Flashcards: Chemistry of Life
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Created by:
taylorpanther on October 25, 2008
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Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 matter | anything that has mass and takes up space |
| energy | anything that brings about change |
| atoms | matter is made up of |
| proton | positive charge/inside nucleus |
| neutron | no charge/inside nucleus |
| electron | negative charge/outside the nucleus |
| electron | part of the atom involved in chemical reactions |
| energy | holds the parts of an atom together |
| element | something made up of only one kind of atom |
| element | can't be broken down into a simpler form by chemical reactions |
| periodic table of elements | all elements are arranged in a chart known as the |
| true | everything is made up of elements |
| true | few things exist as pure elements |
| oxygen and carbon | what two elements make up most of your body |
| compounds | made up of two or more elements in exact proportions |
| molecule | the smallest part of a molecular compound |
| molecule | group of atoms held together by the energy of chemical bonds |
| ions | electrically charged atoms |
| positive | when an atom loses an electron it has what charge |
| negative | when an atom gains an electron it has what charge |
| molecular compounds | form when different atoms share their outermost electrons |
| ionic compounds | form electrically neutral compounds |
| mixture | combination of substances in which individual substances retain their own properties |
| true | mixtures can be solids, liquids, or gases |
| solution | where two or more substances are mixed evenly |
| solutions | most chemical reactions in living organisms take place in mixtures called |
| suspensions | formed when a liquid or a gas has another substance evenly spread throughout it |
| true | unlike solutions, the substances in a suspension eventually sink to the bottom |
| organic | these compounds always contain carbon and hydrogen and usually are associated with living things |
| inorganic | rocks and other nonliving things usually contain these compounds |
| carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids | four groups of organic compounds that make up all living things |
| carbohydrates | organic molecules that supply energy for cell processes |
| sugars and starches | carbohydrates that cells use for energy |
| lipids | store and release large amounts fo energy long term |
| fats and oils | examples of lipids |
| proteins | made up of smaller molecules called amino acids |
| proteins | building blocks of many structures in organisms |
| enzymes | regulate nearly all chemical reactions in cells |
| proteins | enzymes, skin and hair are examples of these |
| nucleic acids | large organic molecules that store important coded information in cells are called |
| DNA | nucleic acid found in all cells that carries information that directs each cell's activities |
| RNA | nucleic acid needed to make enzymes and other proteins |
| inorganic | most of these compounds are made from elements other than carbon |
| water | one of the most important inorganic compounds for living things is |
| true | inorganic molecules contain fewer atoms than organic molecules |
| true | inorganic compounds are the source for many elements needed by living things |
| 50% | living things are composed of more than what % of water |
| true | you can live weeks without food |
| false | you can live weeks without water |
| true | all the chemical reactions in living things take place in water solutions |
| true | most organisms use water to transport materials through their bodies |
| true | water molecules are like magnets |
| move faster | when heat is added to any substance, its molecules begin to |
| true | the temperature of water changes slowly |
| true | the large percentage of water in living things acts like an insulator |
| true | the water in a cell helps keep its temperature constant |
| true | a cell's membrane is selectively permeable |
| passive transport | the movement of substances through the cell membrane without the input of energy |
| diffusion, osmosis, facilitated diffusion | three types of passive transport |
| diffusion | random movement of molecules from an area where there is relatively more of them into an area where there is relatively fewer of them |
| diffusion | smelling perfume is an example of this |
| equilibrium | diffusion stops when this is reached |
| equilibrium | molecules of a substance will continue to move from one area into another until the relative number of these molecules is equal in the two areas. when this occurs, what is it called |
| diffusion | blood reaching different body parts is an example of what type of passive transport |
| osmosis | the diffusion of water through a cell membrane |
| facilitated diffusion | when substances are so large that they can enter the cell only with the help of molecules in the cell membrane called transport proteins |
| active transport | when an input of energy is required to move materials through a cell membrane |
| true | active transport involves transport proteins just as facilitated diffusion does |
| vesicles | transport and storage structures in a cell's cytoplasm |
| endocytosis | process of taking substances into a cell by surrounding it with the cell membrane is called |
| exocytosis | when a vesicle's membrane fuses with a cells's membrane, and the vesicle's contents are released, it is called |
| true | transport proteins can be used many times |
| true | vesicles are formed when a cell takes in a substance by endocytosis |
| true | all of the activities of an organism involve chemical reactions |
| metabolism | the total of all chemical reactions in an organism is called |
| enzymes | the chemical reactions of metabolism need these |
| true | enzymes can cause molecules to break apart or to join |
| false | enzymes can only be used once in chemical reactions |
| producers and consumers | living things are divided into these two groups based on how they obtain their food |
| producers | organisms that make their own food |
| consumers | organisms that cannot make their own food |
| photosynthesis | producers use light energy to make sugars which can be used as food during this |
| true | photosynthesis is converting light energy into chemical energy |
| chlorophyll | producers that use photosynthesis are usually green because they contain this green pigment |
| chloroplasts | chlorophyll is found in these |
| true | chlorophyll is used to capture light energy in photosynthesis |
| sugar and oxygen | the captured light energy in photosynthesis powers chemical reactions that produce these two things |
| carbon dioxide and water | what 2 raw materials are used with light energy in photosynthesis to produce sugar |
| true | plants make more sugar than they need for survival during photosynthesis |
| starches | excess sugar made during photosynthesis is changed and stored as what |
| true | no matter what you eat, photosynthesis was involved directly or indirectly in its production |
| respiration | when chemical reactions occur that break down food molecules into simpler substances and release their stored energy |
| true | enzymes are needed for the chemical reactions of respiration |
| carbohydrates | the food molecules that are most easily broken down by cells are |
| glucose molecules | carbohydrates are broken down into what kind of molecules |
| energy | as glucose molecules are broken down what is released |
| carbon dioxide and water | these two things are produced as wastes during respiration |
| true | respiration occurs in the cells of all living things |
| fermentation | when cells do not have enough oxygen for respiration they use what process/ changing simple molecules and releasing energy |
| true | like respiration, fermentation begins in the cytoplasm |
| mitochondria | during respiration, as glucose molecules are broken down, the simple molecules from the breakdown move into the |
| false | during fermentation, as glucose molecules are broken down, the simple molecules from the breakdown move into the mitochondria |
| lactic acid or alcohol and carbon dioxide | wastes produced during fermentation |
| cytoplasm | where in a cell does fermentation take place |
| true | the chemical reactions of photosynthesis and respiration could not take place without each other |
| what is produced by one is used by the other | how are photosynthesis, respiration and fermentation related |
| carbon dioxide and water | what two things are produced during respiration that are used for photosynthesis |
| sugars and oxygen | what two things produced by photosynthesis are used by respiration |