analysing chemical composition

Question 1

what are biomolecules?

Answer 1

organic molecules that include protein, lipid , carbohydrate and nucleic acid.

Question 2

explain the chemical analysis of living tissue?

Answer 2

on grinding living tissue in trichloroacetic acid(ch3ccooh) using a mortar and pestle a thick slurry is formed, when this is strained through a cheesecloth two filtrates are formed.

Question 3

what are the two fractions formed ?

Answer 3

1) filtrate or acid-soluble pool

2) retentate or acid-insoluble pool

Question 4

what is the composition of the filtrate?

Answer 4

it contains micro molecules ( 800 - 1000 Daltons. It contains in organic elements like sulfate and phosphate. and organic substance like simple sugar, amino acid, and nucleotides

Question 5

what is the composition of the retentate?

Answer 5

it contains macromolecule ( above 1000 Daltons) . it contains polymers, proteins polysaccharides and nucleic acid, and polar substance like lipids(lipid is an exception because its molecular weight is 800 da)

Question 6

how can the inorganic compounds and elements in the tissue be studied?

Answer 6

by performing ash analysis or destructive experiment.

Question 7

explain the steps of ash analysis.

Answer 7

1) dry a living tissue so that wet weight evaporates
2) burn the dry weight which is left in a blast furnace, so that the carbon compound will turn into gaseous form and removed
3) the raimaining is called ash

Question 8

what does ash contain?

Answer 8

ash contains inorganic materials like sulphate, magnesium, phosphate and calcium.

Question 9

compare the percentage of elements present in the animal body and the earth’s crust.

Answer 9

STUDY FROM THE TEXTBOOK

Question 10

what is the average composition of human cells?

Answer 10

STUDY FROM THE TEXTBOOK

Question 11

what is the other name dalton use for macromolecules?

Answer 11

biomacromolecules

Question 12

why are lipids under an acid-insoluble pool despite their 800Da molecular weight?

Answer 12

when a cell is grinded the plasma membrane forms vesicles which is acid insoluble.

Question 13

what does macro and micro molecules roughly represent?

Answer 13

• micromolecules: cytoplasmic composition (without the organelles)
• macromolecules: cytoplasmic composition with the organelles

Question 14

which is the most abundant chemical in living organisms?

Answer 14

water

Question 15

what are metabolites?

Answer 15

a metabolite is an intermediate or end product of metabolism. The term metabolite is usually used for small molecules

Question 16

what are the two types of metabolites? explain them.

Answer 16

1) primary metabolites: theses are metabolites required for primary or daily metabolic activities like photosynthesis, respiration etc eg: chlorophyll, glycogen
2) secondary: these are the metabolite which is not used for daily metabolic activities nad does do nit have a direct connection with body growth and development. they help protect, defence and support. eg: pigments, alkaloids, Terpenoid, essential oils, toxins, lectins, drugs and polymers.

Question 17

examples of pigments.

Answer 17

carotenoids (carrot), anthocyanin (blueberry, raspberry, black rice)

Question 18

examples of alkaloids.

Answer 18

morphine(relieve moderate to severe pain), codeine( reduce coughing, relieve mild pain ),

Question 19

examples of terpenoids

Answer 19

monoterpenes ( treating early and advanced cancers.), diterpenes(anticancer drug taxol, used in therapy against ovarian, breast, and lung cancer).

Question 20

examples of essential oils

Answer 20

lemongrass oil, tea tree oil (face wash)

Question 21

examples of toxins

Answer 21

abrin (used in medical research because of its potential as a treatment to kill cancer cells), ricin(used in medical research because of its potential as a treatment to kill cancer cells)

Question 22

lectins

Answer 22

concanavalin A ( used to purify glycosylated macromolecules in lectin affinity chromatography),

Question 23

drugs

Answer 23

Vinblastine, vincristine(chemotherapy)

Question 24

polymers

Answer 24

rubber, gums , cellulose