Biological Molecules Flashcards
What are Monomers?
-Monomers are the smaller units from which larger molecules are made
-Examples include; Monosaccharides, amino acids and nucleotides
What are Polymers?
-Polymers are molecules made from a large number of monomers joined together
What is a condensation reaction?
-A condensation reaction joins two molecules together with the formation of a chemical bond and involves the elimination of a molecule of water
What is a hydrolysis reaction?
-A hydrolysis reactions breaks a chemical bond between two molecules and involves the use of a water molecule
What are Monosaccharides?
-Monosaccharides are the monomers from which larger carbohydrates are made
-Examples are Glucose, Galactose and Fructose
What bond is created in a condensation reaction between two monosaccharides?
-A condensation reaction between two monosaccharides forms a Glycosidic Bond
What are Disaccharides?
-Disaccharides are formed by the condensation of two monosaccharides
How is Maltose formed?
-Maltose is a disaccharide formed by the condensation of two glucose molecules
How Is Sucrose formed?
-Sucrose is a disaccharide formed by condensation of a Glucose molecule and a Fructose molecule
How is Lactose formed?
-Lactose is a disaccharide formed by condensation of a Glucose molecule and a Galactose molecule
What are the Isomers of Glucose?
-Glucose has two isomers, α-Glucose and β-Glucose
How are Polysaccharides formed and describe their solubility in water.
-Polysaccharides are formed by the condensation of many Glucose units
-Polysaccharides are insoluble in water
How are Glycogen and Starch Formed?
-Glycogen and Starch are formed by the Condensation of α-Glucose
-How is Cellulose formed?
-Cellulose is formed by the condensation of β-Glucose
What are Carbohydrates and their uses?
-Carbohydrates are Bio-Molecules made of Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen
-Cells use Carbohydrates as both a source of energy (typically smaller, simple sugars) or a store of energy(commonly larger complex sugars)
What are Pentose Sugars and Hexose sugars?
-A Pentose sugar is a Monosaccharide that consists of 5 carbons and have a pentagonal structure
-An example of a Pentose sugar is Ribose
-A Hexose sugar is a Monosaccharide that consists of 6 carbons and have a hexagonal structure
-An example of a Hexose sugar are, Glucose, Fructose and Galactose
Describe the structure and uses of starch.
-Starch is used for storing energy in plants
-Made of 2 compounds, Amylose and Amylopectin
-Amylose is a polysaccharides that is made from 200-5000 glucose molecules joined by 1,4 Glycosidic bonds
-There is a slight angle between the Alpha-glucoses causing the amylose to be in a spiral shape
-This allows the Amylose to be compact for more space in the cell
-Amylopectin is similar but also has 1,6 Glycosidic bonds which forms branches which are easy to break of the give quick and accessible release of energy
-Starch is also insoluble so doesn’t affect cell water potential
What is Amylopectin?
-Amylopectin is one of two of the components of Starch
-Amylopectin is branched and is made up of alpha-glucose molecules joined by 1, 4 and 1, 6 glycosidic bonds
- Due to the presence of many side branches these can be acted upon simultaneously by many enzymes and thus broken down to release its energy.
What is amylose?
-Amylose is an unbranched chain of glucose molecules joined by 1, 4 glycosidic bonds, and as a result amylose is coiled and thus a very compact molecule storing a lot of energy.
Describe the structure and uses of Glycogen.
-Glycogen is mainly how animals and fungi store energy
-Glycogen is formed from many molecules of alpha glucose joined together by 1, 4 and 1, 6 glycosidic bonds. -It has a large number of side branches meaning that energy can be released quickly as enzymes can act simultaneously on these branches.
Describe the structure and uses of Cellulose.
-Cellulose is a strong substance found in plant cell walls, which stops the cell from bursting
-It is made up of unbranched chains of Beta-glucose molecules linked via 1,4 glycosidic bonds
-Every alternate glucose molecule in cellulose chains is inverted to avoid a spiral structure
-These chains are arranged by lining up on top of each other like a brick wall bonded by hydrogen bonds; These structures are called Microfibrils
-Most animals, including humans, cannot digest cellulose as they lack enzymes, however cows can
Describe the structure of Microfibrils.
-Microfibrils are strong threads which are made of long cellulose chains running parallel to one another that are joined together by Hydrogen bonds forming strong cross linkages
Describe a Biochemical test for reducing sugars.
-Benedict’s reagent can be used to test for the presence of reducing sugars, which are sugars that can reduce the Benedict’s reagent (an alkaline solution of Copper (II) Sulfate)
-When a reducing sugar is added to this blue reagent and heated, it forms an insoluble brick red precipitate (Copper (I) oxide)
Describe the Biochemical test for non-reducing sugars.
-If a sugar is added to Benedict’s reagent and there is no colour change from blue to brick red, the food sample is a non-reducing sugar
-Therefore, dilute HCl is added and heated to hydrolyse the glycosidic bonds between the polysaccharides and disaccharides
-Then Sodium Hydrogen-carbonate is added in order to neutralise the solution as Benedict’s reagent wont work in acidic solutions
-Then the reducing sugar test is repeated- if sugars are present Benedict’s reagent changes from blue to brick red
Describe the Biochemical test for starch.
-A chemical test for starch is iodine/potassium iodide
-If the solution turns blue/black in colour from orange-brown then starch is present
What are Reducing and Non-reducing sugars?
-Reducing sugars are Monosaccharides and some Disaccharides (e.g maltose) that are reducing agents
-Non-reducing sugars are Polysaccharides that are not reducing agents
Describe the structure of Triglycerides and how they are formed.
-Triglycerides are formed by the condensation of one molecule of glycerol and three molecules of fatty acid to form three ester bonds
-They are non-polar molecules and therefore insoluble in water (waterproof)
-The great amount of Carbon and Hydrogen means that when these bonds are broken, a great amount of energy can be released
Describe the function and properties of Triglycerides.
-High ratio of energy strong carbon-Hydrogen bonds to carbon atoms and therefore they are an excellent energy store
-A low mass to energy ratio meaning that they are a good storage molecule, with a lot of energy being stored in a small volume. This is beneficial for animals as it is less mass to move around
-Insoluble in water and therefore does not affect cell water potential
-A high ratio of hydrogen-oxygen atoms means that triglycerides release water when they are oxidised providing water for organisms living in a dry environment
What are lipids and what are they used for?
-Lipids are Biological molecules made of Carbon, Hydrogen and oxygen
-Lipids are only soluble in organic solvents and alcohols
-The main types are triglycerides and phospholipids
-They are used to regulate hormones, transmit nerve impulses and store energy in the form of body fat
What are saturated lipids?
-Saturated lipids are found in animal fats
-Saturated lipids don’t contain any carbon-carbon double bonds
What are unsaturated lipids?
-Unsaturated lipids can be found in plants
-Unsaturated lipids contain carbon-carbon double bonds
-The presence of of a double bond means that the molecule is able to bend
-As a result, unsaturated fats cannot pack together as tightly and are therefore liquid at room temperature
-Also known as trans-fats which are very unhealthy for humans as it raises bad cholesterol and lowers good cholesterol blocking arteries. This is for the bending means we as humans don’t have the enzymes to break the trans-fats down
-They can be monounsaturated, containing one double bond, or polyunsaturated containing multiple double bonds
Describe the bonding between a Glycerol and a fatty acid (RCOOH).
-A condensation reaction between glycerol and a fatty acid forms an ester bond
Describe the structure and function of Phospholipids.
-In phospholipids, one of the fatty acids of a triglyceride is substituted by a phosphate containing group
-The fatty acids tails are hydrophobic and the phosphate head is hydrophilic, meaning that phospholipids are polar molecules
-The polarity means that in aqueous environments a phospholipid bilayer can be formed
-Their structure allows them to form glycolipids with carbohydrates which are important on the cell surface for cell recognition
What is the Biochemical test for lipids?
-An emulsion test can be used for the presence of lipids
-Mix ethanol and the liquid food sample together and shake thoroughly to dissolve the lipid in the solution
-Then add water and shake gently, a cloudy white emulsion should settle at the top of the solution if lipids are present
-For a control group the experiment can be repeated with water taking the place as the food sample to show no white emulsion forming
What are fatty acids?
-Fatty acids are different length Hydrocarbon chains with a carboxyl group at the end, hence the ‘acid’
-They are hydrophobic and non-polar because the symmetrical hydrocarbons have no dipole
-The general formula for a saturated acid is CnH*2n02
-2 Hydrogen’s are removed per C-C double bond in unsaturated fats
Describe the bonding between amino acids
-A condensation reaction between two amino acids forms a peptide bonds
How are dipeptides formed?
-Dipeptides are formed by the condensation of two amino acids
How are polypeptides formed?
-Polypeptides are formed by the condensation of many amino acids
What are amino acids?
-Amino acids are the monomers from which proteins are made
-They all contain an Amino group and a carboxyl acid group with a variable R group
-Amino acids contain C,H,O,N and sometimes S
-There are only 20 types of amino acids
Describe the structure of Amino acids.
-Amino acids have the structure of an amino group (NH2), a carboxylic acid group (COOH) and a variable R group attached to a CH
what are the levels of structure of proteins?
-Structure of proteins is determined by the order and number of amino acids, bonding present and the shape of protein and is categorised as the structures below:
-Primary structure; the order and number of amino acids in a protein
-Secondary structure; the shape that the chain of amino acids - either alpha helix and beta pleated sheets
-Tertiary structure; the 3d shape of the protein and is formed from further twisting and folding and is maintained by bonding in the proteins such as Disulfide bridges, Ionic bonds and Hydrogen bonds
-Quaternary structure; when one or more 3d polypeptides chain together
What are Globular and Fibrous proteins?
-Globular proteins are proteins such as enzymes and they are compact proteins
-Fibrous proteins and proteins such as keratin which are long and thus can be used to form fibre
What is the Primary structure of a protein?
-Primary structure of a protein is the order and number of amino acids in a protein. This primary structure contains the initial sequence of amino acids and therefore determine the proteins function at the end of the
What is the secondary structure of a protein?
-The Secondary structure is the shape that the chain of amino acids which is either an **alpha helix **or a beta pleated sheet held by hydrogen bonds