Practice Questions

Buffers are aqueous systems that resist changes in pH. The bicarbonate system (H2CO3/HCO3⁻) neutralizes small amounts of added acid or base, keeping the blood pH within the narrow physiological range (7.35-7.45) essential for enzyme function and protein stability.

Condensation (dehydration synthesis) is the universal anabolic reaction for building all major biological macromolecules: monosaccharides to polysaccharides, amino acids to proteins, and nucleotides to nucleic acids. Water is the byproduct of each new bond formed.

Protein folding is a cooperative process. The breaking of a few weak interactions in one region of the protein during heating can destabilize neighboring interactions. This leads to a rapid, domino-like collapse of the entire tertiary structure over a very small temperature range.

Heavy metals have high affinity for sulfur. They react with the thiol (-SH) groups of cysteine residues, forming mercaptides. This can block essential catalytic groups, disrupt disulfide bonds (if present), and severely distort the protein's tertiary and quaternary structure, leading to irreversible denaturation.

Water's dipole nature (O is δ-, H is δ+) allows it to form hydrogen bonds with and dissolve other polar and charged molecules. It forms hydration shells around these molecules (like sugars and amino acids), effectively separating them from their crystal lattice and bringing them into solution.

The enzymes responsible for the synthesis of phospholipids (the major membrane lipid) and steroids (including cholesterol and steroid hormones) are located primarily in the membrane of the smooth ER. It is therefore a major site of lipid biosynthesis.

The conformational change in the induced fit model positions the essential catalytic amino acid side chains in the precise orientation needed to perform chemistry on the substrate. This is in addition to the strain and proximity effects also associated with the model.

Linoleic acid (omega-6) and α-linolenic acid (omega-3) are essential fatty acids. Humans and other mammals lack the enzymes (Δ12 and Δ15 desaturases) to insert double bonds at the required positions in the fatty acid chain. They must be ingested in the diet to maintain health.

A phospholipid is a substituted triglyceride. Lecithin (phosphatidylcholine) consists of glycerol esterified to two fatty acids and a phosphate group, which is in turn esterified to the nitrogenous alcohol choline. Complete hydrolysis breaks all these ester bonds.

Active transport is the movement of molecules against a concentration gradient. This process is directly coupled to ATP hydrolysis as an energy source, for example, by the Na⁺/K⁺ pump. Passive processes like diffusion and facilitated diffusion are driven by the gradient itself and do not require ATP directly.