biochemical compounds Flashcards
characteristics of biological compounds?
made up by organisms, and must have minimum of C, H and O.
carbohydrates?
simple and complex sugars. monomers for carbohydrates are monosaccharides (simple sugars). simple sugars include glucose, fructose, and ribose. disaccharides include sucrose and lactose. polymers of carbohydrates: polysaccharides. these are complex sugars. they include starch and glycogen. structural complex sugars include cellulose and chitin. test for carbohydrate sugars by using benedicts solution. turns from blue to orange when they are present. test for starch by using lugol’s reagent. turns blue-black in presence of starch.
lipids?
fatty acids. long-chain and acid group to make other lipids. saturated fatty acids: maximum H atoms, flexible, and solids. unsaturated: fewer H atoms, less flexible, bent, liquid. triglycerides: 3FA and glycerol for energy storage. phospholipids: 2FA tails and hydrophobic head, membranes. steroids: cholesterol and hormones with a ring shape. paper test to check for lipids. drop some unknown on to brown paper and it leaves a grease spot in the presence of lipids. can also use the sudan iv test. drop sudan iv into the solution and if lipids are present the solution will separate into a layer of red and a layer of unknown.
proteins?
direct chemical reactions, make up many structures. units: amino acids with an amine on one side, acid on the other. residue: any of the 20 chemical groups gives properties. polymerize with peptide bonds as polypeptides. chains fold and spiral to give the shape needed for function. ‘protein’ implies function: may need multiple polypeptides.
nucleic acids?
dna: genetic material that codes for proteins. rna: uses dna code to actually make the proteins. nucleotide monomers made of phosphate, sugar, base. nucleotides include atp and adp, which differ by 1 phosphate. sugar of one binds phosphate of another to polymerize. a = t, g = c, base pairs. H bonds can hold 2 strands together.
