Biochemistry Flashcards
Organic compounds
Compounds that have carbon bonded together to other atoms and determine structure/function of living things
Inorganic compounds
Compounds that do not contain carbon and hydrogen together
Six organic compounds that are found in all living things
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur
Monomer
Building blocks (units)
Polymer
A larger molecule made of monomers
Four categories of organic compounds
Carbohydrates, lipids, protein, nucleic acids
Another name for organic compounds
Macromolecules
Monosaccharides
Monomers of simple ring sugars - glucose and fructose
Disaccharides
Two monosaccharides combined - sucrose and lactose
Polysaccharides
Polymers of monosaccharides, starch (plant energy storage) and glycogen (animal energy storage)
Carbohydrates - cellulose
Glucose bonded to form fibers
Composes cell walls in plants
Not easily digested
Carbohydrates - chitin
Polymer of glucose
Makes up exoskeletons of insects and arthropods
What are cellulose and chitin
Carbohydrates or polysaccharides as structural molecules
Carbon - hydrogen - oxygen ratio
1:2:1
Are lipids hydrophilic or hydrophobic
Hydrophobic
How are phospholipids a lipid
Make sure that the cell cannot disintegrate in water
Uses of lipids
Used for insulation
Used as a wax
Used as a phospholipid
Used as a steroid
How is fat a lipid
Use it to store excess energy
How is wax a lipid
Plants have the cuticle to keep water in because hydrophobic
What are lipids made of
Glycerol and fatty acids
Saturated fats in lipids
Contain no double bonds
Are solid at room temperature
Unsaturated fats in lipids
Contain double bonds
Are liquid at room temperature
Is butter saturated or unsaturated
Saturated
Is olive oil saturated or unsaturated
Unsaturated
Polymers are made of what
Amino acids
The amino acids in polymers are joined by what
Peptide bonds
What are the monomers of proteins
Amino acids
What are nucleic acids and what are they made of
Are polymers that are made of nucleotides
Contain genetic information
What is found within DNA, RNA, and ATP
Nucleic acids
Each nucleotide consists of what
A sugar
A phosphate
A nitrogen base
Two important parts of chemical reactions
Reactants - the chemical that participates in a chemical reaction
Products - the substances that are formed as a result of a chemical reaction
What are enzymes
Proteins that speed up the rate of a chemical reaction
How do enzymes speed up chemical reactions
By decreasing the amount of activation energy required for a reaction
What is activation energy
Energy that chemicals need to begin a reaction
What is the substrate of an enzyme
A molecule that attaches to the enzyme’s active site
What is the Enzyme-Substrate connection like
A lock and key
They are specific to each other - and only each other
Once the substrate and enzyme bond it becomes
The enzyme-substrate complex
What happens once the enzyme-substrate complex is made
The enzyme changes its shape slightly to create a more secure bond and then the chemical reaction occurs
After the chemical reaction following the production of the enzyme-substrate complex what happens
The product (former substrate) is released from the enzyme
What happens to the enzyme after the breaking of the enzyme-substrate complex
It can carry out the same chemical reaction again and again and again
Factors that affect enzymes
Ph and temperature
Example of enzyme not being able to function
Some people die of fevers not because of high temperatures but because their enzymes cannot function when the temperature gets too high
