Foundation in Science

- Biology 1: FS 1034
Tutorial Chapter 3: Chemical Constituents of Cells (Water, Acids, Bases, Buffers and Proteins).
(Part 1)
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ):
1. Which of the following property of water provides us with the cooling effect of sweating?
A. High latent heat of vaporisation.
B. Presence of polarity in a water molecule.
C. Ability to expand during freezing.
D. Dissolves most ionic solids and charged non-polar substances.
2. Which of the following describes the importance of buffers which is present in our body fluids?
A. It assists in chemical reactions in the body fluids.
B. It brings the pH of body fluid to a pH of 9.8.
C. It increases the number of hydrogen ions in our body fluids.
D. It maintains the pH of the body fluids.
3. Which of the following part of an amino acid gives it its unique properties?
A. The amino group.
B. The carboxylic acid group.
C. The variable (side chain) group.
D. The hydrogen atom.
4. Which of the following reaction is involved in the polymerisation of amino acids into proteins?
A. Phosphorylation
B. Condensation
C. Esterification
D. Hydrolysis
5. Which of the following is TRUE about secondary structures of proteins?
I.
The ability of peptide bonds to form intramolecular hydrogen bonds is important to secondary
structure.
II.
The hydrophilic/hydrophobic character of amino acid residues is important to secondary
structure.
III.
The alpha helix and beta pleated sheet are examples of protein secondary structure.
A. I only
B. I and II
C. II and III
D. I and III
6. The repeating units of proteins are
A. glucose units
B. amino acids
C. fatty acids
D. peptides
7. Amino acids are joined by
A. peptide bond
B. hydrogen bond
C. ionic bond
D. glycosidic bond
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8. The primary structure of protein represents

A. Linear sequence of amino acids joined by peptide bond
B. 3-dimensional structure of protein
C. helical structure of protein
D. sub unit structure of protein
9. Peptide bond is
A. rigid with partial double bond character
B. form with consuming of water
C. covalent
D. all of the above
10. Enzymes are
A. proteins
B. carbohydrates
C. nucleic acids
D. DNA molecule
11. A dipeptide has
A. 2 amino acids and 1 peptide bond
B. 2 amino acids and 2 peptide bonds
C. 2 amino acids and 3 peptide bonds
D. 2 amino acids and 4 peptide bonds
12. Myoglobin is a
A. protein with primary structure
B. protein with secondary structure
C. protein with tertiary structure
D. protein with quaternery structure
13. Tertiary structure is maintained by
A. peptide bond
B. hydrogen bond
C. di-sulphide bond
D. all of the above
14. Haemoglobin has
A. primary structure
B. secondary structure
C. tertiary structure
D. quaternery structure
15. Carbonic acid and sodium bicarbonate (sodium hydrogen carbonate) act as buffers in the blood. When a
small amount of acid is added to this buffer, the H+ ions are used up as they combine with the
bicarbonate ions. What happens as a result?
A. The pH of the blood increases.
B. The pH of the blood decreases
C. The reaction is irreversible.
D. The pH of the blood does not change

16. Strength of acids depends on

A. Density of the acid
B. Oxygen atom present
C. Number of hydrogen atom present in the molecule
D. Concentration of H+ ions furnished by the acid
17. Which of the following solutions is the most basic?
A. pH 8.2
B. pH 9.3
C. pH 2.9
D. pH 1.5

Short Answer Questions (SAQ):

1. (a) The following are the properties of water molecule:
Polar
Universal solvent
High latent heat of vapourisation
Explain the meaning of the terms above and provide examples on importance of each property. (6
marks)
(b) Water molecules tend to be sticky to each other. Explain the statement and its significance of this for
transport in plants. (4 marks)

2.

Insulin is a single linear polypeptide while myoglobin is single globular protein.

(a) Identify the stage of protein structure in insulin and myoglobin (2 marks)
(b) Describe the differences in the organisational structure of insulin and myoglobin. (4 marks)

3. Figure 1.1 shows two structure of amino acids that may combine together to form a dipeptide.

a) Draw the resulting structure when the two amino acids combine to form dipeptide. (2 marks)
b) Name the chemical reaction involved in the formation of dipeptide and the product that being
eliminated. (1 mark)
c) Circle and name the two groups within the amino acid structure that is involved in the reaction of
dipeptide formation. (2 marks)
d) Identify the type of bond that links the two amino acids in the dipeptide. (1 mark)
e) Besides functioning as a hormone, explain TWO (2) other functions of protein. (2 marks)
f) Briefly describe the changes in amino acid if it is dissolved in water. (1 mark)
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4. Figure below shows the molecular structure of water.

a) State the bond angle labelled A and bond labelled B. (2 marks)

b) What is the bond formed between two water molecules? (1 mark)
c) State 3 properties of water that can be related to the bond in (b). (3 marks)

5. The diagram below shows the four levels of organisation of protein structure.
a) Name the bond M linking the
2 amino acid residues in a
polypeptide chain. (1 mark)
b) Name the process which can
break bond M. (1 mark)
c) What is group N? (1 mark)