Metabolism & Communication Study Guide
Things you need to know/ be able to answer:
CELL COMMUNICATION (CH11)
1. Quorum sensing
2. Types of signaling
a. Cell-to-cell contact
b. Local
c. Long-distance
3. What is a signal transduction pathway?
4. 3 stages of signal transduction pathway
a. Reception
 3 types of membrane receptors
b. Transduction
c. Response
5. How a signaling pathway can amplify a
signal
6. Apoptosis & what failure of it can lead to
ENZYMES (CH8)
7. Metabolic pathways & two types
8. Laws of Thermodynamics & how life is able
to adhere to the laws
9. Entropy
10. Endergonic vs. exergonic reactions (relate
to catabolic and anabolic reactions)
11. Structure and use of ATP & ADP
(hydrolysis)
12. Enzyme = catalyst/ know it’s function & how
it does its job
13. Induced fit
14. Effects of local conditions on enzyme
activity
15. Allosteric regulation of enzymes
16. Feedback inhibition
CELL RESPIRATION (CH9)
17. Formula for cellular respiration
18. Is Respiration catabolic or anabolic?
19. Two “types” of cellular respiration
20. The three phases of aerobic cellular
respiration
a. Where each occurs in a cell (eu and
pro)/ mitochondria
b. What are the reactants (input)
c. What are the products (output)
d. How much ATP is made
e. Basic explanation of the phase
21. Types of fermentation & their products
22. Evolutionary significance of glycolysis
PHOTOSYNTHESIS (CH10)
23. Formula for photosynthesis
24. It is catabolic or anabolic?
25. Pigment used by chloroplasts? Which colors
does it use & why?
26. Where it happens in a cell (pro & eu)
27. Two phases of photosynthesis
a. Where each occurs in the chloroplast
b. What goes in? What comes out?
c. Why does it occur?
d. Basic explanation of the phases
28. Difference between C3, C4 and CAM plants
29. What is photorespiration?
FRQ Topic Possibilities:
 Cell Communication (stages of signal transduction pathways)
 Photosynthesis
o process
o designing a lab
o removing a reactant
 Respiration
o process
o designing a lab
o removing a reactant
Example Questions:

Describe the similarities and differences between the biochemical pathways of aerobic
respiration and photosynthesis in eukaryotic cells. Include in your discussion the major
reactions, the end products, and energy transfers.
Aerobic respiration
Type of reaction
Catabolic / exergonic
Cell organelle
Mitochondria
Steps & Location
1. Glycolysis – cytosol
2. Krebs/ Citric Acid
Cycle – mito matrix
Both
Anabolic/endergonic
-----------------ETC
& Chemiosmosis
Inner
mitochondrial
memrbane
Reactants
Products
chloroplast
2. Calvin Cycle - stroma
Thylakoid
membrane
O2, C6H12O6
H2O, ATP, CO2
Photosynthesis
H2O, light, CO2
-------------------
O2, C6H12O6

The overall equation for aerobic respiration is usually written as the reverse of the overall equation
for photosynthesis. What features of the biochemical pathways involved in the processes are the
reverse of one another and what features are not?

Two flasks with identical medium containing nutrients and glucose are inoculated with yeast cells
that are capable of both anaerobic and aerobic respiration. Culture 1 is then sealed to prevent
fresh air from reaching the culture; Culture 2 is loosely capped to permit air to reach the culture.
Both flasks are periodically shaken. Which of the following best predicts which culture will contain
more yeasts cells after one week, and most accurately justifies that prediction?
A. Culture 1, because fresh air is toxic to yeast cells and will inhibit their growth.
B. Culture 1, because fermentation is a more efficient metabolic process than cellular
respiration.
C. Culture 2, because fresh air provides essential nitrogen nutrients to the culture.
D. Culture 2, because oxidative cellular respiration is a more efficient metabolic process than
fermentation.
The figure above represents a generalized hormone-signaling pathway. Briefly explain the role of each
numbered step in regulating target gene expression.
1. Reception -Hormone/ligand binding to receptor to initiate/trigger/induce/start signaling or signal
reception
2. Transduction- An intracellular cascade that transduces/amplifies/transfers the signal from plasma
membrane to its designated location
3. Response - the transduced signal (say kind of various kinases) triggers a specific cellular activity