Energetics, Enzymes and Metabolism

 
  1. Understand that metabolism is the sum of all chemical processes in an organism, both build up (anabolic pathways) and break down (catabolic pathways), and that these processes all require energy.
  2. What is the ultimate source of energy for nearly all life on earth?
  3. Why must living systems have an outside source of energy?
  4. How is life consistent with the laws of thermodynamics?
  5. How does ATP serve as an energy-carrying molecule?
  6. What is free energy (G)?  What components determine the free energy of a system?  What happens to free energy in a spontaneous reaction or process?  What is an exergonic reaction?  An endergonic reaction?
  7. How do living cells generate ATP?
  8. What is a catalyst and how do they influence living systems?
  9. Why are enzymes important for living systems?  How do enzymes lower the energy of activation for reactions?  Describe the cycle of how enzymes catalyze chemical reactions.
  10. What factors in the environment and in organisms help regulate the function of enzymes?
  11. Compare and contrast competitive and  non-competitive inhibition.  How are these controls used to regulate metabolism?