Topic 1: Molecules

1. Explain why water is an effective molecule for transporting other molecules around
living organisms.

 Water is a solvent ;
 idea that water is polar
 polar molecules can dissolve easily
 correct reference to cohesion / adhesion ;

2. Describe the structure of starch and explain why this structure makes it a suitable
molecule for storing energy.

 Starch is made up of amylose and amylopectin ;

 Amylose is straight chain, spiraled, with 1-4 links, making starch a compact molecule.
This takes up less space in the cell.
 Amylopectin is branched, having both 1-4and 1-6 links, that it is easily hydrolyzed, to
give glucose for respiration
 Starch being compact structure, can store more glucose in a small space (in a cell) ;
 Starch is insoluble thus has no osmotic effect.

3. Suggest how triglycerides are transported in the blood.

 triglycerides are insoluble (in water) / eq ;

 as lipoproteins / as LDL / as HDL ;
 formed into vesicles

4. Describe the structure of glycogen and explain why it is a suitable molecule for
storing energy.

 consists of glucose ; idea that it is easily hydrolyzed

 (joined by 1,4 / 1,6) glycosidic bonds more glucose in a smaller space (in a cell)/
 branched structure easily hydrolyzed to produce glucose
 compact structure ; it does not diffuse out of cells
 it has no osmotic effect / eq ;

5. Explain the meaning of the term primary structure.

Linear sequence of amino acids

 Joined by peptide bonds
6. Describe how amino acids join together to form the three-dimensional structure of a
protein.

 peptide bonds is the joining of amino acids);

 between amino group and carboxyl group (of another) / eq ;
 the sequence of amino acids is the primary structure of the protein / eq ;
 Primary structure held together by bonds
 disulfide bridges , hydrogen bonds, and ionic bonds
 between the R groups / eq ;

7. Define hydrolysis

 breaks the bonds ;

 by the use of water

8. How are arteries adapted for their function?

 Wide/ thick muscular wall to withstand blood under high pressure;

 Narrow lumen to maintain high pressure;
 Presence of elastic fibres to allow vessel to stretch;
 Recoil mechanism to maintain pressure
 Smooth endothelium lining reduces friction;
 Folded lining to allow artery to stretch.

9. How are capillaries adapted to their function?

 They are numerous and highly branched so have a large Surface Area
 Their walls are one cell thick to allow quick diffusion
 Very narrow diameter to reach close to every cell
10. How are veins adapted for their function
 Capillaries join back up to form these, so veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart
 Carry low blood pressure so have thin walls
 Have a widen lumen to maximize blood flow to the heart
 Have valves to prevent backflow of blood

Look at notes for the Chamber of heart

11. Describe the advantage of double circulation over single circulation.

 blood flows faster/at higher pressure to the body;

 blood flows slower /at lower pressure to the lung ; this reduces risk of damage to lungs
 And more efficient exchange transport of gases;
 Prevents the mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
 Maintains a steep concentration gradient for gas exchange

12. Give reasons why many animals have a circulatory system./ Explain why animals
need a heart and circulatory system.
 Animals have a small surface area to volume ratio ;
 diffusion alone is not sufficient
 heart needed to {pump / move / eq} blood (around the body) ;
idea that animals have a high metabolic rate ;

1. Describe the role of the heart valves in the cardiac cycle.

Atrial systole – the atria contract and this forces the atrio-ventricular valves open and blood
flows out of the atria and into the ventricles. Pressure in the atria is greater than in the
ventricles, so blood is forced out.

2. Ventricular systole – the ventricles then contract, causing the atrio-ventricular valves to close
and semi-lunar valves to open. Thus allowing blood to leave the left ventricle through the aorta
and right ventricle through the pulmonary artery.

3. Cardiac diastole – the atria and ventricles relax, elastic recoil of the heart lowers the pressure
inside the heart chambers and blood is drawn from the arteries and veins. Thus causing
semilunar valves in the aorta and pulmonary arteries to close, preventing backflow of blood

13. Explain how the structure of the lung is adapted for gas exchange

 many (small) alveoli ;

 covered by a network of capillaries
 ensuring large surface area (for gas exchange)
 idea of thin {capillary walls / alveolar walls} ;
 increases diffusion
Transport of gases in the blood

CVD: are diseases of the heart and circulation. The main forms of Coronary heart disease, and stroke

Describe the blood clotting process:

1. When blood vessels are damaged serotonin is released, this causes the blood vessel to
constrict, which reduces the blood flow to this region

2. Platelets found in the blood interact with the collagen fibers found in the blood vessel

3. The platelets release a substance that make them sticky and clump together, with the
requirement of Calcium ions.

4. They then release the enzyme thromboplastin

.
5. This enzyme converts prothrombin to thrombin with the use of Ca and Vitman K

6. Thrombin is an enzyme that converts the soluble protein fibrinogen to insoluble fibrin.

7. Fibrin forms a mesh over the cut in which the blood cells and platelets get trapped to for
a clot.

How does blood clot lead to CVD

 If the blood clot occurs in the coronary arteries. It restricts the blood flow to the heart
muscle. Reducing the supply of oxygen to the tissues.
• This causes the tissues to respire anaerobically, releasing lactic acid.
• This leads to damage to heart muscle, leading to CVD.

Atherosclerosis

 1.Endothelial damage
 2. Inflammatory response - white blood cells accumulate at the site of damage
 3. Atheroma formation - lipids build up forming a fatty plaque
 4. Plaque formation - fibrous tissue and calcium salts cause the atheroma to harden
 5. This results in less elasticity of the artery, which reduces blood flow
 This is an example of positive feedback

Benefits and risks of treatments for CVD

Antihypertensive
These are drugs that are used to lower blood pressure.
● Pros –are generally effective on most patients and inexpensive.
● Cons - different types of drugs have different side effects, although most aren’t severe and are
irreversible.
EX: ACE inhibitors
Statins
Used to lower cholesterol levels and so reduce the build-up of plaques on artery walls.
● Pros - mostly effective, also help relax blood vessels leading to a lower blood pressure, also
helping to prevent CVD
● Cons - can cause nausea, vomiting and aches in muscles and joints, as well as more severe but
less common side effects such as diabetes. The side effects often go away over time.

Anticoagulants
These are drugs that help prevent blood clots.
● Pros - Reduce the risk of internal blood clots that can sometimes cause thrombosis and
reduce blood flow in the artery.
● Cons - If damage to the blood vessel does occur, then excessive bleeding can happen and lead
to a hemorrhage, since blood clots take longer to form.
EX: Warfarin

Platelet inhibitors
These are drugs that interrupt the cascade through which blood clots are formed, commonly
through stopping thrombus formation and so preventing blood clots from forming.
● Pros - can help prevent the formation of blood clots in certain arteries that anticoagulants are
ineffective at preventing.
● Cons - Can, like anticoagulants, also lead to excessive bleeding and haemorrhage due to slow
blood clot formation

Difference between HDL and LDL

HDL: Transports cholesterol to the liver to be expelled
 Reduces cholesterol levels
● The more of this you have in your body, the better

LDL: Transports cholesterol to the arteries where it can build up and form plaque
● Increases cholesterol levels
● The less you have of this in your body, the better
 Cell Membrane
1. Describe the structure of a cell membrane.

 phospholipid ;
 phospholipid forms a bilayer which consists of a hydrophobic fatty acid tail
repels away from water (non polar) and hydrophilic phosphate hear orienting
towards water (polar)
 Proteins; can form channel and carrier proteins. Trans membrane proteins These
proteins provide passageways that allow substances and information to cross the
membrane
 Cholesterol: combines with the fatty acid tails causing it to become more tightly
packed which reduces movement
 Glycoproteins and glycolipids: These stabilize the membrane by forming
hydrogen bonds between water molecules

2. Explain why the phospholipid molecules form a bilayer.

 Phospholipids are made up of Fatty acids tails which are hydrophobic (non polar)
 And a phosphate heads which is hydrophilic ( polar)
 When phospholipids are surrounded by water on both side the phosphate heads orient
towards the water and fatty acid tails away from water forming a bilayer.

3. Davson and Nicholoson model

4. Fluid Mosaic
 All lipids can move laterally due to KE. This gives membrane fluidity
 Fluidity of membrane is determined by

5. Diffusion: is the net movement of particles from a region of high

concentration to region of a low concentration, down a concentration
gradient until equilibrium is reached. Oxygen (Non-polar)

Factors affecting Diffusion:

 Concentration gradient
 The shorter the distance the faster the rate of diffusion
  The larger the surface area, the greater the rate of diffusion
Facilated Diffusion: Same as diffusion but uses channel and carrier proteins
and is for large molecules. Glucose (polar)

Osmosis: Diffusion of water particles from region of high water potential to

a region of low water potential through partially permeable membrane.
Solutions!

Active transport: movement of particles from an area of low concentration

to an area of high concentration against concentration gradient. Requires
energy from ATP, also uses channel and carrier proteins

Enzymes
Define Enzyme: Enzymes are globular proteins that work as biological catalysts, by
lowering the activation energy

Describe the structure of an enzyme.

 Enzyme is a protein molecule.

 Having a globular structure ;
 Due to ( Hydrogen, ionic, disulphide bridges) between the R groups holding structure
in place;
 Enzymes have a specific region called active site, which has a complementary shape
to that of substrate.
 Making enzymes specific.

Describe enzyme action with reference to the complementary shape of an enzyme and is
substrate and the formation of a product.

The enzymes act like a lock into which a substrate fits like a key. The enzyme’s active site and
the shape of the substrate mus be complementary to one another inorder to form an enzyme
substrate complex. The enzyme then changes he substrate into new molecules called products

Explain the meaning of the term primary structure.

Linear sequence of amino acids

Joined by peptide bonds
Define catalyst

 speeds up the rate of reaction

 without being used up ;
 lowers activation energy
 does not change products

DNA Structure and Replication

Describe the structure of DNA
1. Polymer of mononucleotides
2. Forms a double helix
3. Each mononucleotide consists of a phosphate group attached to a
deoxyribose sugar which is attached to a nitrogenous base
4. There are 4 types of Nitrogenous base Adenine, Guanine,(purines)
Thymine, Cytosine ( Pyrimidines)

5. The mononucleotides are joined by phosphodiester bonds to form the

polynucleotide chain

6. The two complementary chains are held together by hydrogen bonds

7. Nucleotides are joined together by a condensation reaction between the

phosphate group of one and the sugar group of another

Explain how the structure of DNA is related to its functions.

1. Sugar-phosphate provides strength and protects bases

2. Long so can store lots of information;
3. Helix so compact;
4. Base sequence allows information to be stored
5. Double stranded so replication can occur semi-conservatively

Why do Purines bind only with Pyrimidines?

Purines are larger, so in order to ensure that the polynucleotide strands
Are equally spaced apart, the larger Bases must pair with the smaller bases.
 Explain why a molecule of DNA can be described as a double-
Stranded polynucleotide.

1. Double-stranded because made of) two strands;

2. Strands joined by hydrogen bonds
3. (Polynucleotide)

Sequence of Events in Semi-conservative Replication:

1. DNA replication is semiconservative
2. The 2 strands of DNA are separated by DNA helicase by breaking the H-
bonds
3. Each strand now acts as a template
4. DNA mononucleotide complementary to the nucleotides found on the
DNA line up along the DNA
5. DNA polymerase moves along the strand joining the mononucleotides by
phosphodiester bonds
6. On the leading strand a continuous complementary strand is made
while on the lagging strand okazaki fragments are formed
7. The fragments of DNA are then joined by DNA ligase

The Melson - Stahl Experiment

Notes

Properties / Nature of Genetic code

 The genetic code is composed of nucleotide triplets (3 bases to each codon)

 The code is non-overlapping. This means that successive triplets are read in

order.

 The genetic code is unambiguous. Each codon specifies a particular amino

acid, and only one

 The genetic code is degenerate. In contrast, each amino acid can be specified
by more than one code
 The code is nearly universal. Almost all organisms in nature use exactly
Why do we need three nucleotides in mRNA to code for one amino acid?

 Triple of bases codes for one amino acid

 The code is not overlapping, universal and degenerate

Transcription - RNA Synthesis

1. RNA polymerase attaches to the promoter region of the gene

2. He DNA strand gets separated by breaking the H- bonds
3. RNA mononucleotides lineup along the antisense strand
4. A-U C-G G-C and T-A
5. RNA polymerase moves along the antisense strand to join the
mononucleotides by phospodiester bonds to form mRNA
6. When the RNA polymerase reaches the termination end I is released,
the mRNA ges released and the DNA recoils back
7. mRNA then comes out of the nucleus through nuclear pore

Translation - RNA Synthesis

1. mRNA binds to ribosome

2. tRNA attaches to one specific amino acid each

3. codon/anticodon interaction/complementary base pairing

4. Formation of hydrogen bonds between the bases

5. Peptide bonds form between the amino acids; released tRNA

6. Peptide bonds formed through condensation reactions

 Roles of mRNA and tRNA in protein synthesis

mRNA tRNA

is copy of genetic code tRNA attaches to one specific amino acid

mRNA is made up of codons that code for
specific amino acids
the mRNA contains the code for the new protein
the mRNA moves out of the nucleus, & binds to
the ribosomes, and is used in translation
amino acids line up on mRNA via
complementary base pairing
peptide bonds form via condensation);
released by tRNA
tRNA then binds to mRNA
amino acids join by peptide bonds

Differences between tRNA and mRNA

tRNA mRNA
1. Short Chains Long chains
2. Clover leaf shape Straight chain
3. Held together with hydrogen bonds Straight molecule
4. Has anticodons Codons

Differences between DNA and RNA

DNA RNA
Deoxyribose sugar Ribose sugar
Double stranded Single stranded
Two polynucleotide chains One polynucleotide chains
Bases are ATGC AUGC

Similarities: Polymers of nucleotides, and both have purines and pyrimidine

 Cystic Fibrosis
Respiratory:
Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder caused by a faulty, recessive allele on chromosome 7. The
faulty gene produces a non-functional CFTR protein which is responsible for transporting
chloride ions out of the cell. Due to the faulty gene causes a non- functional protein channel
which causes the chloride ions to stay in the cell and sodium ions to stay out of the cell, thus
water doesn’t leave the cell. Which results in the development of mucus which becomes too thick
and sticky meaning the cilia cannot move. Blocks gas exchange

Reproductive Thickness
In the reproductive system mucus is also thickened. For women this can thicken their cervical
mucus and make it harder for them to get pregnant, and in men the mucus can block the tube
(vas deferens) that transports sperm to the end of the penis

Digestion

In the digestive system, thick mucus can block the pancreatic duct, out of which
digestive enzymes pass. This means fewer enzymes enter the small intestine, so less
food is broken down and absorbed, preventing normal growth

Treatments for Cystic Fibrosis (CF)

1. Digestive Enzyme supplements

2. Physiotherapy
3. Heart and lung transplant
Genetic Testing:
Suggest why cells from mouth swabs or blood samples are used

rather than gametes?

1. These cells are {easy to collect;

2. A relatively {large amount of DNA can be collected;

3. They contain diploid cells

4. Cells {are genetically identical

For Testing Embryos

1. Amniocentesis:

The more common is amniocentesis, which involves inserting a needle into the
amniotic fluid to collect
cells that have fallen off the placenta and foetus. This can be carried out at
around 15–17 weeks of
pregnancy, and involves a risk of causing a miscarriage of between 0.5% and 1%.

2. Chorionic villus sampling (CVS)

Here, a small sample of placental tissue (which includes cells of the foetus)
is removed, either through the wall of the abdomen or through the vagina.

This can be carried out earlier, between 8 and 12 weeks, since there is no
need to wait for amniotic fluid to develop.

However, it carries a risk of about 1% to 2% of inducing a miscarriage.