TRB PG Assistant - Biophysical chemistry – pH, buffers, kinetics, thermodynamics Question Bank with Options

1. When the substrate concentration is equal to Km, the reaction velocity (V0) is:

A) 0

B) Vmax

C) Vmax/2

D) 2 * Vmax

2. What is the effect of pH on enzyme activity?

A) Each enzyme has an optimal pH range; activity decreases outside this range

B) Enzymes are most active at extreme pH values

C) pH has no effect on enzyme activity

D) Enzymes are most active at pH 14

3. The kinetic energy of molecules is directly proportional to:

A) Pressure

B) Volume

C) Absolute temperature

D) Concentration

4. What does a steep slope on a Lineweaver-Burk plot indicate?

A) Low Km and high Vmax

B) High Km and low Vmax

C) Low Km and low Vmax

D) High Km and high Vmax

5. In enzyme kinetics, the Lineweaver-Burk plot (double reciprocal plot) is used to determine:

A) The activation energy

B) Km and Vmax

C) The substrate concentration

D) The enzyme concentration

6. Which of the following is a characteristic of a reversible reaction?

A) It proceeds only in one direction

B) It can proceed in both forward and reverse directions

C) It is always spontaneous

D) It reaches completion rapidly

7. The concept of 'coupled reactions' in biochemistry involves:

A) Two exergonic reactions occurring simultaneously

B) An endergonic reaction driven by an exergonic reaction

C) Two endergonic reactions occurring simultaneously

D) A spontaneous reaction that absorbs energy

8. A system at equilibrium has:

A) A net change in reactants and products

B) A positive change in Gibbs free energy

C) Zero net change in reactants and products, and ΔG = 0

D) A constant rate of forward but not reverse reaction

9. What is the relationship between enthalpy (H), internal energy (U), pressure (P), and volume (V)?

A) H = U - PV

B) H = U + PV

C) U = H + PV

D) H = PV - U

10. In thermodynamics, an adiabatic process is one where:

A) Temperature is constant

B) Volume is constant

C) Pressure is constant

D) No heat is exchanged with the surroundings

11. When a strong acid is added to a buffer solution, the buffer works by:

A) Reacting the acid with the conjugate base component

B) Reacting the acid with the weak acid component

C) Dissociating further to release more acid

D) Becoming completely neutralized

12. What is the primary role of the bicarbonate buffer system in blood?

A) To regulate glucose levels

B) To maintain blood pH within a narrow range

C) To transport oxygen

D) To remove waste products from the blood

13. The term 'allosteric regulation' refers to:

A) Regulation of enzyme activity by binding to the active site

B) Regulation of enzyme activity by binding to a site distant from the active site

C) Regulation of enzyme activity by covalent modification

D) Regulation of enzyme synthesis

14. What is the effect of a non-competitive inhibitor on the Km and Vmax of an enzyme?

A) Increases Km, decreases Vmax

B) Decreases Km, increases Vmax

C) Increases Km, Vmax remains unchanged

D) Km remains unchanged, decreases Vmax

15. What is the effect of a competitive inhibitor on the Km and Vmax of an enzyme?

A) Increases Km, decreases Vmax

B) Decreases Km, increases Vmax

C) Increases Km, Vmax remains unchanged

D) Km remains unchanged, decreases Vmax

16. Which of the following is a characteristic of the transition state in a reaction?

A) It is a stable intermediate

B) It is a high-energy, unstable state

C) It is the initial state of the reactants

D) It is the final state of the products

17. The activation energy of a reaction is:

A) The energy released during the reaction

B) The energy required to reach the transition state

C) The total energy of the products

D) The difference in energy between reactants and products

18. What is the role of a catalyst in a chemical reaction?

A) To increase the activation energy

B) To decrease the activation energy

C) To be consumed in the reaction

D) To change the equilibrium position

19. In enzyme kinetics, the term 'catalytic efficiency' is often represented by:

A) Km

B) Vmax

C) kcat/Km

D) Turnover number

20. The buffering capacity of a buffer is highest when:

A) pH is far from pKa

B) pH = pKa

C) pH is 7

D) The concentrations of buffer components are very low

21. Which of the following is NOT a property of a buffer solution?

A) It resists changes in pH

B) It contains a weak acid and its conjugate base, or vice versa

C) It can neutralize large amounts of added acid or base

D) Its pH is independent of the concentrations of the buffer components

22. What is the pOH of a solution with a pH of 9?

A) 3

B) 5

C) 9

D) 14

23. A solution with a pH of 3 is:

A) Basic

B) Neutral

C) Acidic

D) Amphoteric

24. The pH scale typically ranges from:

A) 0 to 7

B) 0 to 14

C) 1 to 10

D) 7 to 14

25. In biological systems, ATP hydrolysis (ATP → ADP + Pi) is an example of which type of reaction?

A) Endergonic

B) Exergonic

C) Isothermal

D) Isentropic

26. The equilibrium constant (Keq) for a reaction is related to the change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) by the equation:

A) ΔG = -RT ln(Keq)

B) ΔG = RT ln(Keq)

C) Keq = -ΔG / RT

D) ΔG = RT + ln(Keq)

27. An endergonic reaction is characterized by:

A) A positive ΔG and it absorbs energy

B) A negative ΔG and it releases energy

C) A positive ΔG and it releases energy

D) A negative ΔG and it absorbs energy

28. An exergonic reaction is characterized by:

A) A positive ΔG and it absorbs energy

B) A negative ΔG and it releases energy

C) A positive ΔG and it releases energy

D) A negative ΔG and it absorbs energy

29. What is Gibbs free energy (G)?

A) A measure of the total energy of a system

B) A measure of the disorder or randomness of a system

C) A measure of the energy available to do work

D) A measure of the heat absorbed or released during a reaction

30. According to the third law of thermodynamics:

A) The entropy of a perfect crystal at absolute zero is zero

B) The universe tends towards increasing entropy

C) Energy is conserved

D) The rate of reaction doubles with every 10°C rise in temperature

31. Non-competitive inhibition of an enzyme typically affects:

A) Vmax only

B) Km only

C) Both Vmax and Km

D) Neither Vmax nor Km

32. Competitive inhibition of an enzyme occurs when:

A) The inhibitor binds to a site other than the active site

B) The inhibitor binds to the active site and prevents substrate binding

C) The inhibitor increases the Km but does not affect Vmax

D) The inhibitor decreases the Vmax but does not affect Km

33. What does the term 'turnover number' refer to in enzyme kinetics?

A) The number of substrate molecules converted to product per enzyme molecule per unit time when the enzyme is saturated

B) The time it takes for an enzyme to bind to a substrate

C) The total number of enzyme molecules in a reaction

D) The rate of enzyme denaturation

34. The 'active site' of an enzyme is where:

A) The enzyme binds to a cofactor

B) The substrate binds and catalysis occurs

C) The enzyme is synthesized

D) The enzyme is regulated by allosteric effectors

35. What is the effect of increasing temperature on the rate of most enzyme-catalyzed reactions?

A) The rate decreases significantly

B) The rate increases up to an optimal temperature, then decreases

C) The rate remains constant

D) The rate becomes zero

36. Which of the following is an example of a buffer system in red blood cells?

A) Phosphate buffer system

B) Ammonia buffer system

C) Acetate buffer system

D) Citrate buffer system

37. A buffer solution resists changes in pH because it contains:

A) A strong acid and its conjugate base

B) A strong base and its conjugate acid

C) A weak acid and its conjugate base

D) A weak base and its conjugate acid

38. What is the pH of a 0.01 M solution of hydrochloric acid (HCl)?

A) 1

B) 2

C) 12

D) 13

39. A solution with a pH of 7 is considered:

A) Acidic

B) Basic (Alkaline)

C) Neutral

D) Strongly acidic

40. In the context of biophysical chemistry, what is pH a measure of?

A) The concentration of hydroxide ions

B) The concentration of hydronium ions (protons)

C) The total concentration of all ions in solution

D) The electrical conductivity of the solution

41. The second law of thermodynamics is related to entropy. What does it imply about biological systems?

A) Biological systems tend towards disorder and require energy input to maintain order

B) Biological systems are closed systems and do not exchange energy with their surroundings

C) Biological systems are isolated systems and do not exchange matter or energy

D) Biological systems spontaneously move towards a state of maximum order

42. What does the first law of thermodynamics state?

A) Energy cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed

B) The entropy of an isolated system never decreases

C) The free energy change of a reaction is zero at equilibrium

D) The rate of a reaction is proportional to the concentration of reactants

43. According to the laws of thermodynamics, which of the following is true for a spontaneous process?

A) The change in enthalpy (ΔH) is always negative

B) The change in entropy (ΔS) is always positive

C) The change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) is always negative

D) The change in Gibbs free energy (ΔG) is always positive

44. What is the Michaelis constant (Km) in enzyme kinetics?

A) The substrate concentration at which the reaction rate is half of Vmax

B) The maximum rate of the reaction

C) The dissociation constant of the enzyme-substrate complex

D) The concentration of the enzyme

45. The Michaelis-Menten model of enzyme kinetics describes the relationship between the initial reaction velocity (V0) and the substrate concentration ([S]). What is Vmax in this model?

A) The maximum velocity when the enzyme is saturated with substrate

B) The velocity at half the substrate concentration

C) The velocity at zero substrate concentration

D) The velocity at which the enzyme is completely inhibited

46. Which of the following statements best describes the concept of enzyme kinetics?

A) The study of the physical properties of enzymes

B) The study of the rates of enzyme-catalyzed reactions

C) The study of the synthesis of enzymes

D) The study of the optimal temperature for enzyme activity

47. What does the pKa value represent for a weak acid?

A) The pH at which the acid is completely dissociated

B) The pH at which the concentration of the conjugate base equals the concentration of the weak acid

C) The negative logarithm of the acid dissociation constant (Ka)

D) Both B and C

48. In biological systems, which of the following is a common buffer system?

A) Hydrochloric acid and sodium chloride

B) Sulfuric acid and sodium sulfate

C) Carbonic acid and bicarbonate

D) Nitric acid and sodium nitrate

49. The Henderson-Hasselbalch equation relates the pH of a solution to the pKa of a weak acid and the ratio of its conjugate base to acid. Which of the following is the correct form of the equation?

A) pH = pKa + log([A-]/[HA])

B) pH = pKa - log([A-]/[HA])

C) pKa = pH + log([A-]/[HA])

D) pKa = pH - log([HA]/[A-])

50. What is the primary function of a buffer solution in a biological system?

A) To rapidly increase the reaction rate

B) To maintain a stable pH despite the addition of acids or bases

C) To denature proteins at high temperatures

D) To transport oxygen molecules throughout the cell

Biophysical chemistry – pH, buffers, kinetics, thermodynamics - Question Bank