Chapter 2 Flashcards

(15 cards)

1
Q

Why is a rock not food? Or a Cessna 150?

A

Do not provide nutritional needs

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2
Q

So, exactly what IS food?

A

any material substance that contains nutritional resources for the body

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3
Q

Plants and photosynthetic plankton produce chains of carbon. Where does the carbon come from

A

CO2 atmosphere

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4
Q

What is the first trick in making food, and what is the biochemical operation that does it?

A

Snapping Carbon Atoms Together , photosynthesis

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5
Q

What is the general reaction equation for photosynthesis?

A

Co2 + h2o+ light reorganize to make fixed carbon + o2

Carbon dioxide plus water plus sunlight reorganize to make fixed carbon (chains of carbon) and molecular oxygen.

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6
Q

Photosynthesis consumes three different environmental resources. What are they and where does the plant get them from?

A

Carbon Dioxide Gas from the atmosphere
H2o from roots water
Light from the sun

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7
Q

What good are sugar molecules?

A

they are good at storing chemical energy for moderate amounts of time

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8
Q

Why do starchy foods such as bread, rice, and potatoes taste so good?

A

starch is very easy to digest rapidly available to any living thing for energy extraction.

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9
Q

What are two examples of polymers made out of glucose?

A

Starch

Cellulose

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10
Q

What is cellulose, and how do plants put it to use?

A

surplus glucose molecules, very robust
structural properties

Plants use cellulose to
make structurally strong
cell walls around newly-
synthesized cells


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11
Q

Why does wood burn?

A

wood is made of cellulose, and cellulose is made of glucose, and glucose stores chemical energy Fire represents the rapid release of the chemical energy that is stored in cellulose.

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12
Q

If wood is made from glucose, why don’t we eat the wood as food?

A

It is hard to digest. Some animals can do it by using interesting biochemical tricks

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13
Q

How does biosynthesis make an amino acid out of a short carbon chain?

A

replace one carbon atom in propane with a nitrogen atom; and then add a couple of oxygen atoms,

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14
Q

How do plants get the nitrogen to make amino acids?

A

dissolved salt from the soil

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15
Q

What is a salt?

A

organization of atoms held together by opposing electrical charges

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