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March 28, 2024, 11:30:24 pm

Author Topic: VCE Biology Question Thread  (Read 3570480 times)  Share 

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nhmn0301

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #420 on: February 02, 2014, 07:30:16 pm »
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Just a quick [burning] question- Why aren't lipid molecules repelled by the hydrophilic phosphate head? How are they able to overcome this and readily diffuse through the bi-layer?? I'm guessing this has something to do with the uneven proportion of phosphate vs. fatty-tails :\ ??
In the plasma membrane, phospholipid molecules do not actually "stay close" together, there are gaps between each molecule, therefore, substances that are SMALL and lipid-soluble should be able to move through those gaps and diffuse inside the cell.
Hope this helps!
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MM1

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #421 on: February 02, 2014, 07:33:03 pm »
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In the plasma membrane, phospholipid molecules do not actually "stay close" together, there are gaps between each molecule, therefore, substances that are SMALL and lipid-soluble should be able to move through those gaps and diffuse inside the cell.
Hope this helps!

Ah YES! Finally it all makes sense; should've remembered about small substances! Thanks a million nhmn0301!! :D

Rishi97

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #422 on: February 03, 2014, 05:56:34 pm »
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Enzymes are also called 'organic cataylsts.' What is the meaning of this term?
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grannysmith

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #423 on: February 03, 2014, 06:03:46 pm »
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Enzymes are also called 'organic cataylsts.' What is the meaning of this term?
Basically, they speed up chemical reactions by lowering its activation energy (initial amount of energy required to kick start the reaction). ' Organic catalyst' is the same as 'biological catalyst', essentially.

I've got a question of my own:
Are active sites the same as bonding sites when referring to globular proteins (catalytic/regulatory) in general?

nerdmmb

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #424 on: February 03, 2014, 06:31:08 pm »
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Basically, they speed up chemical reactions by lowering its activation energy (initial amount of energy required to kick start the reaction). ' Organic catalyst' is the same as 'biological catalyst', essentially.

I've got a question of my own:
Are active sites the same as bonding sites when referring to globular proteins (catalytic/regulatory) in general?

Do you mean binding sites?
Active sites refer to the structure of the enzyme that fits the binding site of the substrate.

grannysmith

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #425 on: February 03, 2014, 06:40:56 pm »
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Do you mean binding sites?
Active sites refer to the structure of the enzyme that fits the binding site of the substrate.
Yeah, okay.
What about receptor proteins which bind to hormones (for example). Could you say the hormone binds to the active site of the receptor protein, or is the term active site restricted to enzymes?

nerdmmb

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #426 on: February 03, 2014, 06:50:51 pm »
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Yeah, okay.
What about receptor proteins which bind to hormones (for example). Could you say the hormone binds to the active site of the receptor protein, or is the term active site restricted to enzymes?

I'm pretty sure active sites are applicable to receptor proteins however from my understanding, receptor proteins can detect hormones in two ways:
(i) The receptor protein binds to the hormone
(ii) The protein channel opens to allowing incoming signals such as neurotransmitters to come through

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

alchemy

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #427 on: February 03, 2014, 07:00:51 pm »
+1
What about receptor proteins which bind to hormones (for example). Could you say the hormone binds to the active site of the receptor protein, or is the term active site restricted to enzymes?

I'm pretty sure active sites are applicable to receptor proteins however from my understanding, receptor proteins can detect hormones in two ways:
(i) The receptor protein binds to the hormone
(ii) The protein channel opens to allowing incoming signals such as neurotransmitters to come through

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

I think nerdmmb is correct. The term active site is definitely not restricted to enzymes. Because of secondary and tertiary structures, proteins adopt specific shapes. The spot at which two molecules with specific shapes fit together to interact is called the active site. Also, an enzyme is a protein itself.

EDIT: Thanks for the correction psyxway.
« Last Edit: February 03, 2014, 08:26:33 pm by alchemy »

psyxwar

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #428 on: February 03, 2014, 07:08:34 pm »
+1
I think nerdmmb is correct. And btw the term active site is definitely not restricted to enzymes. Because of secondary and tertiary structures, proteins adopt specific shapes. The spot at which two molecules with specific shapes fit together to interact is called the active site. Also, an enzyme is a protein itself.
I'm pretty sure the term "active site" is exclusive to enzymes.
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Rishi97

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #429 on: February 03, 2014, 08:08:23 pm »
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Does anyone have any notes regarding transcription and translation?
It would be awesome if someone could explain them to me  :D
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Yacoubb

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #430 on: February 03, 2014, 08:25:47 pm »
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I'm pretty sure active sites are applicable to receptor proteins however from my understanding, receptor proteins can detect hormones in two ways:
(i) The receptor protein binds to the hormone
(ii) The protein channel opens to allowing incoming signals such as neurotransmitters to come through

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong.

Say reception site, not active site!

alchemy

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #431 on: February 03, 2014, 08:28:49 pm »
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Does anyone have any notes regarding transcription and translation?
It would be awesome if someone could explain them to me  :D

ATARnotes has a whole section dedicated to notes. It'll be worth checking this out: http://www.atarnotes.com/?p=notes

howlingwisdom

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #432 on: February 03, 2014, 08:39:07 pm »
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What part of the course are all of you up to so far? I think I should be studying ahead a bit more :/...
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nerdmmb

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #433 on: February 03, 2014, 08:43:54 pm »
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What part of the course are all of you up to so far? I think I should be studying ahead a bit more :/...

Still AOS1 :)

Rishi97

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Re: VCE Biology Question Thread
« Reply #434 on: February 03, 2014, 09:12:05 pm »
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We have started protein synthesis- translation, transcription etc
But studying ahead is a great idea.  Go for it  ;)
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