The Importance of Water in Organisms Flashcards
(12 cards)
3.1.7 Water A01
Concepts about water being a major component in cells
- Metabolite in condensation and hydrolysis reactions
- Solvent for biochemical reactions
- High specific heat capacity so it can buffer temperature changes
- Large latent heat of vaporization which provides a cooling effects
- strong cohesion which is important in terms of cohesion tension theory and also for providing surface tensions to provide for some aquatic organisms.
Polar molecule two different charged regions so hydrogen bonds form between hydrogen and oxygen
3.1.7 Water A02
Cohesion provides surface tension and therefore a habitat. Helps some organisms avoid predators within water, as they can survive on the surface
Buffering effect helps maintain enzyme activity in changing environments
3.3.4.2 Mass Transport in Plants A01
- Water moves through the xylem due to the cohesion tension theory, cohesion between the water molecules and adhesion to the walls.
- Link to the structure of water
3.3.4.2 Mass Transport in Plants A02
- The fact that water is a solvent so it can carry those dissolved ions such as nitrates that might’ve been absorbed from the cells
- Combined with the organic substances made in photosynthesis to make proteins such as the enzyme rubisco, which is essential for photosynthesis
3.5.1 Photosynthesis A01
Water split using light energy and you’re going to split the water into protons, electrons and oxygen
Electrons replaced the electrons lost in the chlorophyll from the electron transfer chain, and that the protons are used to reduce the NADP
3.5.1 Photosynthesis a02
In the light dependent reaction we could create ATP and reduced NADP. Those two molecules are important in the light independent reactions. The ATP can be hydrolyzed to release energy to provide the energy for the regeneration of RUBP but also for the energy needed for the reduction of GP into triose phosphate.
Carbon then used to make glucose which is an essential respiratory substrate for the plant to produce ATP for all of it’s metabolic processes
3.3.3 Digestion and absorption A01
Hydrolysis = breaking bonds using to split apart molecules
(for example: starch that you eat in your food gets hydrolyzed into maltose and the maltose gets hydrolyzed into glucose).
3.3.3 Digestion and absorption A02
Glucose is small enough to be absorbed by cotransport into epitheal cells and the blood stream and then it can be used in respiration in glycolysis to produce ATP for metabolism or stored as glycogen
Without water hydrolysis in digestion would not be possible starch couldn’t be broken down
3.3.4.1 Mass transport in animals A01
High hydrostatic pressure which is what causes the water and small molecules to be forced out of the blood stream to form tissue fluid is created by the pressure of the volume of water in the blood
Your tissues or cells are bathed with the useful molecules that are forced out such as glucose, oxygen and water.
3.3.4.1 Mass transport in animals A02
The water from tissue fluids gets reabsorbed back into the capillaries due to the water potential gradients.
Any waster produced by your tissues such as carbon dioxide in urea, are transported with water back into the blood and can be transported around the body and removed.
3.6.4.1 Homeostasis and Negative Feedback A01
- Water has a large latent heat of vaporization - sweating cools the body
3.6.4.1 Homeostasis and Negative Feedback A02
Helps maintain core body temperature which is needed to maximize the number of enzyme substrate complexes and enzyme controlled reactions.
Either denaturing, how that would impact the induced fit model and therefore lower the rates of reaction. EG ATPase cannot work so muscles cannot contract
