CHEM221

BIOCHEMISTRY

PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Chapters 1 and 2

SHORT ASSAYS

1) What are the four most common elements in living organisms?

2) What is the difference between a diastereomer and an enantiomer?

3) Why do cell produce only one form of a chiral compound rather than a racemic mixture?

4) What’s the difference between dynamic steady state and equilibrium?

5) What happens (in terms of electron flow) to the reactant that is oxidized?

6) How are cells able to synthesize polymers if such reactions are thermodynamically
unfavorable?

7) Does the oxidation of glucose represent an increase or an increase in entropy. Does it have a
positive or negative ΔG?

8) Why is the option of increasing temperature to overcome activation barriers not possible in
living cells?

9) Name the four most abundant elements in living organisms

10) Explain why butanol has a relatively high boiling point of 117 °C, whereas butane has a
boiling point of only 0.5 °C.

11) Name four unique properties of water

12) Circle the plot that describe the titration of a weak base with a strong acid

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13) If you titrate 40 mL of HCl 0.1M with NaOH 1M, how many ml of NaOH would you need to
add to reach the equivalence point?

14) Shade the buffering region in the following plot. Indicate with an arrow the pKa point and the
equivalence point.

15) Explain why amphypatic molecules can be used as detergents

16) Draw the enantiomer of the following molecule:

17) Draw the cis and trans geometric isomers of COOHCHCHCOOH

18) What six characteristics distinguish living organisms from inanimate objects?

19) All cells are surrounded by a plasma membrane composed of lipid and protein molecules.
What is the function of the plasma membrane?

20) (a) List the types of noncovalent interactions that are important in providing stability to the
three-dimensional structures of macromolecules. (b) Why is it important that these interactions
be noncovalent, rather than covalent, bonds?

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21) What is the difference, if any, between cytosol and cytoplasm?

22) Draw the structures of the following functional groups in their un-ionized forms:

(a) hydroxyl, (b) carboxyl, (c) amino, (d) phosphoryl.

23) What is the underlying, organizing biochemical principle that results in the chemical
similarity of virtually all living things? Given this biochemical similarity, how is the structural
and functional diversity of living things possible?

24) Name two functions of (a) proteins, (b) nucleic acids, (c) polysaccharides, (d) lipids.

25) Why is an asymmetric carbon atom called a chiral center?

26) Differentiate between configuration and conformation.

27) Explain why living organisms are able to produce particular chiral forms of different
biomolceules while laboratory chemical synthesis usually produces a racemic mixture.

28) Describe the relationship between a living organism and its surroundings in terms of both
matter and energy.

29) The free-energy change for the formation of a protein from the individual amino acids is
positive and is thus an endergonic reaction. How, then, do cells accomplish this process?

30) a) On the reaction coordinate diagram shown below, label the transition state and the overall
free-energy change (ΔG) for the uncatalyzed reaction A → B. (b) Is this an exergonic or
endergonic reaction? (c) Draw a second curve showing the energetics of the reaction if it were
enzyme-catalyzed.

31) What is meant by feedback inhibition and why is it important in a living organism?

32) Name and briefly define five types of noncovalent interactions that occur between biological
molecules.

33) Explain the fact that ethanol (CH3CH2OH) is more soluble in water than is ethane (CH3CH3).

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34) Phosphoric acid (H3PO4) has three dissociable protons, with the pKa’s shown below. Which
form of phosphoric acid predominates in a solution at pH 4? Explain your answer.

Acid pKa

H3PO4 2.14

H2PO4– 6.86

HPO42– 12.4

35) Define pKa for a weak acid in the following two ways: (1) in relation to its acid dissociation
constant, Ka, and (2) by reference to a titration curve for the weak acid.

36) Draw the titration curve for a weak acid, HA, whose pKa is 3.2. Label the axes properly.
Indicate with an arrow where on the curve the ratio of salt (A–) to acid (HA) is 3:1. What is the
pH at this point?

37) What is the pH of a solution containing 0.2 M acetic acid (pKa = 4.7) and 0.1 M sodium
acetate?
not going to have to plug in #s for the hasselbach eqn.
formula will be given . need to know what to do with it

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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS

1) What is the primary characteristic that distinguish prokariotes from eukariotes?

a) Prokarotic cells are always larger than eukaryotic cells

b) Eukarotes have internal organelles; prokariotes do not
c) Eukarotes produce and use ATP; most prokariotes don’t
d) Eukarotic cells have both DNA and RNA; prokaryotic cells posses RNA only
e) Non of the above

2) With respect to hydrogen bonds,

a) they are weaker than covalent bonds

b) they are weaker than disulfide bonds
c) they are what make peptide bonds
d) water does not have to be involved

3) A solution made with formic acid has a pH of 4.5. What is the ratio of conjugate base to acid?
The pKa of formic acid is 3.75.

a) 5.6
b) 0.18
c) 31,623
d) 3.6 x 10-5

4) If 5 mL of 2.5 M HNO3 are added to 100 mL of a buffer that is 0.3 M HCOOH (formic acid)
and 0.35 M Na+HCOO- (sodium formate), how much does the pH change? The pKa for formic
acid is 3.75.

a) 3.47 pH units
b) 3.75 pH units
c) 0.125 pH units
d) 0.35 pH units

5) What is the ratio of [A-]:[HA] in solution at pH 5 that contains a weak acid with pKa = 5?

a) 1:10 interpretting the hasselbach eqn

b) 1:2
c) 1:1
d) 2:1
e) 10:1

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 6) Which one of the following functional groups does not participate in hydrogen bonding?

a) Amino
b) Amido (amide)
c) Carboxyl
d) Hydroxyl
e) Methyl

7) The reactions of molecules

a) are the reactions of the functional groups

b) are independent of the functional groups
c) require an enzyme in all cases
d) all of the above

8) A buffered solution (choose all answers that apply):

a) Has a pH close to7.

b) Resists changes in pH.
c) Contains an acid and a base.
d) Has a zero average charge.
e) Has a pKa close to 7.

9) Salt dissolves well in water as water molecules

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a) form hydrogen bonds with the positively and negatively charged ions
b) make nonpolar covalent bonds with the positively charged ions only
c) surround the ions because of their charge but do not form hydrogen bonds
d) share electrons with the ions to make polar covalent bonds

10) Buffer solutions

a) will always have a pH of 7

b) are rarely found in living systems
c) cause a decrease in pH when acids are added to them.
d) tend to maintain a relatively constant pH.

11) A Bronsted acid becomes __________ upon losing a proton.

a) highly reactive
b) its conjugate acid
c) its conjugate base
d) a hydronium ion

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 12) Molecules in which the atoms are held together by __________ bonds have the strongest
chemical linkages.

a) noncovalent
b) covalent
c) ionic
d) hydrogen

13) Most of the important functional groups in biological molecules contain

a) oxygen and/or nitrogen and are acidic

b) oxygen and a phosphate
c) nitrogen and a phosphate
d) oxygen and/or nitrogen and are polar

14) What is the concentration, in moles/liter, of the hydrogen ion, if pH of a solution is 7?

a) 7
b) 7 x 10-7
c) 5 x 10-7
d) 1 x 10-7

15) Which of the following alcohols would be most soluble in water?

a) methanol
b) ethanol
c) butanol
d) octanol

16) If the H from the OH group in CH3-OH is removed and replaced with a METHYL group,
what family will the molecule then belong to?

a) ether
b) ester
c) aldehyde
d) ketone
e) carboxylic acid

17) Which of the following is CORRECT for an exergonic reaction?

a) more activation energy is needed than for an endergonic reaction

b) less activation energy is needed than for an endergonic reaction
c) products have more energy than reactants
d) products have less energy than reactants

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18) Polyprotic acids such as H3PO4, can act as acid-base buffers

a) only in combination with polyprotic bases

b) if their concentration is kept low
c) at pH values around neutrality
d) at pH values around any of their pKa's

19) A compound that is capable of forming hydrogen bonds with water

a) is probably held together by noncovalent bonds

b) contains at least some polar covalent bonds
c) should act as a good buffer for acids and bases
d) does not dissolve well in water

20) The effectiveness or capacity of a buffer solution can be affected by

a) molar concentration of the buffer components

b) concentration of the conjugate base to the weak acid
c) both (a) and (b)
d) temperature of buffer components

21) A solution with pH = 5 is __________ than a solution with pH = 7.

a) 2 times more basic

b) 10 times more basic
c) 10 times more acidic
d) 100 times more acidic

22) The lone pair electrons on oxygen in a H2O molecule

a) carry a partial positive charge

b) are not important for the properties of water
c) carry a partial negative charge
d) form covalent bonds in ice

23) Which of the following statements about covalently bonded molecules is false?

a) Electrons are shared between the atoms that make up the molecule
b) Noncovalent bonds may also be present, especially if the molecule is large
c) Such molecules often result from the interaction of ionized atoms
d) The chemical bonds that hold the molecule together are relatively strong

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24) The dissociation constant of H2O at 25° C is

a) 10-14 M
b) 1014 M
c) 10-7 M
d) 107 M

25) Weak acids generally have pKa

a) values less than 1

b) pKa values greater than 2
c) been seldom found in living systems
d) that cannot be used to buffer

26) The three-dimensional structure of macromolecules is formed and maintained primarily

through noncovalent interactions. Which one of the following is not considered a noncovalent
interaction?

a) Carbon-carbon bonds
b) Hydrogen bonds
c) Hydrophobic interactions
d) Ionic interactions
e) van der Waals interactions

27) Which one of the following is not among the four most abundant elements in living
organisms?

a) Carbon
b) Hydrogen
c) Nitrogen
d) Oxygen
e) Phosphorus

28) The four covalent bonds in methane (CH4) are arranged around carbon to give which one of
the following geometries?

a) Linear
b) Tetrahedral
c) Trigonal bipyramidal
d) Trigonal planar
e) Trigonal pyramidal

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29) What functional groups are present on this molecule?

a) Ether and aldehyde

b) Hydroxyl and aldehyde
c) Hydroxyl and carboxylic acid
d) Hydroxyl and ester
e) Hydroxyl and ketone

30) The macromolecules that serve in the storage and transmission of genetic information are:

a) carbohydrates.
b) lipids.
c) membranes.
d) nucleic acids.
e) proteins.

31) Stereoisomers that are nonsuperimposable mirror images of each other are known as:

a) anomers.
b) cis-trans isomers.
c) diastereoisomers.
d) enantiomers.
e) geometric isomers.

32) The catalog of all proteins functioning in a cell is the:

a) metabolome.
b) proteasome.
c) lysosome.
d) proteome.
e) genome.

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33) The enzyme fumarase catalyzes the reversible hydration of fumaric acid to l-malate, but it
will not catalyze the hydration of maleic acid, the cis isomer of fumaric acid. This is an example
of:

a) biological activity.
b) chiral activity.
c) racemization.
d) stereoisomerization.
e) stereospecificity.

34) Humans maintain a nearly constant level of hemoglobin by continually synthesizing and
degrading it. This is an example of a(n):

a) dynamic steady state

b) equilibrium state
c) exergonic change
d) free-energy change.
e) waste of energy

35) If heat energy is absorbed by the system during a chemical reaction, the reaction is said to be:

a) at equilibrium
b) endergonic
c) endothermic
d) exergonic
e) exothermic

36) If the free energy change ΔG for a reaction is –46.11 kJ/mol, the reaction is:

a) at equilibrium.
b) endergonic.
c) endothermic.
d) exergonic.
e) exothermic.

37) The major carrier of chemical energy in all cells is:

a) acetyl triphosphate
b) adenosine monophosphate
c) adenosine triphosphate
d) cytosine tetraphosphate

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38) Enzymes are biological catalysts that enhance the rate of a reaction by:

a) decreasing the activation energy

b) decreasing the amount of free energy released
c) increasing the activation energy
d) increasing the amount of free energy released
e) increasing the energy of the transition state

39) Energy requiring metabolic pathways that yield complex molecules from simpler precursors
are:

a) amphibolic
b) anabolic
c) autotrophic
d) catabolic
e) heterotrophic

40) Hydrophobic interactions make important energetic contributions to:

a) binding of a hormone to its receptor protein

b) enzyme-substrate interactions
c) membrane structure
d) three-dimensional folding of a polypeptide chain
e) All of the above are true

41) Dissolved solutes alter some physical (colligative) properties of the solvent water because
they change the:

a) concentration of the water.

b) hydrogen bonding of the water.
c) ionic bonding of the water.
d) pH of the water.
e) temperature of the water.

42) Osmosis is movement of a:

a) charged solute molecule (ion) across a membrane.

b) gas molecule across a membrane.
c) nonpolar solute molecule across a membrane.
d) polar solute molecule across a membrane.
e) water molecule across a membrane.

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43) A hydronium ion:

a) has the structure H3O+.

b) is a hydrated hydrogen ion.
c) is a hydrated proton.
d) is the usual form of one of the dissociation products of water in solution.
e) All of the above are true.

44) The aqueous solution with the lowest pH is:

a) 1 M HCl
b) 1 M acetic acid (pKa = 4.86)
c) 1 M formic acid (pKa = 3.75)
d) 2 M HCl
e) 10–12 M NaOH

45) Phosphoric acid is tribasic, with pKa’s of 2.14, 6.86, and 12.4. The ionic form that
predominates at pH 3.2 is:

a) H3PO4.
b) H2PO4–
c) HPO42–
d) PO43–
e) none of the above.

46) Which of the following statements about buffers is true?

a) A buffer composed of a weak acid of pKa = 5 is stronger at pH 4 than at pH 6.

b) At pH values lower than the pKa, the salt concentration is higher than that of the acid.
c) The pH of a buffered solution remains constant no matter how much acid or base is added
to the solution.
d) The strongest buffers are those composed of strong acids and strong bases.
e) When pH = pKa, the weak acid and salt concentrations in a buffer are equal.

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47) Three buffers are made by combining a 1 M solution of acetic acid with a 1 M solution of
sodium acetate in the ratios shown below.

1 M acetic acid 1 M sodium acetate

Buffer 1: 10 mL 90 mL

Buffer 2: 50 mL 50 mL

Buffer 3: 90 mL 10 mL

Which of these statements is true of the resulting buffers?

a) pH of buffer 1 < pH of buffer 2 < pH of buffer 3

b) pH of buffer 1 = pH of buffer 2 = pH of buffer 3
c) pH of buffer 1 > pH of buffer 2 > pH of buffer 3
d) The problem cannot be solved without knowing the value of pKa.
e) None of the above

49) Which of the following is the enantiomer of the following substance?

a) I
b) II
c) III
d) It does not have a non-superposable enantiomer.
e) Both II and III

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TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS

1) Water can act as an acid or a base.

T T
2) CH4 has a chiral center

F F
3) In a closed system, only an exchange of matter occurs between the system and the surrounding

F F
4) In a open system, exchange of matter and energy occur between the system and the
surrounding

T T
5) In an isolated system, only exchange of energy occurs between the system and the surrounding

F F
6) By convention ΔS has a negative value when randomness increases.

F F
7) A process tends to occur spontaneously only if ΔG is negative.

T T
8) A chemical process that releases energy is called EXERGONIC

?F T
9) When Keq > 1, the formation of reactants is favored
F. goes to products F
10) At equilibrium, the free energy change equals 1

F? should be zero i think F

11) When Keq > > 1, ΔG° is large and negative

F??? T
12) ΔG° tells us fast the equilibrium will be achieved
F? F
13) The higher the activation energy for a reaction, the fastest is the reaction

T? F
14) Anabolism is the breaking down of macromolecules to release energy

F break ? F
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15) Ketones and aldehydes are very soluble in water

T T
16) An amphypatic molecule is only soluble in lipids

F, both F
17) The pKa of acid A is 4.5 and the pKa of acid B is 7.2. Acid B is a stronger acid than A.

F F
18) For a weak acid, low pKa means high dissociation

F??? T
19) When crystalline substances dissolve in water, they acquire greater freedom of motion, which
decreases the entropy of the system

T F

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PROBLEMS AND SHORT ANSWERS

1) A solution of lactic acid has twice as many conjugate acid molecules as conjugate base
molecules. If the pKa of lactic acid is 3.85, what is the pH of such a solution?

2) What is the pH of the following solutions?

a) 0.35 M hydrochloric acid

b) 0.35 M acetic acid (pKa = 4.76)

c) 0.035 M acetic acid.

3) A weak acid, HA, has a total concentration of 0.20M and is ionized (dissociated) to 2%;

a) Calculate the Ka for this acid.

b) Calculate the pH for this acidic solution.

4) Calculate the pH of the following mixtures:

a) 1M acetic acid and 0.5M sodium acetate (pKa = 4.76)

b) 0.3M phosphoric acid and 0.8M KH2PO4 (pKa = 2.14)

5) You need to prepare a buffer solution at pH = 7.00 with KH2PO4 and Na2HPO4 (pKa=7.21). If
you use a 0.1M solution of KH2PO4, what would be the concentration of Na2HPO4 needed?

6) You need to prepare a buffer solution at pH = 7.00 with KH2PO4 and Na2HPO4. What would
be the respective concentration of these substances if you wished to obtain a final phosphate
concentration ([HPO4-2] + [H2PO4-1]) of 0.3M?

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