CSU Monterey Bay - Bio 241 - Introduction to Cell & Molecular Biology
         

To succeed in this course follow the steps below listed in order of importance:

  1. Take careful notes in class, especially of the drawings.
  2. Using your textbook to confirm that the professor did not make a mistake, recopy your lecture notes carefully the evening of the class.
  3. Go over the key figures in the text (listed below). Make sure you understand each figure well enough to reproduce it on an exam.
  4. Prepare vocabulary cards for the words listed below prior to the lecture and make sure you know them. A subset of 30 word matching definitions will appear on each exam.
  5. Review the recommended multimedia.
  6. Try to answer the questions listed below as though they were a homework assignment. Compare your answers with other students. Versions of these questions may appear on exams.
  7. On the weekend, recopy your recopied notes, but this time reduce them to one page!
  8. 48 hours before the exam, try to summarize each one-page note on a 3x5 card.
  9. Cram like hell by reviewing your vocab cards and summary cards.
  10. For the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th exams, review the exams you have already taken.

 
Scroll down to appropriate chapter!

To access the multimedia files from off campus you will have to authenticate.

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Chapter 2

Vocabulary: 36 words

acid-base reaction
amino group
carbonyl group
carboxyl group
chemical energy
chemical equilibrium
compound
covalent bond
electron

element
endergonic reaction
endothermic reaction
entropy
Gibbs free-energy change
exergonic reaction
exothermic reaction
functional group
hydrogen bond
hydroxyl group
ionic bond
kinetic energy
molecular weight
molecule
nonpolar
organic molecule
oxidized atom
pH
phosphate group
polar
potential energy
product
proton
reactant
redox reaction
reduced atom
sulfhydryl group

Key Figures: 2.6ex, 2.8, 2.10, 2.11, 2.12ex, 2.16, 2.18, 2.19, 2.20ex, 2.21ex, 2.25, 2.26, 2.27(error), Table 2.1 memorize functional groups
Key Media: Chemistry Review (Powerpoint), Reduction-Oxidation Review (Flash Animation), Water Properties Review (Flash Animation), Book figures ppt  
Test Your Knowledge: #1-6
Test Your Understanding: #1, 2, & 6
Applying Concepts to New Situations: #2

You should be able to draw the structure of common functional groups found in biological macromolecules and say a bit about their function.


Chapter 3 - Protein Structure and Function

Vocabulary: 47 words

2nd Lecture 3rd Lecture
alpha helix
amino acid
amino acid sequence
beta sheet
condensation reaction
C-terminus
dehydration reaction
denatured protein
dimer
disulfide bonds
hydrolysis
hydrophilic
hydrophobic
macromolecule
molecular chaperones
monomer
N-terminus
oligopeptide
peptide bond
polymer
polymerization
polypeptide

primary structure
protein
protein backbone
protein folding
protein subunit
quaternary structure
R-group
secondary structure
side chain
tertiary structure
van der Walls interactions

activation energy
active site
adenosine diphosphate
adenosine monophosphate
adenosine triphosphate
allosteric regulation
catalysis
coenzyme
competitive inhibition
enzyme
enzyme cofactor
enzyme substrate
phosphorylation
transition state

Key Figures: 3.4, 3.5ex, 3.7, 3.8, 3.9, 3.10, 3.11ex, 3.12, 3.13, 3.14, 3.15, 3.17, Table 3.1, Table 3.2 (mis.)
Key Figures continued: 3.19, 3.20, 3.21, 3.22, 3.23, 3.24, 3.25, 3.26, 3.27, 3.28, Table 3.3
Check Your Understanding: p. 56, p. 62
Key Media: Amino Acid Polymerization (Flash Animation), Protein Structure Review (Powerpoint), Enzyme Catalysis (Powerpoint), Activation Energy (Flash Animation)
Page 72 Content Review: #1-6
Page 73 Conceptual Review: #2, 3, 4, & 6
Reading: Box 3.1, Section 3.2 "Amino Acids and Polymerization," Section 3.3 "What Do Proteins Look Like?" Section 3.4 "What Do Proteins Do?"
Protein Folding and Sleep MP3 15 minute segment of RadioLab podcast. The rest of the entire 1-hr podcast is fascinating animal biology, but not directly related to our chapter.

You should be able to draw the structures of a couple of amino acids such as glycine and alanine. You should be able to describe how (and why) amino acid side chains are important for protein structure and function.


Chapter 4 - Nucleic Acids and the RNA World

Vocabulary:

base pairing (complementary base pairing)
complementary strand
deoxynucleoside triphosphate
deoxyribonucleic acid
deoxyribonucleotide
DNA
hairpin loop
nucleic acid
nucleotide
phosphodiester linkage
primer
purine
pyrimidine
ribonucleic acid
ribonucleotide
ribose
ribozyme
RNA
template strand

Key Figures: 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.9, 4.10, 4.11, 4.12, 4.13, 4.15, Box 4.1
Page 87: Essay - The Human Side of Research
Key Media: Nucleic Acids Review (Flash Animation), Review Slides from Lecture (PowerPoint)
Page 88 Content Review: #1-6
Page 89 Conceptual Review:#1-4
Reading: Section 4.1 (p. 75-77), Box 4.1, Section 4.2 (p.79-82), Section 4.3 (p. 83-85)

You should be able to find the 5' and 3' carbons of the ribose in RNA and the deoxyribose in DNA and describe what is different about the substituents bonded to the 2' carbon.

You should be able to draw a cartoon of double-stranded DNA illustrating the key features such as the sugar-phosphate backbone, the anti-parallel nature of the double helix, and the specific base pairing between the purine and pyrimidine bases.


Chapter 5 - An Introduction to Carbohydrates

Vocabulary:

amylase
amylose
cellulose
cellulase
chitin
carbohydrate
monosaccharide
disaccharide
polysaccharide
triose
pentose
hexose
aldose
ketose
sucrose
fructose
glucose
galactose
maltose
ribose
glyceraldehyde
glycogen
peptidoglycan
starch

Key Figures: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8, Table 5.1, Box 5.1
Key Media: Nucleic Acids Review (Flash Animation), Review Slides from Lecture (PowerPoint)
Page 102 Content Review: #1, 2, 3, 4, & 6
Page 102 Conceptual Review:#2, 6
Page 102 Group Discussion Problems: #2, 3, 4

You should be able to draw a glyceraldehyde molecule.

Given the structure of glucose and fructose, you should be able to correctly draw the structure of sucrose.


Chapter 6 - Lipids, Membranes and the First Cells

Vocabulary:

amphipathic
aquaporin
carrier molecule
detergent
ester linkage
fat
fatty acid
gated channel
glycerol
hydrocarbon
ion channel
isoprene unit
lipid
lipid bilayer
micelle
oil
osmosis
phospholipid
plasma membrane
sodium/potassium ATPase
solute
steroid
transport protein
triglyceride
vesicle
wax
gradient
concentration gradient
electrical gradient
chemical gradient
electrochemical gradient
proton gradient
pH gradient
ion gradient
ionophore
integral membrane protein
transmembrane protein
peripheral membrane protein
cytoplasmic protein
permeable
selective permeability
semi-permeable membrane
impermeable
diffusion
facilitated diffusion
passive transport
active transport

Key Figures: 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, 6.7, 6.9, 6.10, 6.16, 6.17, 6.18, 6.21, 6.23, 6.29
Key Media: Review Slides from Lipids Lecture (PowerPoint), Review Slides from Membranes Lecture (PowerPoint), Membrane Structure & Permeability (Flash Animation), Membrane Transport (Flash Animation)
Page 125 Content Review: #1-6
Page 126 Conceptual Review: #4 & 6
Page 126 Group Discussion Problems: #2 & 3

You should be able to draw the structure of glycerol.

You should be able to draw the structure of a fatty acid.

You should be able to draw a cartoon of a phospholipid indicating the correct number of fatty acid tails, the glycerol backbone, and the location of the phosphate group. You should be able to describe how the structure of a phospholipid leads to its function in cell membranes.

You should be able to draw a cartoon of a membrane bilayer illustrating the correct location of phospholipids, integral membrane proteins, peripheral proteins, and soluble (cytoplasmic) proteins.

You should absolutely understand the concept of an ion gradient across a membrane.