Biochemical Reactions Glossary

noun a chemical group consisting of an acetyl group bonded to an oxygen atom

• The acetoxy group is a functional group consisting of an acetyl group bound to an oxygen atom.
• I need to remember to add the acetoxy- group to the compound for the experiment.
• Yo, don't forget to throw in that acetoxy- thing in there for the lab.
• Adding the acetoxy- group is like giving the compound a little boost in performance.

noun a spectrum showing the effectiveness of different wavelengths of light in promoting a particular biological process, such as photosynthesis

• The action spectrum is a graph that shows the rate of photosynthesis at different wavelengths of light.
• The action spectrum tells us which colors of light plants use the most for photosynthesis.
• Plants have their own favorite colors of light according to the action spectrum.
• Just like how different colors of light affect photosynthesis, our actions have a spectrum of impact on others.