Biomolecule STAAR Questions

Students were given a list of seven elements and asked to identify the four elements that are most abundant in biomolecules. Which table correctly identifies the four most-abundant elements in biomolecules?

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Proteins and carbohydrates have many functions in the body of an organism. Specific proteins and carbohydrates perform specific tasks. Information about a protein and a carbohydrate is given above. How are ferritin and glycogen similar in their primary functions for an organism?

• Both store materials needed by the organism.

• Both store energy used by the organism.

• Both support the structure of the organism.

• Both store information for the organism.

Four different nucleotides are used as building blocks of DNA. Which of the following can be used to distinguish one nucleotide from another?

• The nitrogenous base

• The shape of the deoxyribose sugar

• The length of the phosphate group

• The type of fatty acid

The complex carbohydrates pictured above are made by linking molecules of glucose. In all three complex carbohydrates, the subunits of glucose are bonded together differently. Because they have different structures, they most likely —

• contain different chemical elements

• form different proteins

• carry different nucleotides

• perform different functions

A student preparing for a hike wants to pack a snack that has biomolecules that provide quickly available energy but few excess calories. Which nutrition label lists the best combination of biomolecules that provide quickly available energy while providing the fewest calories from other types of biomolecules?

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The differences between two molecules include the type of sugar that forms a section of the molecules and the identity of one of the four nitrogenous bases that make up another section of the molecules. These two molecules are —

• proteins

• lipids

• nucleic acids

• complex carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are more easily metabolized than lipids. However, on a gram-for-gram basis lipids provide cells with more —

• nitrogen

• proteins

• structure

• energy

Which of the following biomolecules typically contains both nitrogen and phosphate?

• Lipid

• Protein

• Nucleic acid

• Carbohydrate

Proteins and polysaccharides are polymers. These polymers are formed by dehydration synthesis. Which statement correctly identifies a difference in the structure of proteins and polysaccharides?

• Only polysaccharides are comprised of repeating units of cytosine, adenine, guanine, and thymine.

• Only proteins are formed from amino acids joined by peptide bonds.

• Only polysaccharides can be folded and twisted to very specific shapes.

• Only proteins can be large molecules with thousands of subunits.

Which of these best represents a fatty-acid molecule?

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