Biomolecules Flashcards
Monomer
Definition:
A molecule that can be bonded to other identical molecules to form a polymer.
Example:
Monomers are what polymers are made of.
Polymer
Definition:
A substance that has a molecular structure consisting chiefly or entirely of a large number of similar units bonded together.
Example:
Many things we use are made out of polymers.
Polymerization
Definition:
A process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks.
Example:
Polymerization is an important process.
Hydrolysis
Definition:
A reaction that involves the breakdown of a large kmolecule called a polymer into its building blocks.
Example:
Hydrolysis is one of the things we learned about in Enzymatic!.
Condensation
Definition:
Water that collects as droplets on a cold surface when humid air is in contact with it.
Example:
Condensation happens all the time, which is why my mom tells me to put my drinks on a dining mat.
Dehydration Synthesis
Definition:
A type of reaction that involves building large molecules called polymers by joining together.
Example:
Dehydration synthesis is a reaction involves the loss of a water molecule.
Chemical Structure
Definition:
The arrangement of chemical bonds between atoms in a molecule.
Example:
Chemical structures vary from atom to atom.
Function
Definition:
The normal activity of a biological structure.
Example:
The brain has a very important function. Without it, we could do nothing!
Chemical Formula
Definition:
A set of chemical symbols showing the elements present in a compound and their relative proportions, and in some cases the structure of the compound.
Example:
Chemical formulas are basically broken down compunds on paper.
Element
Definition:
Each of more than one hundred substances that cannot be chemically interconverted or broken down into simpler substances and are primary constituents of matter.
Example:
Boron is an element.
Compound
Definition:
A thing that is composed of two or more separate elements; a mixture.
Example:
Elements are an important part of a compund.
Atom
Definition:
Atoms are the basic building blocks of ordinary matter.
Example:
Atoms are very small and microscopic and cannot be seen unless under a microscope.
Polysaccharides
Definition:
A carbohydrate whose molecules consist of a number of sugar molecules bonded together.
Examples:
One example of a polysaccharide found in foods is starch.
Disaccharide
Definition:
A disaccharide is a sugar composed of two monosaccharides.
Example:
Table sugar contains disaccharides.
Monosaccharide
Definition:
Any of the class of sugars that cannot be hydrolyzed to give a simpler sugar.
Example:
Monosaccharides are absorbed into the body through the intestines.
Carbohydrate
Definition:
Any of a large group of organic compounds occurring in foods and living tissues.
Example:
Bread is a type of carbohydrate.
Simple Carbohydrates
Definition:
A carbohydrate that consists of a single monosaccharide unit.
Example:
Candy is an example of a simple carbohydrate.
Complex Carbohydrates
Definition:
A carbohydrate that consists of two or more monosaccharide units.
Example:
Starches are complex carbohydrates.
Glucose
Definition:
A simple sugar that is an important energy source in living organisms and is a component of many carbohydrates.
Example:
Fruits contain glucose.
Lactose
Definition:
A sugar present in milk that is a disaccharide containing glucose and galactose units.
Example:
People who cannot comsume lactose are lactose-intolerant.
Fructose
Definition:
Fructose, is a simple ketonic monosaccharide found in many plants.
Example:
Fructose is found especially in fruit.
Sucrose
Definition:
A crystalline sugar found in many plants.
Example:
The body processes fructose differently from sucrose.
Ribose
Definition:
A pentose sugar with a furanose structure that occurs as a component of riboflavin and RNA.
Example:
In one notable case, an entire set of genes required for growth on the sugar ribose were deleted.
Deoxyribose
Definition:
The sugar found in the side chains of DNA.
Example:
The two uprights of this ladder are composed of molecules of a sugar called deoxyribose.
Starch
Definition:
A carbohydrate that is the chief form of stored energy in plants.
Example:
Starch is a substance, one form of which is used for cooking, and another of which is used to add firmness and shape to clothing.
Glycogen
Definition:
A polysaccharide stored in animal liver and muscle cells that is easily converted to glucose to meet metabolic energy requirements.
Example:
Glycerol drives out the water molecules that normally scatter light and render skin opaque.
Cellulose
Definition:
A carbohydrate that is a polymer composed of glucose units and that is the main component of the cell walls of most plants.
Example:
In the ood industrym cellulose is used as a filler.
Lipids
Definition:
Any of a large group of organic compounds that oily to the touch and insoluble in water.
Example:
Lipids are the building blocks of the fats and fatty substances found in animals and plants.
Fatty Acid
Definition:
Any of a large group of oragnic acids, especially those found in animal and vegetable fats and oils.
Example:
Fish, even more than red meat, contains fatty acids essential for human brain growth.
Glycerol
Definition:
A sweet, syrupy liquid obtained from animal fats and oils or by the fermentation of glucose.
Example:
Glycerol maintains the protein solution at a very low temperatue, without freezing.
Saturated
Definition:
Related to an organic compound in which all the carbon atoms are joined by single bonds and therefore cannot be combined with any additional atoms or radicals.
Example:
Drying the bones- which were saturated during excavations- could take a year or longer, according to the museum.
Unsaturated
Definition:
Relating to a solution that is capable of dissolving more solute than it already contains.
Example:
The major sources of unsaturated fatty acids in the diet are vegetable oils in the natural state.
Trans Fat
Definition:
A fat containing trans fatty acids.
Example:
You should avoid trans fats as much as possible. They’re bad for your heart health.
Cis Fat
Definition:
Fat that has a pair of identical atoms or groups on the same side of a plane that passes through two carbon atoms linked by a double bond.
Example:
Foods containing cis-fats can decrease the risk of heart disease by improving blood cholestorol levels and lowering blood pressure.
Bond
Definition:
A force of attraction that holds atoms or ions together in a molecule or crystal. Bonds are usually created by a transfer or sharing of one or more electrons.
Example:
Dyes need some sort of chemical bond formation to the substance they are coloring.
Double Bond
Definition:
A type of covalent bond in which two electron pairs are shared between two atoms. Each atom contributes two electrons to the bond.
Example:
Double bonds are stronger than single bonds and are also shorter.
Triple Bond
Definition:
A type of chemical bond consisting of three distinct covalent bonds linking two atoms in molecule.
Example:
A triple bond in chemistry is a chemical bond between two atoms involving six bonding electrons instead of the usual two in a covalent single bond.
Peptide Bond
Definition:
The chemical bond formed between amino acids, constituting the primary linkage in all protein structures.
Example:
Amino acids use peptide bonds to link together and make proteins.
Protein
Definition:
Any of a large class of complex organic chemical compounds that are essential for life.
Example:
Protein is a nutrient necessary for the proper growth and function of the human body.
Amino Acid
Definition:
Any of a large number of compunds found in living cells that contain carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and nitrogen, and join together to form proteins.
Example:
Varying food intake and eating enough food takes care of amino acid balance.
Primary Structure
Definition:
The linear sequence of amino acids in a protein.
Example:
The primary structure or basic parts of an aircraft, damage to which would be dangerous.
Secondary Structure
Definition:
The specific geometric shape caused by intramolecular and intermolecular hydrogen bonding of amide groups.
Example:
The term secondary structure refers to the interaction of the hydrogen bond.
Tertiary Structure
Definition:
The overall three-dimensional structure resulting from folding and covalent cross-linking of a protein or polynucleotide molecule.
Example:
Ionic bonding is a factor responsible for the tertiary structure of proteins.
Quaternary Structure
Definition:
The arrangement of multiple folded protein or coiling protein molecules in a multi-subunit complex.
Example:
Hemoglobin is a protein that has a quaternary structure.
Double Helix
Definition:
A pair of parallel helices intertwined about a common axis.
Example:
The structure of a DNA molecule is a double helix.
Enzyme
Definition:
Proteins that speed up chemical reactions.
Example:
We learned about enzymes and their functions in class.
Catalyst
Definition:
A substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.
Example:
Activation Energy
Definition:
The least amount of energy required to activate atoms or molecules to a state in which they can undergo a chemical reaction.
Example:
Catalysts are said to reduce the energy of activation during the transition phase of a reaction.
Substrate
Definition:
The substance acted upon by an enzyme.
Example:
The amount of substrates affects an enzyme’s performance.
Active Site
Definition:
A small port in an enzyme where substrate molecules bind and undergo a chemical reaction.
Example:
An enzyme’s active site cannot drastically change its shape.
Enzyme Substrate Complex
Definition:
A non-covalent complex composed of a substrate bound to the active site of the enzyme.
Example:
The enzyme-substrate complex is formed during a chemical reaction.
Allosteric Site
Definition:
The place on an enzyme where a molecule that is not a substrate may bind.
Example:
Allosterics site regulations are a natural example of control loops.
Competitive Inhibition
Definition:
Blockage of the action of an enzyme on its substrate by replacement of the substrate with a similar but inactive compound that can combine with the active site of the enzyme.
Example:
In competitive inhibition, at any given moment, the enzyme may be bound to the inhibitor, the substrate, or neither, but it cannot bind both at the same time.
Induced Fit
Definition:
The favored model for the enzyme-substrate interaction is the induced fit model.
Example:
The advantages of the induced fit mechanism arise due to the stabilizingn effect of strong enzyme binding.
pH
Definition:
A numerical measure of the acidity of alkalinity of a solution, usually measured on a scale of 0 to 14.
Example:
This relatively acidic Ph level prevents the growth of many bacteria.
Reaction
Definition:
A rearrangement of the atoms of molecules of two of more substances that come into contact with each toher, resulting in the formation of one of more new substances.
Example:
The chemical reaction was very dangerous and volatile.
Reactants
Definition:
A substance participating in a chemical reaction.
Example:
In any chemical reaction, there are always some reactants left.
Products
Definition:
Something “manufactured” by an enzyme from its substrate.
Example:
The products of lactase are galacose and glucose, which are produced from the substrate lactose.
Lipase
Definition:
Any of various enzymes that catalye the hydrolysis of fats, especially triglycerides and phospholipids, into glycerol and fatty acids.
Example:
Human milk contains the enzyme lipase which helps babies digest milk fat more efficiently.
Amylase
Definition:
Any of various enzymes that cause starches to break down into smaller sugars, especially maltose, by hydrolysis.
Example:
High-fructose corn syrup is corn syrup treated with amylase and other enzymes, which together help convert glucose into fructose.
Lactase
Definition:
It’s a digestive enzyme that breaks lactose down into two simpler sugars called galactose and glucose.
Example:
In humans, the body produces less lactase after the age of two.
Nucleic Acids
Definition:
A complex organic substance present in living cells, especially DNA or RNA, whose molecules consist of many nucleotides linked in a long chain.
Example:
Fixed in formalin, as pathologists prefer, tissue is useless for extracting nucleic acids and proteins.
DNA
Definition:
A nucleic acid that contains an organisms’ genetic code.
Example:
DNA is inside every living organism.
RNA
Definition:
Long, single-stranded chain of cells that processes protein.
Example:
An example of RNA is a chain of cells that carries genetic information of many viruses from the cell to the cytoplasm.
Nucleotide
Definition:
A compound consisting of a nucleoside linked to a phosphate group.
Example:
New nucleotides are constantly being made within the cell nucleus.
Sugar
Definition:
Any of the sweet, soluble, crystalline carbohydrates.
Example:
Sugar makes food taste very sweet.
Phosphate
Definition:
A salt of phosphoric acid containing the trivalent, negative radical PO.
Example:
Cobalt ammonium phosphate, CoNH4PO 4.12H 2 0, is formed when a soluble cobalt salt is digested for some time with excess of a warm solution of ammonium phosphate.
Base
Definition:
A base can be defined as either a molecule that binds hydrogen ions or a molecule that donates electrons.
Example:
An acid-base scale shows how to measure the acidity of something.
Adenine
Definition:
A purine base, one of the fundamental components of nucleic acids, as DNA, in which it forms a base pair with thymine, and RNA, in which it pairs with uracil.
Example:
C 5 H 5 N 5 is the chemical structure of adenine.
Thymine
Definition:
A pyrimidine base, that is one of the principal components of DNA, in which it is paired with adenine.
Example:
One of the building blocks on DNA is thymine.
Guanine
Definition:
A purine base, that is a fundamental constituent of DNA and RNA, in which it forms base pairs with cytosine.
Example:
Guanine is an important part of DNA.
Cytosine
Definition:
A pyrimidine base, that is one of the fundamental components of DNA and RNA, in which it forms a base pair with guanine.
Example:
An organism’s genome is made up of varying pairs of four chemicals – adenine, thymine, cytosine and guanine.
ATP
Definition:
An adenosine-derived nucleotide that contains high-energy phosphate bonds and is used to transport energy to cells for biochemical processes.
Example:
ATP is a transporter.
