The tiny helpers that finish tools

Science · Biochemistry & Molecular Biology · ages 19-20

Name ______________________ Date ____________

What do metal helpers add that plain chains cannot?
- Charge punch and redox tricks
- Extra sweetness
- Louder sounds
What do the small organic helpers carry?
- Sugars only
- Electron shuttles and group ferries
- Water and air
Which load do energy coin helpers donate?
- Sugars
- Fats
- Phosphoryl groups
What is the protein half like on its own?
- Always active solo
- Idle until its helper docks
- Destroyed at once
A diet loses the vitamin behind the electron shuttle. What stalls?
- Its redox steps halt
- Its sugars double
- Nothing changes
Where do small helpers come from, and how long do they last?
- Used once then trashed
- Glued on forever only
- Built from vitamins and recycled trip to trip
A friend says trace helpers are too small to matter. Is that right?
- No, trace helpers matter beyond their size
- Yes, tiny means trivial
- Yes, minerals never matter
A shortage removes the helper that splits acids. Which traffic stalls?
- Electron traffic
- Acid traffic
- Water traffic

Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Charge punch and redox tricks · Metals bring charge density and redox chemistry that plain chains lack.
Electron shuttles and group ferries · Small organic helpers shuttle electrons and ferry groups between reactions.
Phosphoryl groups · Energy coins donate their phosphoryl loads to drive uphill steps.
Idle until its helper docks · The protein half alone is incomplete until helper completes it.
Its redox steps halt · Without the electron shuttle built from that vitamin, redox traffic stops.
Built from vitamins and recycled trip to trip · Many helpers derive from B vitamins and ride again each round.
No, trace helpers matter beyond their size · Without its helper the protein idles, so tiny shortages stall whole routes.
Acid traffic · That vitamin builds the helper for acid cutting, so its loss stalls those cuts.