1. Cell Chemistry

2. Water
Why is water so important to our understanding of cell chemistry?
abundance
polar nature

3. Water
How does its polar nature affect the properties of this molecule?
cohesive
high surface tension
high specific heat, heat of vaporization

4. Water
Why is water such a good solvent?

5. Water What kinds of cellular reactions involve water?
hydrolytic cleavages
dehydration synthesis
light reactions of photosynthesis

6. Carbon Containing Molecules
Why are carbon containing molecules so prevalent in cells?

7. Carbon Containing Molecules
What accounts for the stability of carbon containing molecules?

8. Carbon Containing Molecules
What are some of the common functional groups found in biological molecules?

9. Macromolecules
From what are the most important biological polymers constructed?

10. Macromolecules

11. Macromolecules
Why would a molecule be classified as informational? structural? storage?

12. Macromolecules
What is involved in the synthesis of macromolecules?

13. Macromolecules
What is meant by self-assembly?

14. Macromolecules
What is the role of a molecular chaperone?

15. Proteins
Where in the cell are proteins found and what are some of their functions?

16. Proteins
What do all amino acids have in common?

17. Proteins
What distinguishes a specific amino acid?

18. Proteins

19. Proteins
How does a peptide bond form?

20. Proteins What is the difference between a polypeptide and a protein?
How is a monomeric protein different from a multimeric protein?

21. Proteins
What kinds of bonds are involved in the folding of proteins?

22. Proteins
What do we mean by the primary structure of a protein?

23. Proteins – secondary structure

24. Proteins
What is the difference between the α-helix and the β-pleated sheet?

25. Proteins
What are motifs?

26. Proteins
How does tertiary structure compare with secondary structure

27. Proteins
What are some of the non-covalent interactions that determine the tertiary structure?

28. Proteins
What is the difference between a globular and a fibrous protein?

29. Proteins
What are domains?

30. Proteins
Do all proteins have quaternary structure?

31. Nucleic Acids
How is DNA different from RNA both structurally and functionally?

32. Nucleic Acids
What is a nucleotide? What role(s) does it play in the cell?

33. Nucleic Acids
What makes nucleotides different from each other?

34. Nucleic Acids
How are nucleotides joined to form DNA and RNA?

35. Nucleic Acids
What are some of the important features of the DNA molecule?

36. Polysaccharides
What are polysaccharides and how are they different from proteins or nucleic acids?

37. Polysaccharides
What are monosaccharides and how do we classify them?

38. Polysaccharides
How are disaccharides formed?

39. Polysaccharides
What are some of the functions of polysaccharides in cells?

40. Lipids
How are lipids different from proteins, nucleic acids and polysaccharides?
What do all lipids have in common?

41. Lipids
What are some of the different kinds of lipids?

43. Lipids Why are fatty acids considered amphipathic?
What’s the difference between a saturated and an unsaturated fatty acid?

44. Lipids
Why are the properties of cell membranes so dependent upon the structure of phospholipids?

45. Lipids