AP Biology Unit 2 Test Review The Chemistry of Life

Question Set #1 Examine the following cycles and discuss how they relate to what we have discussed in this unit. – Water – Phosphorus – Nitrogen – Carbon Explain how various living organisms obtain the organic building blocks necessary to carry out life.

Question Set #2 What causes water to be a polar molecule and how does this lead to hydrogen bonding? How does water’s hydrogen bonding explain the following properties? Describe a biological example for each. – Cohesion/adhesion – High specific heat – High heat of vaporization

Question Set #3 Water is a versatile solvent. – Explain how this relates to acid-base chemistry – Explain how the following biological examples illustrate this property of water: Carbonic acid as a buffer in the blood Ocean acidification Acid rain

Question Set #4 Contrast a dehydration synthesis reaction with a hydrolysis reaction. – Describe an example of each type of reaction For carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and proteins identify the following: – Monomer name – Linkage name How are lipids different in structure compared to the other 3 macromolecules?

Question Set #5 How does the structure of each of the following impact their function? – cis & trans-retinol – Phospholipids – cis & trans-linoleic acid – Cellulose & starch Explain how directionality impacts the way that the following polymers are constructed. – Polypeptides – DNA – Cellulose & starch

Question Set #6 Explain how a polypeptide folds into a functional protein. Describe how altering the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide would impact this folding process.

Question Set #7 Discuss how variations within molecular classes provide cells and organisms with a wider range of functions. – Different types of phospholipids in cell membranes – Hemoglobin vs. myoglobin