Biomolecules Flashcards
What is a monomer?
Monomers are small molecules that join other monomers to create a larger molecule called a polymer.
What is a polymer?
A large molecule made up of monomers joined together by covalent bonds.
What is the relationship between monomers and polymers?
Their relationship is when monomers are chemically bonded together, it creates a polymer.
How do monomers connect together to form polymers?
They are chemically bonded through a process called polymerization or covalent bonds.
How do polymers break apart to form monomers?
They break apart through a process called hydrolysis
What are the four main categories of biomolecules?
Protein, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.
List the monomer and polymer for each of the 4 biomolecule groups
Proteins: Monomers - Amino acids Polymers - polypeptide chains Shape
Nucleic acids: Monomers - Nucleotides Polymers - DNA & RNA
Carbohydrates: Monomers - Monosaccharides Polymers - Polysaccharides
Lipids: Monomers - No true monomers but fatty acids are common components Polymer - No true polymer
Which biomolecule(s) mostly function as energy sources in cells?
Carbohydrates.
Which biomolecule(s) have the most diverse functions in cells?
Proteins.
Which biomolecule(s) functions as genetic material in cells?
Nucleic acids.
What is carb-loading, why would you want to carb-load, and what types of food would you eat when doing this?
Carb-loading is when you eat a ton of carbs so you have energy for a high endurance activity such as running a marathon. You would eat bread or pasta for this.
What is the difference between a saturated lipid and an unsaturated lipid?
Saturated fats have fatty acids with no double bonds while unsaturated fats have one or more double bonds.
What are two differences between DNA and RNA?
DNA carries genetic information while RNA translates genetic information.
RNA has uracil while DNA doesn’t.
