A condensed rapid review pass over the highest yield MCAT biochemistry facts for final week review.
40 cards · basic cards · AI-written, checked twice. Edit anything.
- Which standard amino acid lacks a chiral center?
- Glycine
- What chirality are amino acids found in mammalian proteins?
- L-configuration
- What type of reaction forms a peptide bond between two amino acids?
- Dehydration (condensation) reaction
- Why does the peptide bond have restricted rotation?
- It has partial double bond character from resonance
- What does a protein's primary structure describe?
- The linear sequence of amino acids
- Name the two common secondary structure motifs in proteins.
- Alpha helix and beta sheet
- What stabilizes protein secondary structure?
- Hydrogen bonds between backbone atoms
- What does tertiary structure describe?
- The overall 3D folding of a single polypeptide chain
- What interactions stabilize tertiary protein structure?
- Hydrophobic interactions, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, and disulfide bonds among side chains
- What does quaternary structure describe?
- The arrangement of multiple polypeptide subunits into one functional protein
- Between which amino acid residues do disulfide bonds form?
- Cysteine residues
- How do enzymes increase reaction rate?
- By lowering the activation energy
- Are enzymes consumed or permanently altered during a reaction?
- No, they are not consumed and can be reused
- In Michaelis-Menten kinetics, what does Km represent?
- The substrate concentration at which reaction velocity is half of Vmax
- How does a competitive inhibitor affect Km and Vmax?
- Increases apparent Km, Vmax stays the same