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Biology 1 > Biological Molecules > Flashcards

Biological Molecules Flashcards

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AP® Biology flashcards Biology 101 flashcards
1
Q

4 main categories of large biological molecules

A

lipids, carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids

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2
Q

macromolecules

A

huge molecules; ex: carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids

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3
Q

polymer

A

a long molecule consisting of may similar or identical building blocks (monomers) linked by covalent bonds; a kind of macromolecule

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4
Q

monomer

A

a small molecule that serves as a building block of a polymer

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5
Q

enzyme

A

macromolecules that speed up a chemical reaction; most are proteins

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6
Q

dehydration reaction

A

a reaction that produces a water molecule and forms a bond; for example, when two monomers bond together

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7
Q

hydrolysis

A

a reaction that uses a water molecule and breaks a bond; for example, when polymers are disassembled into monomers

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8
Q

carbohydrate

A

sugars and polymers of sugars; monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides

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9
Q

monosaccharide

A

the simplest carbohydrate, a simple sugar; the monomers that form more complex carbohydrates; generally have molecular formulas that are some multiple of the unit CH2O; ex: glucose

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10
Q

disaccharide

A

a simple carbohydrate that consists of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage; ex: maltose, sucrose, lactose

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11
Q

glycoside linkage

A

a covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction creating a disaccharide or part of a polysaccharide

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12
Q

polysaccharide

A

a complex carbohydrate that is a polymer made of hundreds to thousands of monosaccharides joined by glycosidic linkages; used for energy storage (ex: starch, glycogen) and structure (ex: cellulose)

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13
Q

starch

A

a polysaccharide that is a polymer of (α) glucose monomers used for energy storage in plants; may be unbranched (amylose) or branched (amylopectin); helical

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14
Q

glycogen

A

a polysaccharide that is a polymer of glucose that is extensively branched and used for energy storage; present in liver and muscle cells

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15
Q

cellulose

A

a polysaccharide that is a polymer of (β) glucose that is used from structure in plant cell walls; straight and position of hydroxyl groups allows for hydrogen bonding between parallel strands of cellulose

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16
Q

chitin

A

a polysaccharide that is a polymer of glucose with a nitrogen-containing appendage; used by arthropods to build their exoskeletons

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17
Q

lipid

A

large biological molecules that are not polymers and not generally macromolecules; they are hydrophobic; ex: fats, phospholipids, steroids

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18
Q

fat

A

a lipid assembled from three fatty acid molecules joined to glycerol by an ester linkage by dehydration reactions; used for storage, insulation, padding

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19
Q

glycerol

A

an alcohol, each of its 3 carbons has a hydroxyl group; found in a fat

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20
Q

ester linkage

A

a bond between a hydroxyl group and a carboxyl group; found in fats

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21
Q

fatty acid

A

a hydrocabon chain (nonpolar/hydrophobic) with a carboxyl group (bonds to glycerol when forming a fat) at one end; may be saturated or nonsaturated (with hydrogen)

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22
Q

triacylglycerol

A

another name for a fat

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23
Q

saturated fatty acid

A

a fatty acid that has no double bonds between carbon atoms on the chain, making chain saturated with hydrogen and straight

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24
Q

unsaturated fatty acid

A

a fatty acid that has double bonds between carbon atoms on the chain, making chain less saturated with hydrogen; almost all double bonds in naturally occurring fatty acids are cis double bonds which create a kink in the hydrocarbon chain

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25
Q

saturated fat

A

a fat made with saturated fatty acids; most animal fats are saturated; the flexibility of the saturaged fatty acid tails allows them to pack more tightly together and be solid at room temperature

26
Q

unsaturated fat

A

a fat made with at least one unsaturated fatty acid; most plant and fish fats are unsaturated; the kink from the double bond means that they can’t pack as close together and are liquid at room temperature

27
Q

trans fats

A

fats made with at least one unsaturated fatty acid containing a trans double bond; these result from the process of hydrogenating (adding hydrogen) to convert unsaturated fats to saturated fats; cloggin up the blood vessels

28
Q

phospholipids

A

a lipid assembled from two fatty acid molecules and a phosphate group joined to glycerol; the hydrocarbon tails are phydrophobic and the phosphate and its attachments form a hydrophilic head

29
Q

phospholipid bilaters

A

self-assembled (in water) double-layer structures of phospholipids with the tails on the inside and the heads on the outside; ex: cell membrane

30
Q

steroids

A

lipids characterized by carbon skeletons consisting of four fused rings; ex: hormones (chemical messengers), cholesterol

31
Q

cholesterol

A

a steroid from which other steroids are derived, a common component of animal cell membranes

32
Q

catalysts

A

chemical agents that selectively speed up a reaction without being consumed by the reaction

33
Q

polypeptides

A

polymers of amino acids

34
Q

protein

A

unbranched polymers constructed from amino acids; a biologically functional molecule that consists of one more more polypeptides, each folded and coiled intoa a specific 3D shape; functions: enzymatic, defensive, storage, transport, hormonal, receptor, contractile/motor, structural

35
Q

amino acid

A

an organic molecule with both an amino group and a carboxyl group; the building block of polypeptides and proteins; there are 20; they differ only by their side chain which can be nonpolar, polar, or charged (acidic/basic)

36
Q

peptide bond

A

a covalent bond between two amino acids (carboxyl to amino) formed by a dehydration reaction; present in polypeptides and proteins

37
Q

primary structure

A

protein structure resulting from amino acid sequence

38
Q

secondary structure

A

protein structure resulting from hydrogen bonding of the backbone (not the side chains)

39
Q

α-helix

A

a secondary protein structure where a helix is formed

40
Q

β-pleated sheet

A

a secondary structure where a sheet is formed from the polypeptide chain lying side by side

41
Q

tertiary structure

A

protein structure resulting from hydrogen bonding of the side chains

42
Q

hydrophobic interaction

A

a type of interaction resulting in tertiary protein structure in which hydrophobic side chains usually end up in clusters at the core of the protein; once the nonpolar amino acids are close together van der Waals interactions help hold them together and hydrogen bonding between water molecules and polar amino acids help support this structure as well

43
Q

disulfide bridges

A

covalent bonds between sulfhydryl groups in two cysteine monomers resulting in tertiary protein structure

44
Q

quaternary structure

A

the overal protein structure that results from the aggregation of the polypeptide subunits; ex: in collogen three identical helical polypeptides intertwine into a larger triple helix

45
Q

denaturation

A

when a protein loses its shape (weak chemical bonds and interactions are destroyed) and becomes biologically inactive

46
Q

gene

A

segments of DNA that contain genetic information

47
Q

nucleic acid

A

polymers made of monomers called nucleotides; two types: DNA (2 polynucleotides in a double helix), RNA (a single polynucleotide chain)

48
Q

DNA

A

deoxyribonucleic acid; stores genetic information to build and operate a cell; in eukaryotes it never leaves the nucleus; shape is a double helix

49
Q

RNA

A

ribonucleic acids; translates DNA information into protein structure

50
Q

polynucleotides

A

a polymer of nucleotides

51
Q

nucleotides

A

the monomers of nucleic acid consisting of a nitrogen containing base, a five-carbon sugar, and one or more phosphate groups

52
Q

pyrimidine

A

the smaller sized family of nitrogenous bases that form nucleotides; cytosine (C), thymine (T, DNA only), uracil (U, RNA only)

53
Q

purine

A

the larger sized family of nitrogenous bases that form nucleotides; guanine (G), adenine (A)

54
Q

deoxyribose

A

the five-carbon sugar (ring) that makes up the nucleotides in DNA; lacks an O atom compared to ribose in RNA

55
Q

ribose

A

the five-carbon sugar (ring) that makes up the nucleotides in RNA; has one more O atom compared to the deoyxribose in DNA

56
Q

double helix

A

the structure of DNA, like a twisted ladder

57
Q

antiparallel

A

descibes how the two phosphate backbones on the outside of the DNA double helix run in opposite directions from 5’ to 3’ on one and from 3’ to 5’ on the other

58
Q

5’

A

the 5th carbon atom in the sugar that makes up a nucleotide; at the end of a phosphate backbone the 5’ end is the 5’ carbon attached to a phospate group

59
Q

3’

A

the 3rd carbon atom in the sugar that makes up a nucleotide; at the end of a phosphate backbone the 3’ end is the 3’ carbon attached to a hydroxyl group

60
Q

ligand

A

a small molecule that binds specifically to a larger one; for example, a hormone is the ligand for its specific protein receptor

Biology 1 (10 decks)

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