PORTAGE LEARNING
BIOCHEMISTRY 210: MODULE 1
EXAM - THE AMAZING WORLD OF
BIOCHEMISTRY QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
What qware qwthree qwways qwthat qwbiochemists qwstudy qwbiological qworganisms? qw-
qwANSWERS--1. qwThe qwrelationship qwbetween qwstructure qwand qwfunction qwof
qwbiomolecules.
2. qwThe qwchemical qwreactions qwof qworganisms qwand qwor qwmetabolism.
3. qwCommunication qwwith qwand qwamong qworganisms.
What qwis qwthe qwdefinition qwof qwbiochemistry? qw- qwANSWERS--Biochemistry qwis
qwreferred qwto qwas qwthe qw'chemistry qwof qwlife' qwas qwit qwinvestigates qwhow qwthe
qwproperties qwof qworganisms qwrelate qwto qwtheir qwmolecules.
What qwelements qware qwimportant qwto qwhuman qwlife? qw- qwANSWERS--Bulk
qwelements qwand qwtrace qwelements.
Bulk qwelements qwconsists qwof qwnon-metals qwand qwtrace qwelements qwconsist qwof
qwtransition qwmetals qwand qwmetals. qw
Trace qwelements qware qwimportant qwin qwsmall qwamounts.
What qware qwconsidered qwbulk qwelements? qw- qwANSWERS--C, qwH, qwN, qwO, qwP,
qwS, qwCl, qwNa, qwK, qwCa.
What qware qwconsidered qwtrace qwelements? qw- qwANSWERS--Mg, qwV, qwCr, qwMn,
qwFe, qwCo, qwNi, qwCu, qwZn, qwMo, qwW, qwSe, qwI.
What qwis qwanother qwname qwfor qwfirefly? qw- qwANSWERS--Lightning qwbug qwor
qwglow qwworm. qwFireflies qware qwalso qwknown qwto qwbe qwbeetles.
What qware qwthe qwdifferent qwbond qwshapes? qw- qwANSWERS--Linear, qwTrigonal
qwplanar, qwTrigonal qwpyramidal, qwTetrahedral, qwBent.
Linear qw- qwANSWERS--180 qwdegrees, qwsp qwhybridization. qw
A qwstraight-line qwarrangement qwof qwatoms.
Trigonal qwPlanar qw- qwANSWERS--120 qwdegrees, qwsp2 qwhybridization. qw
, A qwcentral qwatom qwwith qwthree qwbonded qwgroups qwin qwa qwflat, qwplanar
qwstructure.
Trigonal qwPyramidal qw- qwANSWERS--107.5 qwdegrees, qwsp3 qwhybridization.
A qwtrigonal qwpyramidal qwshape qwoccurs qwwhen qwa qwcentral qwatom qwforms qwthree
qwbonds qwand qwhas qwone qwlone qwpair qwof qwelectrons.
Tetrahedral qw- qwANSWERS--109.5 qwdegrees, qwsp3 qwhybridization. qw
A qwcentral qwatom qwwith qwfour qwsingle qwbonds, qwforming qwa qw3D qwtetrahedron.
Bent qw- qwANSWERS--104.5 qwdegrees, qwsp3 qwhybridization. qw120 qwdegrees, qwsp2
qwhybridization. qw
Water: qwThe qwcentral qwatom qwhas qwfour qwelectron qwdomains qw(two qwbonded
qwatoms qw+ qwtwo qwlone qwpairs). qwThe qwincreased qwlone qwpair qwrepulsion qwfurther
qwreduces qwthe qwbond qwangle qwfrom qwthe qwideal qwtetrahedral qw(~109.5°) qwto
qw~104.5°.
What qwis qwknown qwas qwthe qw"medium qwof qwlife"? qw- qwANSWERS--Water qwis
qwknown qwas qwthe qw"medium qwof qwlife" qwbecause qwit qwmakes qwup qw70% qwor
qwmore qwof qwliving qwthings. qwIn qwhumans, qwwater qwis qwknown qwto qwmake qwup qwa
qwlarge qwportion qwof qwblood.
Are qwtransition qwmetals qwcommonly qwfound qwin qwbiological qworganisms? qw-
qwANSWERS--Yes, qwtransition qwmetals qware qwcommonly qwfound qwin qwbiological
qworganisms qwin qwtrace qwamounts qwor qwsmall qwquantities. qw
For qwexample, qwIron qw(Fe) qwis qwsignificant qwin qwthe qwtransport qwof qwoxygen.
qwIron qwis qwa qwmineral qwfound qwwithin qwthe qwprotein qwhemoglobin qwin qwred
qwblood qwcells qwand qwhelps qwoxygen qwto qwbe qwdistributed qwfrom qwthe qwlungs qwto
qwother qwtissues qwin qwthe qwbody.
Can qwwater qwcan qwmake qwup qw85% qw(by qwmass) qwof qwa qwliving qworganism. qw-
qwANSWERS--Yes. qwSome qwplants qware qw90% qwwater qwby qwmass.
Properties qwof qwH20 qw- qwANSWERS--Water qwis qwpolar qwas qwhydrogen
qwunequally qwshares qwelectrons qwwith qwoxygen. qwIt qwhas qwa qwbent qwshape qwdue
qwto qwthe qwrepulsion qwof qwelectrons.
Oxygen qwis qwmore qwelectronegative qwthan qwhydrogen qwwhich qwis qwwhy qwit qwis qwa
qwpolar qwmolecule.
Why qware qwsmaller qwelements qwfavored? qw- qwANSWERS--They qwcan qwform
qwstable qwcovalent qwbonds.
BIOCHEMISTRY 210: MODULE 1
EXAM - THE AMAZING WORLD OF
BIOCHEMISTRY QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS
What qware qwthree qwways qwthat qwbiochemists qwstudy qwbiological qworganisms? qw-
qwANSWERS--1. qwThe qwrelationship qwbetween qwstructure qwand qwfunction qwof
qwbiomolecules.
2. qwThe qwchemical qwreactions qwof qworganisms qwand qwor qwmetabolism.
3. qwCommunication qwwith qwand qwamong qworganisms.
What qwis qwthe qwdefinition qwof qwbiochemistry? qw- qwANSWERS--Biochemistry qwis
qwreferred qwto qwas qwthe qw'chemistry qwof qwlife' qwas qwit qwinvestigates qwhow qwthe
qwproperties qwof qworganisms qwrelate qwto qwtheir qwmolecules.
What qwelements qware qwimportant qwto qwhuman qwlife? qw- qwANSWERS--Bulk
qwelements qwand qwtrace qwelements.
Bulk qwelements qwconsists qwof qwnon-metals qwand qwtrace qwelements qwconsist qwof
qwtransition qwmetals qwand qwmetals. qw
Trace qwelements qware qwimportant qwin qwsmall qwamounts.
What qware qwconsidered qwbulk qwelements? qw- qwANSWERS--C, qwH, qwN, qwO, qwP,
qwS, qwCl, qwNa, qwK, qwCa.
What qware qwconsidered qwtrace qwelements? qw- qwANSWERS--Mg, qwV, qwCr, qwMn,
qwFe, qwCo, qwNi, qwCu, qwZn, qwMo, qwW, qwSe, qwI.
What qwis qwanother qwname qwfor qwfirefly? qw- qwANSWERS--Lightning qwbug qwor
qwglow qwworm. qwFireflies qware qwalso qwknown qwto qwbe qwbeetles.
What qware qwthe qwdifferent qwbond qwshapes? qw- qwANSWERS--Linear, qwTrigonal
qwplanar, qwTrigonal qwpyramidal, qwTetrahedral, qwBent.
Linear qw- qwANSWERS--180 qwdegrees, qwsp qwhybridization. qw
A qwstraight-line qwarrangement qwof qwatoms.
Trigonal qwPlanar qw- qwANSWERS--120 qwdegrees, qwsp2 qwhybridization. qw
, A qwcentral qwatom qwwith qwthree qwbonded qwgroups qwin qwa qwflat, qwplanar
qwstructure.
Trigonal qwPyramidal qw- qwANSWERS--107.5 qwdegrees, qwsp3 qwhybridization.
A qwtrigonal qwpyramidal qwshape qwoccurs qwwhen qwa qwcentral qwatom qwforms qwthree
qwbonds qwand qwhas qwone qwlone qwpair qwof qwelectrons.
Tetrahedral qw- qwANSWERS--109.5 qwdegrees, qwsp3 qwhybridization. qw
A qwcentral qwatom qwwith qwfour qwsingle qwbonds, qwforming qwa qw3D qwtetrahedron.
Bent qw- qwANSWERS--104.5 qwdegrees, qwsp3 qwhybridization. qw120 qwdegrees, qwsp2
qwhybridization. qw
Water: qwThe qwcentral qwatom qwhas qwfour qwelectron qwdomains qw(two qwbonded
qwatoms qw+ qwtwo qwlone qwpairs). qwThe qwincreased qwlone qwpair qwrepulsion qwfurther
qwreduces qwthe qwbond qwangle qwfrom qwthe qwideal qwtetrahedral qw(~109.5°) qwto
qw~104.5°.
What qwis qwknown qwas qwthe qw"medium qwof qwlife"? qw- qwANSWERS--Water qwis
qwknown qwas qwthe qw"medium qwof qwlife" qwbecause qwit qwmakes qwup qw70% qwor
qwmore qwof qwliving qwthings. qwIn qwhumans, qwwater qwis qwknown qwto qwmake qwup qwa
qwlarge qwportion qwof qwblood.
Are qwtransition qwmetals qwcommonly qwfound qwin qwbiological qworganisms? qw-
qwANSWERS--Yes, qwtransition qwmetals qware qwcommonly qwfound qwin qwbiological
qworganisms qwin qwtrace qwamounts qwor qwsmall qwquantities. qw
For qwexample, qwIron qw(Fe) qwis qwsignificant qwin qwthe qwtransport qwof qwoxygen.
qwIron qwis qwa qwmineral qwfound qwwithin qwthe qwprotein qwhemoglobin qwin qwred
qwblood qwcells qwand qwhelps qwoxygen qwto qwbe qwdistributed qwfrom qwthe qwlungs qwto
qwother qwtissues qwin qwthe qwbody.
Can qwwater qwcan qwmake qwup qw85% qw(by qwmass) qwof qwa qwliving qworganism. qw-
qwANSWERS--Yes. qwSome qwplants qware qw90% qwwater qwby qwmass.
Properties qwof qwH20 qw- qwANSWERS--Water qwis qwpolar qwas qwhydrogen
qwunequally qwshares qwelectrons qwwith qwoxygen. qwIt qwhas qwa qwbent qwshape qwdue
qwto qwthe qwrepulsion qwof qwelectrons.
Oxygen qwis qwmore qwelectronegative qwthan qwhydrogen qwwhich qwis qwwhy qwit qwis qwa
qwpolar qwmolecule.
Why qware qwsmaller qwelements qwfavored? qw- qwANSWERS--They qwcan qwform
qwstable qwcovalent qwbonds.
