1. Biomolecules and Water Flashcards
trace element
element present in small quantities in a living organism
amino acid
a compound consisting of a carbon atom to which are attached to a primary amino group, a carboxylate group, a side chain (R group), and an H atom
carbohydrate
a compound with the formula (CH2O)n where n is greater or equal to 3
- a saccharide
monosaccharide
carbohydrate consisting of a single sugar molecule
nucleotide
- monomeric units of nucleic acids
- one nucleoside esterified to one or more phosphate groups
nucleoside
a nitrogenous base linked to either ribose or deoxyribose
lipid
class of molecules that is largely and mostly hydrophobic, insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents, non-polar (but may contain one polar aspect, -OH)
monomer
structural units that add together to form a polymer
explain what is meant by ‘directionality’
- asymmetric bond connection between monomers
- attachment of monomers in which the points of connections are distinct from one another
residue
term for what remains of a monomeric unit after it has been incorporated into a polymer
peptide bond
what links the amino acid residues in a polypeptide.
an amide linkage between the alpha-amino group of one amino acid and the alpha-carboxylate group of another.
phosphodiester bond
a phosphate group esterified to two alcohol groups
glycosidic bond
covalent linkage b/w two monosaccaride units in a polysaccaride, or the linkage b/w the anomeric carbon of a saccharide and an alcohol or amine
list the most abundant elements in biological molecules
hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, sulfur
list the major classes of biological molecules and biological polymers
major molecules:
1. amino acids
2. carbohydrates
3. nucleotides
4. lipids
major polymers:
1. proteins
2. nucleic acids
3. polysaccharides
what are each of the biological polymers composed of? what is the major function of each?
proteins
- made of amino acids connected by peptide bonds
- carry out metabolic reactions and support cellular structures
nucleic acids
- made from nucleotides connected by phosphodiester bonds
- encodes information
polysaccharides
- made from monosaccharides connected by glycosidic bonds
- stores energy and supports cellular structures
List the 3 major types of electrostatic forces that act on biological molecules and explain the nature of them
- ionic interactions +/-
- the non covalent interaction of oppositely electrically charged atoms.
- limited amount in molecules, strong force - hydrogen bonds
- where a hydrogen is shared between two electronegative atoms - van der waals forces
- dipole-dipole: between polar non-charged groups
- london dispersion: between nonpolar molecules
How many hydrogen bonds can water make?
typical: 3
maximum: 4 (2 as donor, 2 as acceptor)
how does water solubility relate to hydrogen bonding
with increasing numbers of potential hydrogen bonding groups, water solubility for a molecule will increase
list the types biological molecule bonding in order of decreasing strength
covalent bond > ionic bonds > hydrogen bonds > van der waals
explain the term ‘hydrophobic effect’ and outline the role that entropy plays in the process
- the hydrophobic effect occurs when the hydrogen bonding pattern of water is disrupted by the non-polar molecules; non-polar compounds tend to associate more with each other in water
entropy: reflects the degree of chaos or uncertainty within a set of conditions
- the clustering/association of nonpolar molecules in water reduces the amount of surface area that is exposed to water ~ increasing the entropy of water
