Deck 1: The Chemical Basis of Life

Question 1

Of the following amino acids, which contains an alcohol?

A)

B)

C)

D)

E) all of the above

Answer 1

Question 2

Which of the major types of biomolecules is never found in a polymeric form?

A) amino acids
B) carbohydrates
C) nucleotides
D) lipids
E) none of the above

Answer 2

lipids

Question 3

Which of the following biopolymers is correctly paired with the bond that forms between the monomers?

A) protein: ester bond
B) polysaccharide: glycosidic bond
C) DNA: phosphate bond
D) RNA: phosphate bond
E) all of the above

Answer 3

polysaccharide: glycosidic bond

Question 4

Which of the biopolymers is correctly paired with its major function?

A) protein: information encoding
B) nucleic acids: energy storage
C) lipids: information encoding
D) polysaccharide: energy storage
E) none of the above

Question 5

Entropy is used to measure _____.

A) free energy
B) heat content
C) temperature
D) randomness
E) all of the above

Question 6

A spontaneous process always has _____.

A) $\Delta$ G < 0
B) $\Delta$ G > 0
C) $\Delta$ H < 0
D) $\Delta$ H > 0
E) none of the above

Question 7

An exergonic process _____.

A) occurs without the addition of free energy
B) has a $\Delta$ G < 0
C) is spontaneous
D) will have more products than reactants at equilibrium
E) all of the above

Question 8

If the following two reactions were coupled, what would be the $\Delta$ G for the overall exergonic reaction?

A) -52 kJ/mol
B) -10 kJ/mol
C) 10 kJ/mol
D) 52 kJ/mol
E) none of the above

Question 9

A gaseous mixture of hydrogen, water, ammonia and methane can produce which of the biomolecules when exposed to an electrical discharge (such as lightning)?

A) carbohydrates
B) nucleotides
C) lipids
D) amino acids
E) none of the above

Question 10

Which of the following explains how nucleotides might have polymerized into nucleic acids in the prebiotic world?

A) a mixture of hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde and phosphate can form nucleotides in the presence of an electrical discharge
B) nucleotides formed short polymers in the high temperatures of hydrothermal vents
C) nucleotides used the surface of clay as a catalyst to form polymers
D) catalysts such as iron sulfide allow for the formation of new C-C bonds
E) all of the above

Question 11

Photosynthetic organisms use energy from the sun to reduce _____ to _____.

A) formaldehyde; ethanol
B) CO₂; ethanol
C) CO₂; carbohydrates
D) CO₂; oxygen
E) none of the above

Question 12

The similarity of one organism to another (for example a bacteria versus a human) is most easily done by comparing which biopolymer?

A) nucleic acids
B) polysaccharides
C) proteins
D) lipids
E) all of the above

Question 13

The biochemical principle that organisms acquire, transform, store, and use energy requires that cells be able to ______.

A) produce their own energy
B) convert light into other forms of energy
C) extract heat from their environment
D) extract energy from their environment
E) use only one form of energy from their environment

Question 14

What are the four most common elements in biological systems? ___; ___; ___; ___

Question 15

Name the four major types of biomolecules. ___; ___; ___; ___

Question 16

Based on the information given ( $\Delta$ H = 5 kJ/mol and $\Delta$ S = 20. J/K•mol that is carried out at 15°C. Please describe the following reaction.

A) spontaneous and endergonic
B) spontaneous and exergonic
C) nonspontaneous and endergonic
D) nonspontaneous and exergonic
E) none of the above