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These are examples of the types of questions I might ask on an exam. They are also questions about key concepts which you should know in order to make sense of the material coming later in the course. - RLM
1. What are the types of chemical bonds found in biological molecules? Define each. How do they differ in relative strength?
2. Understand the properties of water and why it is referred to as "the universal solvent."
3. How does water organize hydrophobic molecules?
4. What is pH? What particle is there more of in an acidic solution than in a basic solution?
What are the four classes of biological macromolecules? What are the monomers for each of these that is a polymer?
Name four functions of proteins and give an example of each.
Draw the structure of an amino acid. Draw the structure of a three amino acid polypeptide.
Explain why proteins can have such diverse chemical properties, while other classes of macromolecules have more limited chemical properties.
Broader than one chapter:
If an integral membrane protein had two large hydrophilic domains at either
end separated by four membrane-spanning alpha helices, would the N-terminus
and C-terminus be on the same side or opposite sides of the membrane? Explain
your answer in pictures and words.
In a nucleic acid, which of the chemical groups of the monomeric nucleotides are covalently bonded to each other to make the so-called "backbone?"
If a phospholipid were synthesized in the smooth ER, to what other membrane-bounded organelles could it diffuse WITHOUT having to be budded off and moved via a transport vesicle?
Name four types of carbohydrate polymers of glucose. Which ones can we digest and why can we NOT digest them all?
If a peripheral membrane protein resides and carries out its function on the exterior surface of the plasma membrane, into what compartment is that protein translated? Into what compartment is it translated if it resides and functions on the interior surface of the plasma membrane?
What are the three types of cytosekeletal filaments? Describe one function of each.
Know the functions and relative sizes of each of the organelles or structures modeled in our living large white blood cell.
Enlarged 1.5 million times
about how big is a calcium ion?
about how thick is a phospholipid bilayer?
about how big is a typical trans-membrane protein?
about how big is a typical membrane-bounded organelle? Name four and tell
how big it is. (Since many organelles are changing size and shape rapidly,
I am looking for correct ball-park estimates)
Content and design of this site by Dr. Bob Morris. Please direct
comments to him at rmorris@wheatonma.edu.
Last updated 4/2004.