Cell Biology and Genetics

Biol 130 Fall 2016

Practice Set

Water, pH, Concentration

1. Convert the following values, using proper scientific notation, when

appropriate:

a. 1.0 nm = 1x 10-9 m f. 5 cm = 5 x 103 m

b. 30 L = 0.03 mL g. 105 mm = 104 cm

c. 50 g = 0.05 mg h. 2 L = 2 x 106 L

d. 6 x 10-4 L = 600 L i. 80 x 10-2 g = 0.8 mg

e. 0.34 mL = 340 L j. 0.09 M = 90 mM

2. What would be the effect on the properties of the water molecule if

oxygen and hydrogen had equal electron?
Water would no longer be a polar molecule since neither atom
would preferentially draw electrons towards itself. As a result, the
ability of water to form Hydrogen bonds, which is due to the partial
negative and positive areas around Oxygen and Hydrogen
respectively, would be lost. As you can imagine, the properties of
water, which depend on hydrogen bonding (cohesion, temperature
moderation, freezing, solvent), would also be drastically affected.
3. What is the molarity of 5.00 g of NaOH in 750.0 mL of solution?
M = moles/L. To do this calculation, we must first determine the
amount of moles in 5.00g of NaOH.
The molar mass (or relative molecular mass RMM) of NaOH is
39.997g/mol. So for 5g
Moles = mass/RMM
= ___5g_____
39.997g/mol
= 0.125mols
*Notice how your units of g cancel to arrive at the units of mols.
Now we can determine the molarity of the solution.
M = moles/L
= 0.125mols
0.750L
= 0.167 M
4. How many moles of NaCl are contained in 100.0 mL of a 0.200 M
solution? What weight (in grams) of NaCl would be contained this
solution?
If M = moles/L, then moles = M x L
moles = 0.2 mols/L x 0.1 L
= 0.02 mols

Additionally, moles = mass/RMM, where the RMM NaCl is

58.44g/mol, so
0.02 mols = ____g_____
58.44g/mol
g = 0.02 mols x 58.44g/mol
1.169 g

5. You want to culture cheek cells in TNG, a buffered saline solution

that is composed of 50 mM Tris, pH 7 (a buffer), 100 mM NaCl (salt
solution), and 0.5 % glucose (carbon source).
a) Describe how to make 100 ml of TNG from the following stock
solutions. Include the amount of solvent. Show the
relationship to use and your calculations.

1 M Tris, pH 7
5 M NaCl
glucose (solid crystals)
This is a dilution problem. You must first identify that you need to
dilute, the NaCl and the Tris. Next you must determine how much solid
glucose you should add to your solution. The final step is to mix all of
the stock solutions and solid sodium chloride with enough water to
reach a final volume of 1 L (or 100 mL).

To calculate a percent solution, you are determining how many parts of

a solute in dissolved in 100 parts of water. This can be expressed in
various ways including This can be expressed as w / v (weight to
volume) as we see in this example. So for questions, you need 0.5
parts glucose to 100 parts water, or 0.5g glucose in 100mL water.
Conventionally, most biological applications assume w / v
unless otherwise specified.

For Tris, this will be a typical dilution equation where C1V1 =C2V2

C1 = 1 M V1 = x C2 = 50nM (0.05M)
V2 = 100mL

C1V1 =C2V2 1M
V1= 0.05M x 100ml V1 = 5ml
V1 = 0.05Mx100ml
Similarly for NaCl V1 = 0.1Mx100ml
C1V1 =C2V2 5M
5 M x V1= 0.1M x 100ml V1 = 2ml
The solution will contain 0.5g glucose, 2mL NaCl, 5ml Tris and 93ml
solvent.

b) Once the solution is made, you check the pH with a pH meter

and discover
the solution is pH 10. What is the concentration of OH- at pH
10?
We know pH = -log[H+]. We should also realize the relationship
between log10 and the exponential appears in our p, [H+] relationship
log10 [H+] = -pH and 10-pH = [H+]

So for pH = 10
pH = -log [H+]
10 = -log [H+]
-10 = log [H+]
10-10 = [H+]

Macromolecules

6. While synthesizing a new blue pigment, a chemist notices that the

new compound congregates between an aqueous (water)
environment and a hydrophobic environment. When added to a
mixture of oil and water, the pigment creates a blue ring around the
droplets of oil. Which of the following statements best describes this
new pigment?
a) The pigment is probably hydrophobic and is attempting to
bond with the oil.
b) The pigment is hydrophilic and will not form hydrophobic
bonds with the oil.
c) The pigment is amphipathic, having polar and nonpolar
regions.
d) The pigment is a polar molecule and is forming hydrogen
bonds with both the water and oil molecules.
e) The pigment is neither polar nor nonpolar; it is apolar.

7.
What is the structure shown in above?
a) fatty acid molecule
b) pentose molecule
c) phospholipid molecule
d) oligosaccharide molecule
e) steroid molecule
*Note there is an error here. The drawing should have 4 carbon rings

8. What do the polysaccharides, cellulose and starch, have in common,

chemically?
What is distinctive about cellulose and starch, structurally?

These compounds share glucose as their monomer unit, and as

such are quite similar chemically. The main difference between
these polysaccharides however is the type/shape of their glycosidic
bonds. Different monomers can be connected via different carbons
or in different orientations leading to molecules with different
shapes.

Additional explanation:
Starch: is produced by plants and is a nutritional form; linear
structure with glucose molecules connected by (14) linkages.
Cellulose: is produced by plants and is a structural form; linear
structure with glucose molecules connected by (14) linkages;
mammals do not have the enzyme needed to break this type of
linkage.
Glycogen: is produced by animals and is a nutritional form;
branched form with (14) linkages with (16) linkages at the
branch points.

9. Primary protein structure involves what type of bond?

a) hydrogen
b) covalent
c) ionic
d) hydrophobic
10. What do you predict will be the impact on the function
of an enzyme if it is heated?
When heated, an enzyme denatures. The bonds and interactions
(hydrogen bonds, disulfide bridges) holding the tertiary and
quaternary structures together are disrupted causing the protein to
lose its conformation, or shape. The function of a protein is very
much dependent on its final shape so the loss of this confirmation
results in a loss of function.

The Cell

11. Draw and accurately label the key organelles in a

eukaryotic cell. What are some of the key differences between the
eukaryotic cell and the prokaryotic cell?
*Please see chapter 6 of your text for the solution to this problem.
A prokaryotic cell does not contain a true nucleus or major cellular
organelles seen in eukaryotic cells. Prokaryotic cells are also
significantly smaller than eukaryotic cells and often exist as single
cellular organisms.

12. Consider the roles of the rough ER and the golgi

apparatus in the cell and specifically protein modification and
transport. Imagine there is a disruption in the function of one of
these cellular organelles. Describe what would be the resulting
impact on (a) protein transport (b) cellular function.
The Golgi: The job of the Golgi apparatus is to process and bundle
macromolecules like proteins and lipids as they are synthesized
within the cell. This organelle is also important in other ways,
specifically in the transport of lipids throughout the cell and the
creation of lysosomes.

As you can imagine, a disruption in this function would greatly

disrupt protein transport and cellular function. Secretory proteins
for example would be greatly impacted as the cell would lose its
ability to package and secrete, proteins such as insulin. The
function of the cell would also be impacted for one, through the
accumulation of protein molecules in the cell. The cell would also
be ineffective in degrading macromolecules, dead cellular
organelles and other substances as the golgi is also important in the
formation of lysosomes.

There are other impacts on protein synthesis and cellular function

which would be equally acceptable.

Note: It may help to think of the golgi as the processing and

distribution center of the cell
13. Describe the process by which information stored in the
DNA is translated into a protein. What organelles are involved in
this process?

To convert the information stored into DNA into a functional protein,

we must first translate the DNA code into a message that can be
read by the ribosome which makes the protein. This process
involves copying the DNA or transcribing the DNA into RNA. The
resulting sequence of RNA corresponds to the sequence of DNA it
was made from, with the exception that, in RNA synthesis uracil (U)
is used instead of thymine (T). From here, this special form of RNA,
messenger RNA leaves the nucleus through nuclear pores and
travels through the cytoplasm to the ribosome, the site of protein
synthesis. From this strand the protein will be synthesized, by
translating this RNA code. Specific amino acids, corresponding to
specific 3 base combinations in the mRNA sequence are brought to
the ribosome, by another special type of RNA, transfer RNA, where
they are linked together into a polypeptide chain through a series of
dehydration reactions.

Note: The synthesis (translation) of RNA to protein is different than

the synthesis of RNA from DNA (transcription). When the DNA was
transcribed into RNA, one base of DNA corresponded to or codes for
one base of RNA, this 1 to 1 relation is not used in the translation to
protein. During this translation, 1 amino acid is added to the protein
strand for every 3 bases in the RNA. A certain combination of 3
bases always gives the same amino acids.