BIOCHEMISTRY QUESTIONS

Reactions of alkanes, alkenes and functional groups

21 Write unbalanced equations for the production of: a chloroethane from ethane b ethanol from ethene c ethanol from chloroethane d ethanoic acid from ethanol. 22 Classify the reactions in your answers to Question 21 as addition, substitution or oxidation. 23 Write the structural formulas of the products of the following reactions: a

24 Write an unbalanced chemical equation for the reaction between: a butane and chlorine b 1-chlorobutane and sodium hydroxide solution c butan-1-ol and acidified potassium dichromate solution d propan-1-ol and acidified potassium permanganate solution e ethane and oxygen. 25 Write chemical equations in the form of a flow diagram (similar to Figure 10.31) to describe the preparation of propanoic acid from an: a alkane b alkene. 26 Consider the following compounds: I

II

III

IV

. V

a Write the names of each of these compounds b Which of these compounds is a member of the alkane homologous series? c Give one important difference in chemical behaviour between compounds I and V. d What important chemical is manufactured from compound II? e Which of these compounds dissolves in water to form an acidic solution?

Esters
27 Complete the following reactions: a

28 a Write a chemical equation to describe the preparation of propyl ethanoate from an alkanol and a carboxylic acid. b What name is given to this type of reaction? c Sulfuric acid would be present in the reaction mixture. Why? 29 Write equations to show the production of: a methyl ethanoate b ethyl propanoate. 30 Write the formula of the alkanol and carboxylic acid used to make the following esters: a CH3COOCH2CH3 b CH3CH2COOCH2CH3

Fractional distillation
31 In an experiment the reaction of chlorine with ethane resulted in a mixture containing a number of products with the following boiling points: chloroethane (12C), 1,1-dichloroethane (57C), 1,2-dichloroethane (84C), and 1,1,2-trichlorethane (97C). Describe how you could obtain a pure sample of 1,2-dichlorethane from this mixture.

Connecting the main ideas

32 Complete the missing structural formulas and name the compounds A, B and C.

33 Give the semi-structural formulas for substances P and Q and the systematic names for substances R and S in the following equation:

34 Write a reaction pathway for the synthesis of: a ethyl propanoate from ethene and propene b ethyl ethanoate from an alkene. 35 Fractional distillation is an important laboratory technique. a What is fractional distillation used for? b Fractional distillation has been described as a series of simple distillations. Explain.

Lipids
25 Explain the difference between: a a fatty acid and a fat b a polyunsaturated fat and a saturated fat. 26 By referring to Figure below, write reactions that show:

a the hydrolysis of the fat tristearin b the complete oxidation of the products from part a. 27 The structure of a fatty acid, linoleic acid, is shown in Figure 12.39.

Figure 12.39: The structure of linoleic acid. a Name the chemical needed to convert linoleic acid into a lipid. b Draw the structure of the lipid made from linoleic acid. c Name and circle the functional group in the lipid molecule. d Classify the lipid as saturated, mono-unsaturated or polyunsaturated. e Is this fat likely to be a solid or liquid at room temperature? Explain.

Carbohydrates

28 a draw structural formulas to show: i the formation of a disaccharide from two fructose molecules ii the hydrolysis of maltose b Apart from water and maltose, what other substance is required for the hydrolysis of maltose? 29 Why is glycogen sometimes called 'animal starch'? 30 The human brain relies almost exclusively on glucose as an energy source. Normal functioning of the brain depends on a constant supply of glucose from the blood. Explain how your body maintains a fairly constant concentration of glucose in the blood even though you don't eat foods that supply glucose constantly throughout the day.

Proteins
31 Explain why body builders and weightlifters eat a large amount of protein. 32 When alanine and glycine react, two different dipeptides can be formed. a Write the formula for each dipeptide. b How many tripeptides can be formed from three different amino acids? c Proteins are formed using 20 different amino acids and can be hundreds of amino acid units in length. On the basis of your answers to parts a and b, what can you say about the number of different proteins possible? 33 Aspartic acid is one of the non-essential amino acids (Figure 12.40). It exists as a zwitterion at pH 2.80.

Figure 12.40: The structure of aspartic acid. a Name: i the acidic functional group ii the basic functional group. b Draw the structure of the molecule as it is most likely to exist in a solution at: i pH much more than 2.8 ii pH much less than 2.8 iii pH 2.8. c Aspartic acid is needed to make important proteins in the body, yet it is described as a non-essential amino acid. Explain. 34 a Circle the peptide linkages in the part of the protein chain shown in Figure 12.41.

Figure 12.41: A section of a protein molecule. b Write the formulas of the amino acids that made up this part of the chain. c Where in the body does hydrolysis of proteins to form amino acids take place? 35 Children need proportionately more protein in their diets than adults. Suggest why. 36 Draw a structure for an amino acid that could not be classified as a 2-amino acid (-amino acid). 37 Scientists have spent many years trying to develop a form of the protein insulin that can be given to diabetics orally rather than by injection. Suggest an aspect of the chemistry of proteins that has so far prevented insulin from being taken orally. 38 Proteins are often described in terms of their primary, secondary and tertiary structures. What is the difference between these levels of structure and how does each contribute to the role of the protein? 39 Mutations can cause the wrong amino acid to be inserted into a protein chain when it is being assembled. In some instances such a mistake has no effect on the function of the protein, but in others it disables the protein. Explain how a single change in a protein's primary structure could cause such dramatically different results.

Enzymes
40 Enzymes allow some reactions to proceed far more rapidly than they would if inorganic catalysts were used. Find out why enzymes are not used widely in industrial processes. 41 Jellied pineapple dessert cannot be made using gelatine and fresh pineapple because an enzyme in the pineapple causes molecules in the gelatine to break down instead of setting. Suggest how jellied pineapple might be prepared. 42 Digestion of proteins occurs in both the stomach and the small intestine. Trypsin is an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of proteins. Trypsin is secreted into the small intestine, where the pH is approximately 8. Would you expect this same enzyme to be secreted into the stomach, where the pH is approximately 2? Explain your reasoning. 43 a The steps in the action of an enzyme involve, in particular, an active site and a substrate. With the use of a diagram describe in detail the action of an enzyme. b The forces of attraction that enable a substrate to bind to an active site can vary. Describe four such forces.