P.1
Using a sphere as the unit geometric element, calculate and characterize the
surface to volume ratio of the element as the volume increases or decreases. What is the trade-off as the size changes? How is this significant to the size of a biological cell?
Would it be more or less advantageous for a cell to have the shape of a cube, explain? If you were designing an optimal shape of a cell, what would it be and why?
P.2
Give the significance (not the definition) of the following terms or phrases. Say
what they do or why they are important (limit to one sentence for each term).
Water
Electronegativity
Amphipathic nature of phospholipids
Spontaneous reaction
Van der Waals interactions
Polarity
Cholesterol
Entropy
Catalyst
Jlectron transport chain
Klippase enzymes
Membrane leaflet asymmetry
P.3
The energy of a mole of photons of light in the electromagnetic spectrum
decreases logarithmically as a function of increasing wavelength. In the visible range, light has between 40 and 80 kcal/mole of photon energy. Below about 400 nm wavelength, the energy increases significantly. Use what you know about the energy of chemical bonds to make an argument in favor of using sun screen with UV-block on a sunny day.
4
The rate of a simple enzyme reaction is given by the standard Michaelis-Menten equation.
Sample Solution