base. DNA has deoxyribose and thymine; RNA has ribose and uracil.

  • Advantages and disadvantages of light and electron microscopy

    Light microscopy allows live cell viewing but lower resolution; electron microscopy has high resolution but requires fixed, dead samples.

  • Purpose of cell fractionation

    Cell fractionation separates cell components to study organelles individually.

  • Three important microscope characteristics

    Magnification enlarges image, resolution distinguishes details, and contrast differentiates structures.

  • Factor limiting cell size

    Surface area to volume ratio limits cell size; cells must remain small for efficient nutrient and waste exchange.

  • Shared characteristics of all cells

    All cells have a plasma membrane, cytoplasm, ribosomes, and DNA.

  • Differences between prokaryotes and eukaryotes

    Prokaryotes lack a nucleus and membrane-bound organelles; eukaryotes have both.

  • Endosymbiosis hypothesis

    Explains mitochondria and chloroplasts originated from engulfed prokaryotes living symbiotically inside eukaryotic cells.

  • Function of nuclear pores

    Nuclear pores regulate transport of molecules like RNA and proteins between nucleus and cytoplasm.

  • Differences between rough and smooth ER

    Rough ER has ribosomes and synthesizes proteins; smooth ER lacks ribosomes and synthesizes lipids and detoxifies.

  • ATP production in cells

    Mitochondria produce ATP via cellular respiration; malfunction leads to energy deficiency.

  • Function of motor proteins

    Motor proteins use ATP to move along cytoskeleton tracks, transporting vesicles and organelles.

  • Types and functions of cell junctions

    Tight junctions seal cells, desmosomes anchor cells, and gap junctions allow communication.

  • Fluid mosaic model of membrane structure

    Membranes are a fluid bilayer of phospholipids with embedded proteins forming a mosaic.

  • Role of carbohydrates on cell membranes

    Membrane carbohydrates aid in cell recognition and adhesion.

  • Molecules that cannot diffuse through membranes

    Large, polar, or charged molecules cannot easily cross; small nonpolar molecules diffuse readily.

  • Difference between diffusion and osmosis

    Diffusion is movement of solutes from high to low concentration; osmosis is diffusion of water across a membrane.

  • Cotransport mechanism

    Cotransport uses the gradient of one molecule to drive transport of another against its gradient.

  • Differences among pinocytosis, phagocytosis, and receptor-mediated endocytosis

    Pinocytosis engulfs fluids, phagocytosis engulfs large particles, and receptor-mediated is selective uptake via receptors.

  • Meaning of hypotonic, isotonic, and hypertonic

    Hypotonic: lower solute outside, water enters cell; isotonic: equal solute; hypertonic: higher solute outside, water leaves cell.

  • Sodium-potassium pump function

    Uses ATP to pump 3 Na+ out and 2 K+ in, creating an electrochemical gradient.