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