Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _______________ Block: _______

UNIT II-BIOCHEMISTRY
Study Guide
Water Properties (pg. 51-57)

1. Describe polarity and illustrate an example.

2. What is cohesion? How/why does polarity affect cohesion?
3. Life as we know it could not exist without water. All the chemical reactions of life occur in
aqueous solution. Water molecules are polar and capable of forming hydrogen bonds with
other polar or charged molecules. As a result, water has the following properties:
a. Water molecules are cohesive; they form hydrogen bonds with each other.
b. Water molecules are adhesive; they form hydrogen bonds with polar surfaces.
c. Water is a liquid at normal body temperatures
d. Water has a high specific heat and heat of vaporization
e. Liquid water is more dense than solid water.
Explain how these properties of water are related to the phenomena described in a-h below.
More than one property may be used to explain a given phenomena.
a. During the winter, air temperatures in the northern United States can remain below 0C for
months; however, the fish and other animals living in the lakes survive.
Property of Water: _______________________________
Explanation:

b. Many substancesfor example, salt (NaCl) and sucrosedissolve quickly in water.

Property of Water: _______________________________
Explanation:

c. When you pour water into a 25mL graduated cylinder, a meniscus forms at the top of the water
column.
Property of Water: _______________________________
Explanation:

d. Sweating and the evaporation of sweat from the body surface help reduce a humans body
temperature.
Property of Water: _______________________________
Explanation:

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _______________ Block: _______

e. If you touch the edge of a paper towel to a drop of colored water, the water will move up into
(or be absorbed by ) the towel.
Property of Water: _______________________________
Explanation:

f. Water drops that fall on a surface tend to form rounded drops or beads.
Property of Water: _______________________________
Explanation:

4. What is pH and what does it measure?

5. Describe the pH scale. Which numbers are acid, and which are base? What determines if
something is acid or base?

Macromolecules (pg. 59-63)

1. Name four categories of organic molecules which form the basis of all living things.
2. What is the building block of each of the four classes of organic molecules?
3. What is a polymer?
4. What are the elements contained in carbohydrates?
5. What is the building block of carbohydrates?
6. What is a monosaccharide?
7. What is a disaccharide?
8. How does a polysaccharide differ from a disaccharide?
9. What is cellulose used for?
10. Why would an athlete have a big pasta dinner the night before a race?
11. Name two tests you can use to test for different types of carbohydrates. Describe a positive result.
12. What is the building block of lipids?
13. Name examples of lipids.
14. Describe the structure of a fatty acid.

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _______________ Block: _______

15. What is a saturated fatty acid?
16. How would you test for lipids, and what is a positive result?
17. What are some of the functions of proteins?
18. What is the building block of proteins?

19. What is the name of the bond that joins amino acids? Draw two amino acids linked by this bond.

20. How many different amino acids are there?

21. What part of the amino acid varies from one amino acid to another?
22. What determines the shape and function of a protein?
23. What are the two types of nucleic acids?
24. What is the building block of nucleic acids?
25. What are the three parts of this monomer? Draw the monomer.

26. Amanda is training for a marathon that will take place in three weeks. During this training time
she is running 15 miless day. Her body is constantly breaking down and remaking itself during her
training. Explain how the structures and functions of each of the following 4 macromolecules will
work within her body during training.
Lipid:

Protein:

Nucleic Acid:

Carbohydrate:

Name: ________________________________________________ Date: _______________ Block: _______

Enzymes (pg. 64-67)

1. Why is the relationship between an enzyme and its substrate compared to a lock and key?
2. Changes in temperature or pH can change an enzymes shape. Why will an enzyme no longer work if
it loses its shape?
An experiment was performed to test the effect of temperature and pH on the activity of the enzyme
lipase. The following data was collected during the experiment:

1. What the optimum pH of lipase? _____________

2. What is the optimum temperature of lipase? ________________
3. Why do you think lipase has low activity at a pH of 10?

4. Lipase performs critical life functions. Use the data above to explain why a fever of 40 degrees may
be dangerous.