building blocks of cells (lecture 2) Flashcards
name four macromolecules that al life is mainly composed of
polysaccharides (complex carbs)
nucleic acids (DNA and RNA)
proteins
lipids (non-polymeric macromolecule)
name the four ‘levels’ of carbohydrates
carbohydrates = saccharides
simple aka sugars:
monosaccharides - one
disaccharides - two
complex carbs:
oligosaccharides - 3-10
polysaccharides - many
differentiate between hexose and pentose monosaccharides
hexose monosaccharides are the building blocks of high order carbohydrates with 6 carbon atoms
whereas
pentose monosaccharides are usually part of larger molecules eg nucleic acids, dna
outline the roles of carbohydrates
recognition - through communication and close proximity
energy - storage eg starch & glycogen
structure - maintinance, bondings, allow for waste removal
explain the structural make up and differences between DNA and RNA nucleotides
singularly they are both made up of a phosphate group connected to a relative sugar (deoxyribose DNA or ribose RNA) and then connected to a base which represents the code of (GCAT for DNA or GCAU for RNA)
name the common bases in full
T - Thymine
A - Adenine
C - Cytosine
G - Guanine
U - Uracil
outline basic DNA/RNA single strand structure
- linear fashion
- the next/below nucleotide connects to the 3rd carbon atom, via their 5th carbon atom (left)
- A to T have 2 hydrogen bonds
- G to C have 3 hydrogen bonds
functions of proteins
structural, regulatory, contractile, transport, storage, protective, catalytic, toxic
outline what a lipid is and its functions
they are classified based on their hydrophobicity towards water and therefore vary in structure. functions:
structural, regulatory, energy
how do building blocks of calls and macromolecules relate
amino acids - proteins
nucleobases - DNA/RNA nucleic acid
simple carbs - complex carbs
glycerol, fatty acids, hydrocarbon rings - lipids
