MBC 121/ MBS 102/ PMB 102/NSC 102 – BIOMOLECULE

HOW TO REVISE FOR NEXT EXAM

GENERAL STRATEGY
 Active recall: close notes and test yourself
 Use MCQs, SAQs (e.g. define key terms, fill in blanks, true/ false, marching
questions) and LAQs
 Focus on exam questions (what, structure, function, comparison, clinical link)

LIFE
 Characteristics of life
 Hierarchy of life; atoms, elements, molecules, supramolecular structures,
organelles, cells, tissues, organs, organ system, organisms
 Explain the chemical basis (foundation) of life
 Identify supramolecular structures such as cellulose, peptidoglycan, cell
membrane, ribosomes, chromatin, Extracellular matrix, be able to explain in detail
how they self-assemble.

CELL BIOLOGY
 Cell theory
 Cell types: Prokaryotic vs eukaryotic cells
 Plasma membrane structure
 ATP production: mitochondria vs bacteria
 Endosymbiotic theory
 Key trap: prokaryotes have ribosomes (70S), no mitochondria

WATER
 Structure and property
 Polarity and hydrogen bonding
 Solvent properties
 Hydrophobic effect
 Heat capacity of water
 pH, pKa, Henderson–Hasselbalch equation
 Buffers, Types of biological buffers, Mechanism of buffering in solution
CARBOHYDRATES
 Classification
 Monosaccharides, structure, classification, chemical reactions
 Tests for monosaccharides, aldose sugars vs ketose sugars, hexose vs pentose
 Reducing vs non-reducing sugars, tests for reducing sugars. Explain the principle
underlying Benedict’s test, including the chemical basis for the detection of reducing
sugars
 Linear vs cyclic structures of carbohydrates
 Disaccharides, structure, types and important roles, clinical implications
 Glycosidic bonds α vs β, anomers, be able to determine anomeric carbon,
mutarotation
 Polysaccharides Starch, glycogen, cellulose, chitin, peptidoglycans, GAGS,
proteoglycans
 GAGs, types, chemical properties and importance as biomolecules
 Explain in detail how the molecular structure of polysaccharides determines their
biological function, with reference to chitin, cellulose, peptidoglycan, and
glycosaminoglycans (GAGs)

PROTEINS
 Importance of proteins and amino acids
 Amino acids structure, classification and properties
 pH and pKa ionizable groups of amino acids
 pI, how to determine pI of amino acid
 peptides, formation, loss of water, peptide bond, pI of a peptide like PAPA, HAPPY,
DAME, calculate MW in DA of a given peptide
 4 levels of protein structure, fibrous vs globular, examples of globular and fibrous,
reasons for the differences
 Apply levels of protein structure in our protein for this year; Chicken Lysozyme
 Types of bonds – intermolecular vs intramolecular
 Denaturation does not break peptide bonds, be able to explain principles behind
argents such as pH, salt, alcohol, urea, detergents, etc. denature proteins tertiary
structure

LIPIDS
 Importance of lipids
 Lipids are not polymers
 Classes of lipids
 Fatty acids: saturated vs unsaturated, essential vs non-essential, delta vs omega
notation, oil vs fats, why do we prefer oils to fats
 Triglycerides, structure, property, and function, relate structure to function
 Waxes: source and importance
 Sphingolipids, why they also form cell membrane
 Phospholipids, types, importance, relate structure to function, argue if life was
possible without phospholipids
 Steroids, types, properties, Cholesterol function, cholesterol vs cholesterol esters, key
reasons cholesterol is important in cell membrane
 Isoprenoids, types, use
 Eicosanoids, pathways, begin from glycerophospholipids in cell membranes, pay
attention to phospholipaseA2 critical for hydrolysis of glycerophospholipids in cell
membranes to release arachidonic acids, clinical applications such as: why is this
enzyme a target of corticosteroids to control inflammation (control fire). COX and
LOX pathways. Why they are target of NSAIDS in control of inflammation (control
smoke)
 Cell membrane. Construct cell membrane from glycerophospholipids, micelles vs
bilayer formation, explain why cholesterol integrates in cell membrane, why different
membranes have different cholesterol content, e.g. red blood cells vs sperm cells
 Fluid-Mosaic model used to describe cell membrane

NUCLEIC ACIDS
 Nucleoside vs Nucleotide
 Construct a phosphodiester bond, which enzymes id responsible for the formation of
phosphodiester bond
 Oligonucleotides, Polynucleotides, RNA vs DNA, Describe the sequence and
structural organization of oligonucleotides.
 DNA structure, DNA is antiparallel
 Complementary base pairing, A-T, G-C, Chargaff’s rule, importance in DNA
replication
 Primary, secondary and tertiary structure of DNA
 Watson – Crick model of DNA
 Types of DNA
 DNA replication, process, when does it take place, enzymes involved
 DNA, Chromosome, chromatin, nucleosomes, histones
 How does DNA store genetic information, how is that information obtained, what is a
GENE? in short how does DNA structure related to its function as an informational
molecule.
 RNA; types, primary, secondary structures
 Central dogma of biology

EXAM STRATEGY
 Revise diagrams
 Do full mock papers
 MCQs elimination technique
 SAQs structured bullet points
 Essays: intro-body-conclusion