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Biological Molecules 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
saturated fat
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
unsaturated fat
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
trans fats
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
phospholipids
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
phospholipid bilaters
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
steroids
lipids characterized by carbon skeletons consisting of four fused rings; ex: hormones (chemical messengers), cholesterol
31
cholesterol
a steroid from which other steroids are derived, a common component of animal cell membranes
32
catalysts
chemical agents that selectively speed up a reaction without being consumed by the reaction
33
polypeptides
polymers of amino acids
34
protein
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
amino acid
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
peptide bond
a covalent bond between two amino acids (carboxyl to amino) formed by a dehydration reaction; present in polypeptides and proteins
37
primary structure
protein structure resulting from amino acid sequence
38
secondary structure
protein structure resulting from hydrogen bonding of the backbone (not the side chains)
39
α-helix
a secondary protein structure where a helix is formed
40
β-pleated sheet
a secondary structure where a sheet is formed from the polypeptide chain lying side by side
41
tertiary structure
protein structure resulting from hydrogen bonding of the side chains
42
hydrophobic interaction
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
disulfide bridges
covalent bonds between sulfhydryl groups in two cysteine monomers resulting in tertiary protein structure
44
quaternary structure
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
denaturation
when a protein loses its shape (weak chemical bonds and interactions are destroyed) and becomes biologically inactive
46
gene
segments of DNA that contain genetic information
47
nucleic acid
polymers made of monomers called nucleotides; two types: DNA (2 polynucleotides in a double helix), RNA (a single polynucleotide chain)
48
DNA
deoxyribonucleic acid; stores genetic information to build and operate a cell; in eukaryotes it never leaves the nucleus; shape is a double helix
49
RNA
ribonucleic acids; translates DNA information into protein structure
50
polynucleotides
a polymer of nucleotides
51
nucleotides
the monomers of nucleic acid consisting of a nitrogen containing base, a five-carbon sugar, and one or more phosphate groups
52
pyrimidine
the smaller sized family of nitrogenous bases that form nucleotides; cytosine (C), thymine (T, DNA only), uracil (U, RNA only)
53
purine
the larger sized family of nitrogenous bases that form nucleotides; guanine (G), adenine (A)
54
deoxyribose
the five-carbon sugar (ring) that makes up the nucleotides in DNA; lacks an O atom compared to ribose in RNA
55
ribose
the five-carbon sugar (ring) that makes up the nucleotides in RNA; has one more O atom compared to the deoyxribose in DNA
56
double helix
the structure of DNA, like a twisted ladder
57
antiparallel
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
5'
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
3'
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
ligand
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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