Lecture Exam I: February 1st

This first lecture exam will be shorter and cover less material than the rest of the exams this semester.  This will allow you to learn how to prepare for my exams, but with a smaller stakes test.  

You will need a scantron and a pencil and I will provide scratch paper and paper for writing short answers.

The exam will consist of

• 20-30  Multiple Choice Questions
• 3-4 Short answer Questions. 
  • These questions will be taken from the  Study Guide Questions below
  • I will convert the rest of the questions into multiple choice questions

Learning Objectives: You should be able to: 

• Define the core concept: Structure and Function and provide examples from this week's topics of chemistry and biomolecules
• Define the core concept of the biological hierarchy and provide an example from this week's topics of chemistry and biomolecules. 
• Recognize examples of atoms, ions, molecules, covalent bonds
• Distinguish between polar, nonpolar and ionic bonds:
  • Use this knowledge to determine solubility in water vs. oil
• Identify the main types of organic molecules that make up living organisms: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins and Nucleic Acids
  • be able to give examples of each and their functions 
  • know what subunit/monomer each one is made of
  • For proteins: be able to explain the relationship between amino acid sequence, amino acid side chains , protein folding and protein function 
• Explain the structure and function of enzymes. Specifically understand  
  
  • how they affect chemical reactions and substrates, the role of the active site, the specificity of enzymes, how the amino acid sequence determine the folding, shape and shape of the active site, importance of the reusability of enzymes, the impact of temperature, pH and substrate concentration on enzymes.
• Incorporate the function of cofactors, coenzymes and  inhibitors into your understanding of enzyme reactions  

Study Guide Questions

1. From this list of molecules, identify which ones are organic molecules: sugars, NaCl, O2, H2O, amino acids, lipids.

2. Without looking at your notes, fill in this chart:  when you are done, double check your work and make corrections

3. Define the core concept: Structure and Function. Then explain the how the structure of a chemical bond determines whether a molecule is polar or  not.

4. Write out the levels of the biological hierarchy. Next to each of them, describe an example.

5. Explain how the amino acid sequence of an enzyme determines the shape of the active site (structure). Why are enzymes so specific? Make sure to use the following vocabulary: amino acid side chain, amino acid interactions, protein folding, shape of active site and shape of substrate(s). 

6. Why do all living organisms need enzymes to catalyze reactions? Make sure to use the following vocabulary: chemical reactions, rate of reactions. 

7.  What would happen to an enzyme reaction if there were low concentrations of the substrate? Make sure to use the following vocabulary: collision, active site, substrate, reaction rate. 

8. What would happen to an enzyme if there were low concentrations of its cofactor? Make sure to use the following vocabulary: substrates, enzyme active site, cofactor binding, shift in amino acid interactions, shift in shape of active site. 

9.  If there are series of enzyme reactions as seen below, what happens if there are large concentrations of the final product which is an inhibitor of the first enzyme? Make sure to use the following vocabulary: substrate, product, enzyme pathway, inhibitor, shift in in amino acid interactions, shift in shape of active site.

Substrate A  ----Enzyme 1-------> Product B -----Enzyme 2-------> Product C------Enzyme 3---------> Product D