MCAT Biological and
Biochemical Foundations of
Living Systems
-RNA steps - correct answer-RNA must undergo an extra step to be
transcribed into +RNA and then translated to protein
1 FADH2 = ___ ATP - correct answer2
1 NADH= ___ ATP - correct answer2-3
a few hours after eating - correct answergluconeogenesis,
glycogenolysis, and beta oxidation
in extreme starvation, also ketogenesis
acquired immunity - correct answerimmunity that the body
develops after it overcomes a disease, or through inoculation (such
as vaccination)
Activators vs enhancers - correct answerActivators bind to DNA
close to promoter and enhancers act at a much greater distance
from the promoter
active immunity - correct answerthe immunity that results from the
production of antibodies by the immune system in response to the
presence of an antigen.
affinity chromatography - correct answerUses highly specific
interactions to slow down select molecules
,Can make use of receptor-ligand, enzyme-substrate, and antigen-
antibody interactions
alpha helix breakers - correct answerproline and glycine
amino acid breakdown - correct answerremoval of NH2 from amino
acid
ammonia becomes urea
carbon chain can be a substrate for stages of the citric acid cycle
amino acids that can attack a carbonyl must be - correct
answernucleophiles
anaerobic respiration - correct answerRespiration in the absence of
oxygen. This produces lactic acid or ethanol. Also pyruvate (from
glycolysis) and glucose-6-phosphate (produced during glycolysis)
analyzing gene expression - correct answerrequires measuring the
gene's downstream mRNA or protein product; can be done on a
large scale through microarray or gene chip
mRNA from first condition is labeled with red and the second mRNA
is labeled green
Down-regulated genes are red and up-regulated genes are green. If
the expression level remained unchanged, it's yellow.
archaea - correct answerDomain of unicellular prokaryotes that
have cell walls that do not contain peptidoglycan; have similarities
to Eukaryotes
ATP synthase - correct answerCatalyzes the synthesis of ATP
Hydrogen ions diffusing down their concentration gradient into the
intermembrane space powers the enzyme
Forces ADP and phosphate group together
,bacteria shapes - correct answercoccus (spherical), bacillus (rod-
shaped), spiralla (spiral)
bacterial cell membranes - correct answerdo not contain cholesterol
bacteriophage - correct answerinjects nucleic acids through tail,
capsid stays out
beta oxidation of fatty acids - correct answerfatty acids broken
down into acetyl-CoA
lipase frees fatty acids from adipocytes and they travel in
bloodstream via lipoproteins to the liver or other organs
fatty acids diffuse through cell membrane and enter mitochondria
where they undergo beta oxidation
1. fatty acids are converted into acyl-CoA at expense of 1 ATP along
outer mitochondrial membrane
2. acyl-CoA is brought into the mitochondrial matrix, where it is
cleaved 2 carbons at a time to make acetyl-CoA - produces FADH2
and NADH for every two carbons from the original fatty acid
Acetyl-CoA enters citric acid cycle and the glycerol backbone is
converted to an intermediate of glycolysis
oxidation -> hydration -> oxidation -> thiolysis
Beta-carotene - correct answerPrecursor of vitamin A
Absorbs blue-green light
Biometry - correct answerstatistical analysis of biological data
Blotting - correct answerTechnique where molecules are transferred
from a gel into a membrane to visualize
bottleneck - correct answerA change in allele frequency following a
dramatic reduction in the size of a population
, brown adipose tissue (BAT) - correct answerA type of adipose tissue,
found primarily in infants, that produces body heat; it gets its name
from the large number of mitochondria and capillaries responsible
for the brown color
cancer cell mutations - correct answerloss of tumor repressor
gain of an oncogene
CAP site (in lac operon) - correct answerLow glucose levels lead to
high cAMP levels; cAMP binds to and activates catabolite activator
protein which binds to CAP site (upstream and adjacent to
promotor)
CAP activates promotor
Carbon NMR - correct answerOnly carbon-13 will show up on NMR
Treat the same as proton NMR but ignore splitting
cells about to undergo apoptosis have large amounts of _________ -
correct answerlysosomes
cephalization in animals - correct answera nervous system-like
structure with a concentration of nerve tissue at one end
Chemical shift - correct answerdifference between resonance
frequency of chemically shifted hydrogens and those on reference
compound
Aldehyde H: 9.5 ppm
Carboxylic acid H: 10-12 ppm
Benzene H: 8 ppm
Alcohol H: 1-5 ppm
Methyl H: <1 ppm
chemiosmotic coupling - correct answerUtilization of the proton-
motive force generated by the electron transport chain to drive ATP
synthesis in oxidative phosphorylation.
Biochemical Foundations of
Living Systems
-RNA steps - correct answer-RNA must undergo an extra step to be
transcribed into +RNA and then translated to protein
1 FADH2 = ___ ATP - correct answer2
1 NADH= ___ ATP - correct answer2-3
a few hours after eating - correct answergluconeogenesis,
glycogenolysis, and beta oxidation
in extreme starvation, also ketogenesis
acquired immunity - correct answerimmunity that the body
develops after it overcomes a disease, or through inoculation (such
as vaccination)
Activators vs enhancers - correct answerActivators bind to DNA
close to promoter and enhancers act at a much greater distance
from the promoter
active immunity - correct answerthe immunity that results from the
production of antibodies by the immune system in response to the
presence of an antigen.
affinity chromatography - correct answerUses highly specific
interactions to slow down select molecules
,Can make use of receptor-ligand, enzyme-substrate, and antigen-
antibody interactions
alpha helix breakers - correct answerproline and glycine
amino acid breakdown - correct answerremoval of NH2 from amino
acid
ammonia becomes urea
carbon chain can be a substrate for stages of the citric acid cycle
amino acids that can attack a carbonyl must be - correct
answernucleophiles
anaerobic respiration - correct answerRespiration in the absence of
oxygen. This produces lactic acid or ethanol. Also pyruvate (from
glycolysis) and glucose-6-phosphate (produced during glycolysis)
analyzing gene expression - correct answerrequires measuring the
gene's downstream mRNA or protein product; can be done on a
large scale through microarray or gene chip
mRNA from first condition is labeled with red and the second mRNA
is labeled green
Down-regulated genes are red and up-regulated genes are green. If
the expression level remained unchanged, it's yellow.
archaea - correct answerDomain of unicellular prokaryotes that
have cell walls that do not contain peptidoglycan; have similarities
to Eukaryotes
ATP synthase - correct answerCatalyzes the synthesis of ATP
Hydrogen ions diffusing down their concentration gradient into the
intermembrane space powers the enzyme
Forces ADP and phosphate group together
,bacteria shapes - correct answercoccus (spherical), bacillus (rod-
shaped), spiralla (spiral)
bacterial cell membranes - correct answerdo not contain cholesterol
bacteriophage - correct answerinjects nucleic acids through tail,
capsid stays out
beta oxidation of fatty acids - correct answerfatty acids broken
down into acetyl-CoA
lipase frees fatty acids from adipocytes and they travel in
bloodstream via lipoproteins to the liver or other organs
fatty acids diffuse through cell membrane and enter mitochondria
where they undergo beta oxidation
1. fatty acids are converted into acyl-CoA at expense of 1 ATP along
outer mitochondrial membrane
2. acyl-CoA is brought into the mitochondrial matrix, where it is
cleaved 2 carbons at a time to make acetyl-CoA - produces FADH2
and NADH for every two carbons from the original fatty acid
Acetyl-CoA enters citric acid cycle and the glycerol backbone is
converted to an intermediate of glycolysis
oxidation -> hydration -> oxidation -> thiolysis
Beta-carotene - correct answerPrecursor of vitamin A
Absorbs blue-green light
Biometry - correct answerstatistical analysis of biological data
Blotting - correct answerTechnique where molecules are transferred
from a gel into a membrane to visualize
bottleneck - correct answerA change in allele frequency following a
dramatic reduction in the size of a population
, brown adipose tissue (BAT) - correct answerA type of adipose tissue,
found primarily in infants, that produces body heat; it gets its name
from the large number of mitochondria and capillaries responsible
for the brown color
cancer cell mutations - correct answerloss of tumor repressor
gain of an oncogene
CAP site (in lac operon) - correct answerLow glucose levels lead to
high cAMP levels; cAMP binds to and activates catabolite activator
protein which binds to CAP site (upstream and adjacent to
promotor)
CAP activates promotor
Carbon NMR - correct answerOnly carbon-13 will show up on NMR
Treat the same as proton NMR but ignore splitting
cells about to undergo apoptosis have large amounts of _________ -
correct answerlysosomes
cephalization in animals - correct answera nervous system-like
structure with a concentration of nerve tissue at one end
Chemical shift - correct answerdifference between resonance
frequency of chemically shifted hydrogens and those on reference
compound
Aldehyde H: 9.5 ppm
Carboxylic acid H: 10-12 ppm
Benzene H: 8 ppm
Alcohol H: 1-5 ppm
Methyl H: <1 ppm
chemiosmotic coupling - correct answerUtilization of the proton-
motive force generated by the electron transport chain to drive ATP
synthesis in oxidative phosphorylation.
