General Knowledge Quiz

The scientific study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, and distribution.

Organization, reproduction, growth and development, energy use, response to stimuli, regulation (homeostasis), and adaptation.

Characteristics of a system that emerge from interactions among its components.

Processes that regulate biological processes by responding to changes.

Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.

A substance that cannot be broken down into simpler substances by chemical means.

A substance formed by the chemical combination of two or more elements.

Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Oxygen (O), and Nitrogen (N).

Stereoisomers that are non-superimposable mirror images of each other. They are often called 'left-handed' and 'right-handed' molecules

An amino acid has an amino group (-NH₂), a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydrogen atom (-H), and an R-group (varies per amino acid).

Aldehydes have a carbonyl group (C=O) at the end of a carbon chain; ketones have a carbonyl group (C=O) within the carbon chain.

Alcohols dissolve in water because their hydroxyl group (-OH) forms hydrogen bonds with water molecules.

Polymers are made by dehydration synthesis, where water is removed to join monomers.

Polymers are broken down by hydrolysis, where water is added to separate monomers.

The general formula for carbohydrates is (CH₂O)ₙ, commonly C₆H₁₂O₆.

Plant: Starch; Animal: Glycogen. Both store energy, but differ in structure and how the monomers are joined.

Starch is made up of amylose and amylopectin, while glycogen has more branching, allowing for faster glucose release.

Linear, rigid structure of cellulose with hydrogen bonding between strands creates strong, supportive plant cell walls.

A triglyceride has a glycerol backbone bound to three fatty acids.

A phospholipid is similar to a triglyceride but replaces one fatty acid with a phosphate group, creating a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail.

Saturated fats lack double bonds, forming straight chains solid at room temperature. Unsaturated fats have double bonds, creating 'kinks' and making them liquid.

The cell membrane is a phospholipid bilayer with hydrophilic heads facing outwards and hydrophobic tails inwards, forming a semi-permeable barrier.

Cholesterol, with its four-ring structure, maintains membrane fluidity by preventing phospholipid tails from packing too tightly and acts as a precursor for steroid hormones.

An amino acid has an amino group (-NH₂), a carboxyl group (-COOH), a hydrogen atom (-H), and an R group (side chain).

The removal of an amino group (NH2) from an amino acid, producing ammonia (NH3) and a carbon skeleton.

A series of metabolic reactions that breaks down acetyl-CoA, generating ATP, NADH, and FADH2, and releasing carbon dioxide.

The breakdown of glucose into pyruvate, occurring in the cytoplasm.

A process that regenerates NAD+ in the absence of oxygen, producing lactic acid as a byproduct.

Cellular respiration that occurs in the absence of oxygen, producing fewer ATP molecules compared to aerobic respiration.

A series of protein complexes embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane that use the energy from electrons to pump protons and generate ATP.

A chemical reaction in which one molecule loses electrons (oxidation) and another molecule gains electrons (reduction).

The space within the inner membrane of a mitochondrion, where the Krebs cycle takes place.

When one gene influences the expression of another gene, affecting the trait's outcome.

Multiple genes contribute to a single phenotype, resulting in continuous variation.

Traits showing continuous variation, not just distinct categories, often influenced by multiple genes.

Environmental factors can alter gene expression, modifying the phenotype even with the same genotype.

A diagram showing family relationships and traits to track inheritance patterns.

Recessive traits only appear if an individual inherits two copies of the recessive allele.

Dominant traits appear if an individual inherits at least one copy of the dominant allele.

Traits carried on the X chromosome, affecting males and females differently due to their different sex chromosomes.

Guanine (G) and Cytosine (C) form three hydrogen bonds, making them stronger than A-T bonds.

Adenine (A) and Thymine (T) form two hydrogen bonds, making them weaker than G-C bonds.

Purines (Adenine and Guanine) have a double-ring structure, while Pyrimidines (Cytosine and Thymine) have a single-ring structure.

Helicase unwinds the DNA double helix by breaking the hydrogen bonds between base pairs, creating a replication fork.

DNA Polymerase builds a new DNA strand by adding nucleotides complementary to the template strand.

The leading strand is synthesized continuously in the direction of the replication fork, while the lagging strand is synthesized discontinuously in fragments.

A codon is a three-nucleotide sequence in mRNA that codes for a specific amino acid during protein synthesis.

A primary transcript is the initial RNA sequence made from DNA, which is processed (capping, splicing, and polyadenylation) to become mature mRNA.