Biochemistry of Life - Videos & Lessons

About This Chapter

Read through these transcripts or watch the video lessons to refresh your memory about the biochemistry of life. Go through information about how living things make energy, then take the chapter exam to make sure you are up to speed.

Biochemistry of Life - Chapter Summary

In this chapter you will become reacquainted with the different biochemical processes involved in creating energy within living things. The video lessons can help you dust off the cobwebs so that you can recall such important topics as the following:

The processes of cellular respiration
How plants use chlorophyll during photosynthesis
Light reactions and photolysis
The Calvin-Benson Cycle during photosynthesis
The function and design of lipids, proteins, and carbohydrates
Peptide bonds, polymerization, and the amino acids of proteins
How enzymes work and their functions

If you are getting ready to take a test in which you must demonstrate your knowledge of the biochemistry of life, using our materials will give you a structured study guide. Our instructors design chapters covering all the major aspects of these topics. Instead of a bulky, inaccessible list of information, we offer short video lessons that let you review the biochemistry of life chapter one topic at a time. You can study every lesson to keep the terms fresh in your mind, or you can spend time only on the specific lessons that you may not remember as well.

Chances are your test covers more than just the information from the biochemistry of life chapter. The good news is that once you become a member, you can access every lesson we offer across the site. As if an all-access pass weren't enough, your user dashboard will even recommend chapters that you might want to look at. Our instructors even design study courses around specific tests, so you can always try entering the name of your test in the search window to see if we have review materials that may help you pass your test.

9 Lessons in Chapter 24: Biochemistry of Life

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1. Cellular Respiration: Energy Transfer in Cells

Watch this short video to learn the basics about converting organic compounds into ATP, also known as cellular respiration. We'll look at an overview of the process.

2. Chlorophyll: Absorbing Light Energy for Photosynthesis

Plants are clean, green, photosynthesizing machines. Using a specialized pigment called chlorophyll, plants are able to soak up energy from the sun and turn it into food. In this lesson, we'll start to learn why chlorophyll literally gets excited about a sunny day!

3. Photolysis and the Light Reactions: Definitions, Steps, Reactants & Products

In this lesson, we'll learn how electrons get excited during the light-dependent reactions of photosynthesis, jumping off photosystem reaction centers like they were trampolines! In addition, we'll learn how the splitting of water creates reactants for this part of photosynthesis while creating a little fresh air for us.

4. Dark Reactions of Photosynthesis: The Calvin-Benson Cycle

Photosynthesis starts out using the energy from sunlight to get things started, but it ends with the dark reactions, which don't need sunshine to complete sugar production. In the Calvin cycle, ATP and NADPH from the light reactions are used to produce sugars.

5. Structure and Function of Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are found in many foods that we eat and may be found as sugars, starches, or fiber. Learn more about these three distinct types of carbohydrates, and how they are distinguished through their chemical structures in this lesson.

6. Structure and Function of Lipids

Molecules called lipids have long hydrocarbon chains that determine the way they act. They can be fats, oils, or hormones, and even exist in our cell membranes. Learn more about the chemical structure and biological function of various lipids in this lesson.

7. Proteins I: Structure and Function

We need our proteins, not just as a major food group but for the many useful roles that they play in our bodies. In our introductory lesson to proteins, you'll learn about the many functions we rely on them to perform.

8. Proteins II: Amino Acids, Polymerization and Peptide Bonds

In this lesson, we'll take a deeper look at amino acids. You'll learn what makes a peptide, and what separates a protein from other kinds of amino acid bonds.

9. What are Enzymes? - Definition & Explanation

In this lesson, you will discover what enzymes are, explore how they work, and learn why they're needed for your cells' day-to-day functions. The lesson concludes with a quiz to test your knowledge.

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