Final Exam Study Outline PDF

FINAL EXAM STUDY OUTLINE 12/12/2024 This is a summation of the concepts that I feel are most important for students to understand for the cumulative portion of the final exam. The second 50 questions on the exam wi...

FINAL EXAM STUDY OUTLINE 12/12/2024 This is a summation of the concepts that I feel are most important for students to understand for the cumulative portion of the final exam. The second 50 questions on the exam will cover material from the entire semester and will focus mainly on the most important ideas that we covered. This is not meant, in any way, to be a comprehensive collection of knowledge required for the test. Instead, it is a list of general principles on which you should focus your studies. If you thoroughly understand, and can apply, all of the concepts listed here, you should do well on this exam. In order to perform well on this test, each student should: Chapter 2: The Chemical Context of Life -3 Questions Thoroughly understand the structure of an individual atom o The atomic nucleus  atomic number  atomic mass o The arrangement of electron shells  valence electrons Know the types of bonds that form between atoms and why o Covalent bonds  which types of atoms form covalent bonds with each other  polar vs. non-polar covalent bonds o Weak interactions  Hydrogen bonds Chapter 3: Water and Life - 4 Questions Realize the importance of hydrogen bonds between water atoms o Understand how hydrogen bonds are responsible for the following  resistance to changes in temperature the storage and release of heat energy Realize the importance of hydrogen bonds that form between water and other molecules o the ability of polarized (hydrophilic) molecules to dissolve in water o in inability of non-polar (hydrophobic) molecules to dissolve in water o a measurement for concentration of solute molecules (Molarity)  work through math problems involving Molarity and molecular mass Know the chemical basis for acids and bases o focus on the concentration of H+ and OH- ions and the relationship between the two o understand specifically how acids and bases alter the balance of H+ and OH- ions Understand the pH scale o [H+][OH-] = 10-14 Chapter 4: Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life - 3 Questions Understand the basic properties of the carbon atom and why it makes the perfect basis for large complex biological molecules Know what hydrocarbons are and why they do not dissolve in water Know the names, structures and chemical properties of the seven most important chemical functional groups – Understand the general chemical properties of each functional group Chapter 5: Structure and Function of Large Biological Macromolecules - 4 Questions Understand how polymers are built from monomers and how they are broken down – dehydration reaction – hydrolysis  FINAL EXAM STUDY OUTLINE 12/12/2024 Lipids (the only non-polymer of the bunch) – Identify a lipid from its structure – understand the structural differences between fatty acids and phospholipids – appreciate how the structure of phospholipids is responsible for cellular membranes amphipathic molecules with a hydrophilic end and a hydrophobic end Carbohydrates – Identify common carbohydrates from their structures – know how monosaccharides combine to form polysaccharides – identify some common polysaccharides made specifically of glucose monomers recognize the structure of glucose Proteins – Identify amino acids and proteins from their structure – know how amino acids are joined together into polypeptides Nucleic Acids – Identify nucleic acids and nucleotides from their structure – Recognize the individual parts of the nucleotide monomers that make up DNA and RNA Phosphate groups Ribose (or deoxyribose) sugar Nitrogenous bases – Understand how the nucleotide monomers are connected together into a DNA or RNA polymer appreciated how those connections determine the 3’ and 5’ ends of a nucleic acid polymer – Place the nitrogenous bases (A, T, G, C, and U) into groups (purines and pyrimidines) know which of these bases form hydrogen bonds with each other understand what that means for double-stranded nucleic acids Chapter 7: Membrane Structure and Function - 5 Questions Understand the nature of cellular membranes o What are they made of o What are the properties of the molecules of a membrane and how does that affect membrane and cellular function Know how different molecules can cross a cellular plasma membrane o What molecules can pass right through and why o What molecules can pass through with the help of membrane proteins but without the expenditure of energy and how does this happen o What molecules require the expenditure of energy to cross the membrane and how does a cell achieve this Understand the impact that solutions of different tonicity have on cells o be able to describe the direction of osmosis for a cell in different solutions Thoroughly understand the concepts involved in co-transport and how those concepts apply to both cellular respiration and photosynthesis Chapter 8: Introduction to Metabolism - 4 Questions Know the difference between anabolic and catabolic pathways and how that difference affects energy flow either into or out of the molecules involved Understand the relationship between free energy, spontaneous reactions and entropy Know how a change in free energy drives a reaction and how that applies to the storage of potential energy Understand the concept of coupling an exergonic reaction to an endergonic reaction in order to drive the endergonic reaction that otherwise would not take place  FINAL EXAM STUDY OUTLINE 12/12/2024 Understand the effect of an enzyme on the energy dynamics of a reaction Chapter 9: Cellular Respiration and Fermentation - 7 Questions Understand redox reactions – What does it mean for a molecule to be oxidized – What does it mean for a molecule to be reduced – Why are the two reactions always coupled with each other Be able to break down cellular respiration into four distinct parts – Glycolysis – Oxidation of Pyruvate – Citric Acid Cycle – Oxidative Phosphorylation Electron Transport Chain Chemiosmosis – For each part of cellular respiration know the molecule(s) needed to begin the pathway, the molecule(s) produced at the end of the pathway, the important products derived from the pathway, and the location of each pathway in the cell – For each part of cellular respiration, know which molecules are oxidized and which molecules are reduced Be able to follow potential energy as it is passed from a glucose molecule to ATP molecules Be able to follow electrons as they are passed from glucose molecules eventually to oxygen Know where and how glucose and oxygen are consumed and where and how carbon dioxide and water are produced Chapter 10: Photosynthesis - 6 Questions Understand how photosynthesis and cellular respiration are dependent on each other Be able to describe the two major parts of photosynthesis – The light reactions – The Calvin cycle (dark reactions) Refer to the Chapter 9 section on the four distinct parts of Cellular Respiration. Everything that you should know about those parts of cellular respiration, you should also know about the light reactions and the Calvin cycle Know where water and carbon dioxide are consumed and where oxygen, ATP, NADPH and glucose are produced Understand the relationship between the light reactions of photosynthesis and the electron transport chain of oxidative phosphorylation Chapter 16: The Molecular Basis of Inheritance - 4 Questions You should be able to describe/label/draw a replication bubble with respect to the following aspects – Location and function of: helicase, single-strand binding proteins, topoisomerase, primase, DNA polymerase III, DNA polymerase I, ligase – The difference between leading and lagging strands – Why is an RNA primer needed to start replication of DNA – What is an Okazaki fragment and how are they eventually joined together to form a continuous DNA strand? Understand the differences between the replication of circular and linear chromosomes – What do telomeres do for Eukaryotic chromosomes and why are they necessary You should be able to describe chromatin – Why does DNA need to be tightly packed – What do histone proteins do in the process of packaging DNA into chromatin  FINAL EXAM STUDY OUTLINE 12/12/2024 Chapter 17: From Gene to Protein -6 Questions Know the process of transcription o How does transcription differ in prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells? o What is a promoter and what does it do for transcription o How does RNA polymerase work Understand how Eukaryotic RNA transcripts are modified and for what purpose o 5’ Cap o 3’ poly-A tail o What is a spliceosome and what role do snRNA molecules play in splicing Know the proteins and RNAs involved in the mechanism of translation o mRNA, small subunit of ribosome, large subunit of ribosome o What is the first codon that begins translation and how does it define the 5’ UTR o What is the structure and function of tRNA and how exactly does it bridge the gap between mRNA codons and specific amino acids o When does translation end and why Know the different types of DNA mutations that we discussed o What effect do each of them have on the protein produced from that gene o Be able to figure out the change in amino acid sequence caused by a specific mutation in a DNA sequence Chapter 18: Regulation of Gene Expression - 4 Questions Understand some of the mechanisms for regulating eukaryotic gene expression o Chromatin structure and DNA availability o Enhancer regions and combinations of multiple control elements  The availability of activators for specific control elements Understand the relationship between the control of gene expression and cellular differentiation Understand the relationship between the control of gene expression and cancer o Know the difference between oncogenes and tumor-suppressor genes including important examples of each type o Be aware of the intrinsic connection between cancer, DNA mutation, and the cell cycle