BIO 1201 GREGG MIDTERM EXAM QUESTIONS WITH
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+2025/2026
✔✔Metabolic pathway - ✔✔Begins with a specific molecule and ends with a product
✔✔Kinetic energy - ✔✔Energy of motion
✔✔Potential energy - ✔✔Energy that matter possesses because of its location or
structure
✔✔Energy - ✔✔The capacity to cause change; exists in various forms such as kinetic
and potential energy
✔✔First Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔Energy can be transferred and transformed, but
it cannot be created or destroyed; conservation of energy
✔✔Second Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔During every energy transfer or
transformation, some energy is unusable and often lost as heat; the amount of useful
energy decreases
✔✔Entropy - ✔✔A measure of molecular disorder or randomness
✔✔Enthalpy - ✔✔The measurement of energy in a thermodynamic system
✔✔Gibbs equation - ✔✔∆G = ∆H - T∆S; G = Free energy, H = Enthalpy, T =
Temperature (K), S = Entropy, ∆ = A change
✔✔Exergonic reactions - ✔✔Spontaneous chemical reactions that release free energy;
start with a lot of reactants and end up with little energy (-∆G)
✔✔Endergonic reactions - ✔✔Nonspontaneous chemical reactions where free energy is
absorbed; start with few reactants and end up with a lot of products (+∆G)
✔✔ATP - ✔✔Adenosine triphosphate; powers cellular work by coupling exergonic
reactions to endergonic reactions; the cell's 'energy shuttle'
✔✔Chemical work - ✔✔The pushing of endergonic reactions that would not occur
spontaneously, such as the synthesis of polymers from monomers
✔✔Transport work - ✔✔The pumping of substances across membranes against the
direction of spontaneous movement
✔✔Mechanical work - ✔✔The contraction of muscle cells and the movement of
chromosomes during cellular reproduction, such as the beating of cilia
, ✔✔Coupled chemical reactions - ✔✔Combining endergonic and exergonic reactions,
where the energy from one reaction is used in another
✔✔Phosphorylation - ✔✔Adding a phosphate group to an enzyme or substrate,
resulting in a large change in energy and increased activation energy
✔✔Enzyme - ✔✔A macromolecule that acts as a catalyst, speeding up a reaction by
lowering the activation energy barrier without being consumed
✔✔Enzyme specificity - ✔✔The result of an enzyme's shape, determined by its amino
acid sequence
✔✔Induced-fit model - ✔✔Describes the enzyme-substrate interaction, where the active
site changes shape to enhance catalysis
✔✔Enzyme activation energy - ✔✔The substrate binding to the active site of the
enzyme, which lowers the activation energy barrier by various mechanisms
✔✔Enzyme inhibitors - ✔✔Molecules that reduce enzyme function, either by binding to
the active site (competitive) or a different site (noncompetitive)
✔✔Competitive inhibitor - ✔✔Binds to the active site of an enzyme, competing with the
substrate
✔✔Noncompetitive inhibitor - ✔✔Binds to a different site on the enzyme, causing a
change in shape and making the active site less effective
✔✔Regulation of enzyme activity - ✔✔Controlled by activators and inhibitors,
cooperativity, and feedback inhibition in metabolic pathways
✔✔Allosteric regulation - ✔✔The binding of a regulatory molecule to a protein at one
site that affects the function of the protein at a different site
✔✔Cooperativity - ✔✔A form of allosteric regulation that amplifies enzyme activity by
the binding of one substrate increasing the binding of subsequent substrates
✔✔Cellular respiration - ✔✔The process of oxidizing organic fuels to yield energy in the
form of ATP
✔✔Oxidation - ✔✔A substance loses electrons or is oxidized
✔✔Reduction - ✔✔A substance gains electrons or is reduced, reducing the amount of
positive charge
SOLUTIONS GRADED A+2025/2026
✔✔Metabolic pathway - ✔✔Begins with a specific molecule and ends with a product
✔✔Kinetic energy - ✔✔Energy of motion
✔✔Potential energy - ✔✔Energy that matter possesses because of its location or
structure
✔✔Energy - ✔✔The capacity to cause change; exists in various forms such as kinetic
and potential energy
✔✔First Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔Energy can be transferred and transformed, but
it cannot be created or destroyed; conservation of energy
✔✔Second Law of Thermodynamics - ✔✔During every energy transfer or
transformation, some energy is unusable and often lost as heat; the amount of useful
energy decreases
✔✔Entropy - ✔✔A measure of molecular disorder or randomness
✔✔Enthalpy - ✔✔The measurement of energy in a thermodynamic system
✔✔Gibbs equation - ✔✔∆G = ∆H - T∆S; G = Free energy, H = Enthalpy, T =
Temperature (K), S = Entropy, ∆ = A change
✔✔Exergonic reactions - ✔✔Spontaneous chemical reactions that release free energy;
start with a lot of reactants and end up with little energy (-∆G)
✔✔Endergonic reactions - ✔✔Nonspontaneous chemical reactions where free energy is
absorbed; start with few reactants and end up with a lot of products (+∆G)
✔✔ATP - ✔✔Adenosine triphosphate; powers cellular work by coupling exergonic
reactions to endergonic reactions; the cell's 'energy shuttle'
✔✔Chemical work - ✔✔The pushing of endergonic reactions that would not occur
spontaneously, such as the synthesis of polymers from monomers
✔✔Transport work - ✔✔The pumping of substances across membranes against the
direction of spontaneous movement
✔✔Mechanical work - ✔✔The contraction of muscle cells and the movement of
chromosomes during cellular reproduction, such as the beating of cilia
, ✔✔Coupled chemical reactions - ✔✔Combining endergonic and exergonic reactions,
where the energy from one reaction is used in another
✔✔Phosphorylation - ✔✔Adding a phosphate group to an enzyme or substrate,
resulting in a large change in energy and increased activation energy
✔✔Enzyme - ✔✔A macromolecule that acts as a catalyst, speeding up a reaction by
lowering the activation energy barrier without being consumed
✔✔Enzyme specificity - ✔✔The result of an enzyme's shape, determined by its amino
acid sequence
✔✔Induced-fit model - ✔✔Describes the enzyme-substrate interaction, where the active
site changes shape to enhance catalysis
✔✔Enzyme activation energy - ✔✔The substrate binding to the active site of the
enzyme, which lowers the activation energy barrier by various mechanisms
✔✔Enzyme inhibitors - ✔✔Molecules that reduce enzyme function, either by binding to
the active site (competitive) or a different site (noncompetitive)
✔✔Competitive inhibitor - ✔✔Binds to the active site of an enzyme, competing with the
substrate
✔✔Noncompetitive inhibitor - ✔✔Binds to a different site on the enzyme, causing a
change in shape and making the active site less effective
✔✔Regulation of enzyme activity - ✔✔Controlled by activators and inhibitors,
cooperativity, and feedback inhibition in metabolic pathways
✔✔Allosteric regulation - ✔✔The binding of a regulatory molecule to a protein at one
site that affects the function of the protein at a different site
✔✔Cooperativity - ✔✔A form of allosteric regulation that amplifies enzyme activity by
the binding of one substrate increasing the binding of subsequent substrates
✔✔Cellular respiration - ✔✔The process of oxidizing organic fuels to yield energy in the
form of ATP
✔✔Oxidation - ✔✔A substance loses electrons or is oxidized
✔✔Reduction - ✔✔A substance gains electrons or is reduced, reducing the amount of
positive charge
