QUESTIONS, BIOCHEM FINAL EXAM
2025 QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
DNA is made from the building blocks adenine, guanine, cytosine, and... - ANS thymine
The number of hydrogen bonds formed between A and T - ANS 2
The number of hydrogen bonds formed between C and G - ANS 3
The cellular process of synthesis of RNA from DNA template is called - ANS Transcription
....are cells which are composed of multiple specialized membrane-bound
compartments. - ANS Eukaryotic cells
Broad class of biological macromolecules that are hydrophobic and function as membrane
barrier, signaling molecules, and fuel storage, among others - ANS lipids
Cellular organelle where glycosylation occurs. - ANS Golgi apparatus
Organelle that can be 'rough' or 'smooth' and is responsible for protein processing and
xenobiotic metabolism - ANS endoplasmic reticulum (ER)
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,Organelle filled with proteases and other digestive enzymes - ANS lysosome
What are the four key classes of biomolecules? - ANS proteins, nucleic acids (DNA/RNA),
carbohydrates, and lipids
How do eukaryotic cells differ from prokaryotic cells? - ANS eukaryotic cells have membrane-
bound organelles, prokaryotic cells do not
Draw a diagram for the central dogma of biology - ANS
What two classes of biomolecules are capable of catalysis? - ANS proteins and RNA
Which biomolecules are chiefly responsible for catalysis of cellular processes? - ANS proteins
DNA and RNA are composed of what basic biochemical compounds? - ANS nucleotides
...weak interaction between water molecules. - ANS hydrogen bonding
Which type of amino acids are responsible for increasing entropy as a protein folds. -
ANS hydrophobic/nonpolar amino acids
Using Coulomb's law, describe how water is an ideal solvent for the ions found in cells? -
ANS Water has a high D, dielectric constant, which makes F lower. F is the force needed to
dissolve ions with charges q1 and q2
What is the significance of hydrogen bonding in biochemical structures such as DNA? -
ANS The weak nature of H bonds (compared to covalent bonds) allow the two DNA strands
to be 'unzipped' during replication, and to reform again, with less energy
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, What is an electrostatic interaction? Give an example. - ANS Electrostatic or ionic
interactions are between charged groups, or between ions
Like the R groups of Arg and Lys. Or the amino group (-NH3
+) and the carboxyl group (-COO-)
Give another name for van der Waals interactions. - ANS hydrophobic/nonpolar interactions
If most proteins are found surrounded by water in the cell, what type of functional groups
would you expect to
find on the surface of a water soluble protein? - ANS polar/ionic amino acids
What is the second law of thermodynamics and why does protein folding (which increases
order in the
protein) occur spontaneously? - ANS Entropy of the universe increases for a spontaneous
reaction. Entropy of water used to solvate the nonpolar groups increase in entropy during
protein folding.
How do hydrophobic interactions aid in protein folding? - ANS Hydrophobic interactions
exclude water (which increases in entropy). Hydrophobic groups come together to form a
hydrophobic core (for example, of proteins).
Write out the Henderson-Hasselbach equation. What is the pH of a solution where the
concentration of conjugate base is equal to the concentration of the acid? - ANS pH = pKa +
log ([A-]/[HA])
pH = pKa when [A-] = [HA]
Arrange the following in order of strength, from top (#1) to bottom: hydrogen bonding,
electrostatic
interactions, covalent bonding, hydrophobic interaction, ionic interaction. - ANS covalent
bonding
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