1.1 Biological molecules

Question 1

What is hydrogen bonding

Answer 1

. Electrons within a molecule aren’t evenly distributed but spend more time at one position.
. This region is more negatively charged than the rest of the molecule.
. A molecule with an uneven distribution of charge is polarised, so is a polar molecule

Negative region of one polarised molecule, and positive region of another attract each other so a weak electrostatic bond is formed between the two.

Question 2

Are hydrogen bonds strong

Answer 2

Individually, they’re weak but they collectively form important forces that alter the physical properties of the molecules.

Question 3

How are molecules formed?

What are the ways of combining atoms

Answer 3

Atoms combine together by…

Covalent bonds: Atoms share pairs of electrons in outer shell so both have filled outer shells and are stable compounds (molecules)

Ionic bonding: Ions with opposite charges attract each other, and this electrostatic attraction is an ionic bond.

Question 4

What is polymerisation

Answer 4

Monomers can be linked together to form long chains, which are called polymers.
This process is called polymerisation

Question 5

What element are most monomers based off of, and give examples

Answer 5

Carbon

Eg polythene and polyesters are industrially produced

Whereas polysaccharides, polypeptides and polynucleotides are from naturally living organisms

Question 6

What are condensation reactions

Answer 6

When polymers are formed from monomers In organisms, each time a new subunit is attached a molecule of water is produced

Eg polypeptide from amino acids is a condensation reaction

Question 7

What are hydrolysis reactions

Answer 7

Polymers can be broken down into monomers when a water molecule is added, which breaks the bonds linking the subunits of a polymer.

it splits the molecule into its constituent parts, eg polypeptides into amino acids, or starch to glucose

Question 8

Polymers of…

Nucleotides

Monosaccharides

Fatty acids + glycerol

Amino acids

Answer 8

Polynucleotides

Polysaccharides

Lipids

Polypeptides

All of them have water added

Question 9

What is metabolism

Answer 9

The sum of all chemical processes that take place in living organisms

Question 10

What is a mol

So what is a molar solution

Answer 10

Si unit for measuring amount of substance

6.022 X 10^23 is called Avogadros constant, One mol has same number of particles as eg 12g of carbon 12 has 6.022 x 10^23 carbon atoms

A solution that contains 1 mol of solute in each litre of solution

Question 11

What is an isomer

Answer 11

Organic molecules that have the same chemical formula but different structural formula.

Eg alpha and beta glucose