3 Organic molecules Flashcards
Carbon based life forms:
proteins
DNA
carbohydrates etc..
Organic
carbon containing compounds
Carbon is also known as a
backbone
Carbon contains …
6 electrons (2 in first electron shell, 4 in valence shell) can hold 8
Carbons forms what type of bond?
covalent
and can form 4 single bonds (tetravalent)
single bonds
atoms can rotate around the bond
double bond
no rotation
C atoms bind to one another forming …
a chain or backbone
- they vary in length
- may be branched or unbranched
- can have double bonds, which vary in location
- some are in rings
tetrahedral shape
carbon single bonded to 4 other atoms
molecules can have more that one tetrahedral shape
double bond
hydrocarbon molecule has a flat shape (when two carbon atoms are joined by a double bond, all atoms attached to those carbons are in the same plane; the molecule is flat)
hydrocarbons
oragnic molecules consisting of only carbon and hydrogen
non polar
they undergo reactions that release a relatively large amount of energy
what do hydrocarbons do when oxidized?
releases energy
hydrocarbons are not prevalent in most living organisms, however…
many of a cell’s organic molecules have regions consisting of only hydrocarbons
biological hydrocarbons
- entirely hydrocarbon
- some have other atoms and regions consisting of Carbon and hydrogen
functional groups of organic molecules
-components of organic molecules most commonly involved in chemical reactions
-molecules can have more than one functional group
(hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, sulfhydryl, phosphate,methyl)
hydroxyl
- polar due to electronegative oxygen
- forms hydrogen bonds
- compound name alcohol (specific name ends in -ol)
carbonyl
- terminal (on the end of a chain): aldehyde
- non terminal (within the chain): ketone
- in sugars
carboxyl
- acidic: can donate a proton
- polar
amino
- acts as a base
- can pick up a H+ from the surrounding solution (water, in living solutions)
- amino acids also have a carboxylic group
sulfhydryl
- “cross link” proteins (2 -SH groups can react forming a cross-link)
- polar
phosphate
-confers negative charge to molecules
-reacts with water releasing energy
-ATP-adenosine triphosphate
consists of an organic molecule called adenosine attached to a string of three phosphate groups
methyl (non-reactive)
non-polar
important in gene expression
isomers
same molecule formula but different arrangements of atoms
three types: structural
geometric or cis-trans
enantiomers
structeral isomers
different covalent arrangement of their atoms
geometric isomers AKA cis-trans
- same covalent arrangements,different spatial arrangements
- cis double bonds tend to put kinks in biological molecules
- X: group of attached atoms, can be quite large
- trans isomer: the two X’s are on opposite sides
- cis-trans isomers differ in arrangement about a double bond
enantiomers
- mirror images of each other
- many biological reactions are specific to on enantiomer
- enantiomers of a drug may have different effects
- EX phocomelia cause by one enantiomer
macromolecules
polymer is a long molecule consisting of many similar or identical building blocks linked by covalent bonds, much as a train consists of a chain of cars
-1000s of small molecules
macromolecules are formed by
polymerization dehydration (condensation)
dehydration
loss of a water molecule
monomers are connected by a reaction in which…
two molecules are covalently bonded to each other, with the loss of a water molecule ; this is known as a dehydration reaction
polymerization
when H2O combine to form a longer polymer from a short polymer and an unlinked monomer
hydrolysis of polymers
addition of a water molecule breaks the bond
enzymes are called hydrolase
hydro-water lysis-decomposition or breakdown
many polymers form a small set of monomers
5 monomers: ABCDE
21 dimers: AB, AC, AD….
Trimers: ABC, ABD
20 major amino acids
