IB Biology Topic 1 Definitions

It is the wavelengths of electromagnetic waves an atom can absorb

The addition of an acetyl group to histone N-terminal tails prevents the nucleosome from packing together and loosens the H1 protein to allow for DNA replication or transcription

The energy required to break the bonds in the reactants to convert them into products

An alternate binding site on an enzyme

The building block of proteins

A reaction that bonds monomers together to form a macromolecule

The process by which a cell produces small amounts of ATP from organic compounds when no oxygen is present

A base sequence complementary to a codon. Often found on tRNA, complementary to mRNA.

The property of DNA strands being next to each other but running in opposite directions

The hypothesis that Earth's water was delivered by water-rich asteroids that collided with the Earth during the early stages of its formation

A reaction that breaks a macromolecule down into monomers

The process by which proton pumps use the energy of electrons to pump protons from the matrix into the intermembrane space to build a concentration gradient

The process by which proton pumps use the energy of electrons to pump protons from the stroma into the thylakoid space to build a concentration gradient

A fatty acid in which the double bond has hydrogens on the same side

A sequence of three bases that codes for an amino acid

A reaction that produces a disaccharide and water from two monosaccharides

Proteins with prosthetic groups, often a heme group

The impairing of a protein's function by irreversibly changing its structure

The presence of positive and negative poles in a molecule due to unequal sharing of electrons between atoms

Two monosaccharides linked together by a condensation reaction

The analysis of short tandem repeats unique to individuals to identify people

A type of non-competitive inhibition whereby the last product of a chain or cycle inhibits the enzyme of the first reaction to control product formation

A protein that speeds up and controls the rate of reactions of metabolism by lowering the activation energy required for a reaction to happen

Breaking down of molecules by enzymes

A substance that reduces or stops enzyme activity

A liquid absorbing heat to turn into a gas. Evaporation can occur randomly from a liquid's surface. Synonym for boiling and vaporization. 

A coding sequence

Large planets composed mostly of gases such as hydrogen and helium, found in the outer parts of the Solar System (e.g., Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune)

A method that separates proteins or DNA fragments by size

A genetic engineering technique used to remove or inactivate specific genes in an organism

All the genes in an organism

The conversion of glucose to pyruvates in both aerobic and anaerobic respiration

The region around a star where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist on a planet's surface, potentially allowing for life

The strongest intermolecular force that only occurs between hydrogen and oxygen, nitrogen, or fluorine

A reaction that uses water to split a disaccharide into two monosaccharides

A genetic condition characterized by very high levels of cholesterol in the blood

Enzymes attached to another material, such as beads, so they can be industrially recycled

A protein embedded in the plasma membrane

The forces between molecules

A non-coding sequence

The electrostatic attraction between oppositely charged ions

The strand that has the replication fork running in the 3' to 5' direction and replication in the 5' to 3' direction

The belief that acquired characteristics can be inherited

The strand that has the replication fork and replication both running in the 5' to 3' direction

A big molecule composed of two or more monomers

The sum of all chemical reactions taking place within an organism

A study that explains the living processes in terms of the chemical processes involved

A group of two or more atoms held together by single, double, or triple covalent bonds

A small molecule

The most basic unit of carbohydrates

A fatty acid with one double bond

A substance capable of causing a mutation

A random change to the base sequence of a gene

A complex composed of DNA bound to an eight-histone protein core and a linker histone protein

The most basic unit of a nucleic acid

The process by which protons travel down the concentration gradient into the matrix via ATP synthase, which phosphorylates ADP into ATP

The chemical bonds that link amino acids together in a polypeptide chain

A wave of muscle contraction that passes along the entire digestive tract

The process by which chlorophyll reaction centers of photosystems absorb energy from light and their electrons become exited

The process by which water is split into oxygen, protons, and electrons in the thylakoid space by an oxidized photosystem II after photoactivation

The process by which protons travel down the concentration gradient into the stroma via ATP synthase, which phosphorylates ADP into ATP

The production of glucose and oxygen from light, CO₂, and water, within the chloroplast

A spectrum that shows the rate of photosynthesis at different colors of light

A molecule with unequal covalent bonds between the atoms

A chain of many amino acids bound together by peptide bonds

Many monosacchardies linked together by condensation reactions

A fatty acid with two or more double bonds

The process of splicing exons and removing introns from an mRNA strand after transcription to form mature mRNA for translation

The collection of proteins a cell produces

A rotating circumstellar disc of dense gas and dust surrounding a young newly formed star, from which planets are formed

A young star still in the process of forming, gathering mass from its parent molecular cloud.

The production of ATP from organic compounds

A method of base sequencing that involves the use of ddNAs

A fatty acid in which all carbon atoms are connected by single bonds

A repeating sequence present in an allele that is unique to an individual

Streams of charged particles released from the upper atmosphere of the Sun, which can influence planetary atmospheres and magnetic fields

Nucleases that bind to a DNA domain and cleave it to introduce a frameshift mutation and inactivate the gene

A process that can separate xantophyll, carotene, and chlorophyll a and b by solubility

A fatty acid in which the double bond has hydrogen on opposite sides

A single-stranded molecule that contains an anticodon and an associated amino acid

A fatty acid that has one or more double bonds