2-1. Chemistry Comes Alive Flashcards
compound
substances composed of 2 or more elements
What are the two classes of compounds?
inorganic and organic
List the four inorganic compounds.
water
acid
base
salt
inorganic compound (def.)
small molecules that usually do not contain carbon; most are held together by ionic bonds
What is the most important inorganic compound, that life couldn’t exist without?
water
What are 5 reasons why life cannot exist without water?
high specific heat (takes a lot of energy to change temperature, heats up and cools off slowly)
high heat of vaporization (a lot of heat to turn from liquid to gas (eg. sweat))
excellent solvent (dissolves a greater variety and quantity of substances)
cellular reaction (most bio molecules don’t react unless dissolved in water)
lubricant/cushioning (reduces friction)
acid
substance that releases H+ (hydrogen ions) when dissolved in water, increasing H+ content
base
substance that takes up H+, decreasing H+ content and increasing OH- content
salt
ionic compounds formed by adding an acid to a base (eg. NaCl)
Which inorganic compound is a proton donor?
acid
Which inorganic compound is a proton acceptor?
base
What cations and anions can a salt NOT consist of?
Cation not H+
Anion not OH-
What happens if a salt is dissolved in water?
Disassociates into its ions
electrolyte
substances that conduct electricity
What are the four types of organic compounds?
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic Acids
pH Scale
measures the degree of acidity or alkalinity of a solution, based on concentration of H+
What is the range of the pH scale?
0 > acid
7 > neutral
14 > base
Change in one pH unit is a ___ change in degree of acidity/alkalinity
10x
Urine (pH 6) is ____ more ____ than water
10x; acidic
Ammonia (pH 11) is ____ more ____ than Tums (pH 9)
100x; alkaline
Vinegar (pH 3) is ___ more ____ than milk (pH 6)
1000x; acidic
organic compound (def)
large, covalently-bonded molecules with carbon backbones
Carbon forms _(#)__ __(type)__ bonds.
4 covalent
Which compound (organic/inorganic) decomposes easily?
Organic b/c of covalent bonds; good source of energy
Carbohydrate (def and composition)
sugar and starches made of the ratio: 1C, 2H, 1O (CHHO)
What are the types of carbohydrates?
monosaccharides
disaccharides
polysaccharides
What are the functions of carbohydrates?
- easily used source of cellular fuel
2. structural purpose
monosaccharide
simple carbohydrate with 3-7 carbon hydrates; monomers for other carbohydrates
What are two examples of a monosaccharide?
glucose, fructose
disaccharides
double sugars, formed by covalent bonding of two simple sugers
What are three examples of a disaccharide?
sucrose (table sugar)
maltose (grain sugar)
lactose (milk sugar)
polysaccharides
many molecules of sugar linked in a long chain (polymer), and are insoluble. Ideal storage product but lack sweetness
What are two examples of polysaccharides?
starch (plant stored sugar)
glycogen (human stored sugar)
How do monomers combine to form polymers?
dehydration synthesis - chain reaction where small molecules unite to form larger ones, removing one molecule of water
How do polymers break down into monomers?
hydrolysis - decomposition; breakdown of a polymer into monomers by adding water
Which of the following is a disaccharide? glucose sucrose fructose glycogen
sucrose
Which of the following is a monosaccharide? glucose glycogen lactose sucrose
glucose
What do animals store carbohydrates as?
glycogen
What do plants store carbohydrates as?
starch
Lipid (def and composition)
fats and oils, insoluble in water; made of CHO, and some P
CHOP
What are the three types of lipids?
triglycerides, phospholipids, steroids
triglyceride
most abundant type of lipid; richest energy source, also known as neutral fat
made of 2 carbon alcohol (glycerol) with three fatty acids attached
What are the three types of fatty acid?
saturated, unsaturated, transfat
saturated fatty acid
fatty acid where every carbon in chain is bonded to 2 H atoms; solid at room temp and common in animals (“fats”)
unsaturated fatty acid
fatty acid where carbon is not “saturated” with hydrogen - double bonds btwn some carbon atoms; liquid at room temp and common in plants (“oils”)
trans fats
oils that have been solidified with addition of H atoms
hydrogenated
process of adding H atoms to a vegetable oil to create a solid
What are 2 functions of neutral fats?
- most efficient form of stored energy - more kcal/gram than any other food
- insulation and padding
phospholipids
glycerol backbone with two fatty acids - third carbon as a phosphate group attached
What is the function of a phospholipid?
chief component of all cell membranes
steroids
4 fused carbon rings form the backbone of these complex molecules
What are the 4 types of steroids?
cholesterol
sex hormones
bile salts
corticosteriods
cholesterol
essential for life; raw mineral of vitamin D
sex hormones
estrogen and progesterone (female)
testosterone (male)
bile salts
aid in digestion and absorption of fats in diet
corticosteriods
hormones from adrenal gland, essential for life
protein (def and composition)
large complex polymers made of C, H, O, N, and sometimes S (CHON-S)
what is the monomer of a protein?
amino acids
How many amino acids are there?
20
dipeptide
2 amino acids joined by a peptide bond
polypeptide
long chain of 10+ amino acids
What are the four levels of protein structure?
primary
secondary
tertiary
quarternary
What is the most important level of protein structure?
primary level - order of the amino acids
What are the two types of functional proteins?
fibrous protein and globular protein
What are the two functions of fibrous protein?
structure and mechnical support
movement
What are three examples of fibrous protein that aid in structure?
collagen; keratin; elastin
What are the four functions of globular protein?
catalysis
transport
regulation of metabolism
body defense
Which globular protein is responsible for catalysis?
enzymes - speed up biological reactions
Which globular protein is responsible for transport?
hemoglobin - transport O in blood
Which globular protein is responsible for regulation of metabolism?
hormones - regulate growth, development and metabolism
Which globular protein is responsible for body defense?
antibodies - specialized proteins released by immune cells to destroy foreign substances
denaturization
large change in temperature causing proteins to lose their 3D shape - when shape is lost, can no longer perform their specific functions
What is the danger of a high fever?
proteins (enzymes) denature, and can no longer speed up biological reactions
Nucleic acid (def and composition)
largest molecules in body, composed of C, H, O, N, P (CHONP); made of building blocks called nucleotides
What are the structural elements of a nucleotide?
- pentose sugar (5 C sugar)
- nitrogenous base
- phosphate group
Which two pentose sugars make up nucleic acids?
ribose or deoxyribose
What are the two types of nucleic acids?
DNA and RNA
DNA
genetic material that makes up chromosomes (found in nucleus)
RNA
carrise out protein synthesis, translates instructions on DNA
In DNA, adenine pairs with ___.
thymine
In DNA, guanine pairs with ___.
cytosine
What are the 4 structural elements of DNA?
- nucleotide building blocks form a chain, with phosphate of one linking to sugar of the next.
- one molecule has two chains, held together by complimentary base pairs (A-T, G-C).
- Resembles a ladder; rails are alternating sugar-phosphate groups, rungs are pairs of nitrogenous bases
- ladder twists itself into a double helix
How is RNA’s structure different from DNA?
- RNA is a single chain of nucleotides
- The 5-carbon sugar is ribose, not deoxyribose
- RNA has uracil instead of thymine
In DNA, cytosine pairs with ___.
guanine
In DNA, thymine pairs with ___.
adenine
ATP
adenosine triphosphate; an adenine containing RNA nucleotide to which additional phosphate groups have been added
What form of energy is immediately usable to cells?
ATP - terminal phosphatre bond is broken, releasing energy for work:
ATP > ADP + P + (energy)
Build the complimentary chain of DNA:
Chain 1: A T C A G T C G
Chain 2: ?
T A G T C A G C
What type of bond is found in an organic compound?
covalent
Which compound is carbon based?
organic compounds
What type of bond is found in an inorganic compound?
ionic
