AP BiologyUnit 2 Test Review

The Chemistry of Life

Question Set #1• Examine the following cycles and discuss how

they relate to what we have discussed in this unit.– Water– Phosphorus– Nitrogen– Carbon

• Explain how various living organisms obtain the organic building blocks necessary to carry out life.

Question Set #2

• What causes water to be a polar molecule and how does this lead to hydrogen bonding?

• How does water’s hydrogen bonding explain the following properties? Describe a biological example for each.– Cohesion/adhesion– High specific heat– High heat of vaporization

Question Set #3

• Water is a versatile solvent.– Explain how this relates to acid-base chemistry– Explain how the following biological examples

illustrate this property of water:• Carbonic acid as a buffer in the blood• Ocean acidification• Acid rain

Question Set #4• Contrast a dehydration synthesis reaction with a

hydrolysis reaction.– Describe an example of each type of reaction

• For carbohydrates, nucleic acids, and proteins identify the following:– Monomer name– Linkage name

• How are lipids different in structure compared to the other 3 macromolecules?

Question Set #5

• How does the structure of each of the following impact their function?– cis & trans-retinol– Phospholipids– cis & trans-linoleic acid– Cellulose & starch

• Explain how directionality impacts the way that the following polymers are constructed.– Polypeptides– DNA– Cellulose & starch

Question Set #6

• Explain how a polypeptide folds into a functional protein.

• Describe how altering the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide would impact this folding process.

Question Set #7• Discuss how variations within molecular

classes provide cells and organisms with a wider range of functions.– Different types of phospholipids in cell

membranes– Hemoglobin vs. myoglobin