AP Biology Unit 1 flashcards
Fifteen cards on Chemistry of Life — the facts this unit is actually tested on: properties of water, hydrogen bonding, the four macromolecules and their monomers, dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis, protein structure levels, nucleic acid structure. Read them here, no sign-up. When you want cards from your own class notes instead of someone else's, paste them into FlashDeck and you have a deck in seconds.
Last updated: 24 September 2026
The AP Biology Unit 1 deck
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Why is water a polar molecule? | Oxygen is more electronegative than hydrogen, so shared electrons are pulled toward oxygen, giving it a partial negative charge and hydrogens a partial positive charge. |
| What type of bond forms between water molecules? | Hydrogen bonds form between the partially positive hydrogen of one water molecule and the partially negative oxygen of another. |
| Define cohesion of water. | Cohesion is the attraction between water molecules due to hydrogen bonding, causing surface tension. |
| Why does ice float in liquid water? | Ice is less dense than liquid water because hydrogen bonds hold water molecules in a crystalline lattice that spaces them farther apart. |
| What are the four major classes of biological macromolecules? | Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. |
| What is the monomer of carbohydrates? | Monosaccharides, such as glucose. |
| What is the monomer of proteins? | Amino acids. |
| What is the monomer of nucleic acids? | Nucleotides, each composed of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base. |
| What is dehydration synthesis? | A reaction that joins monomers into polymers by removing a water molecule and forming a covalent bond. |
| What is hydrolysis? | A reaction that breaks polymers into monomers by adding a water molecule. |
| What is the primary structure of a protein? | The linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. |
| What is the secondary structure of a protein? | Local folding into alpha helices and beta pleated sheets held by hydrogen bonds between backbone atoms. |
| What is the tertiary structure of a protein? | The overall 3D shape of a single polypeptide chain stabilized by R-group interactions such as hydrophobic clustering, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, and disulfide bridges. |
| What is the quaternary structure of a protein? | The association of two or more folded polypeptide chains into one functional protein complex. |
| In DNA, which nitrogenous bases pair together? | Adenine pairs with thymine (A-T) and cytosine pairs with guanine (C-G). |
How to actually remember these
Reading a list twice does almost nothing. Cover the answer column, say the answer out loud, then check — that one change is the difference between recognising a card and recalling it in an exam. After that the timing matters: a card you know comes back in a day, then three, then a week, then longer, and a card you miss comes back tomorrow. FlashDeck does that scheduling for you and shows only what is fading, which is usually ten minutes.
Other AP Biology units
AP Biology Unit 2 · AP Biology Unit 3
Other units
APUSH Unit 1 · APUSH Unit 2 · AP Psychology Unit 1 · AP Psychology Unit 2 · all units