Ch. 3 the chemical building blocks of life Flashcards
What does modern biochemistry study?
biological molecules outside of cells
What are the 4 classes of macromolecules?
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Proteins
- Nucleic Acids
What are hydrocarbons?
organic molecules consisting of only carbon and hydrogen
What’re functional groups?
specific molecular groups that bond to carbon-hydrogen cores
What are structural isomers?
Compounds with the same formula but different carbon structure
What are stereoisomers?
Compounds with the same structural formula but with a different arrangement of the atoms in space.
What is a molecular formula?
What and how many atoms are in a molecule
What’s a monomer?
a molecule that can be bonded to other identical molecules to form a polymer.
What’s a polymer?
chain of monomers
What’s dehydration synthesis?
joining of 2 molecules together by taking out water
What’s hydrolysis?
the chemical breakdown of a compound due to adding water.
What’s a monosaccharide?
simple sugar
True or False? Fructose is a structural isomer of glucose.
True
True or false? Galactose is a stereoisomer of glucose.
True
What’s a disaccharide?
Two monosaccharides put together by dehydration synthesis
What’s a polysaccharide?
long chains of monosaccharides linked together by dehydration synthesis
What are the 7 functions of protein?
1) enzyme catalysis
2) defense
3) transport
4) support
5) motion
6) regulation
7) storage
What forms the basis of living systems?
Chemistry
Who conducted the cell-free fermentation experiment?
Edward Buchner
What are the 7 functional groups? Where are they found?
1) hydroxyl - carbs, proteins, n. acids, lipids
2) carbonyl - carbs and n. acids
3) phosphate - n. acids
4) Acidic carbonyl - proteins, lipids
5) Basic amino - proteins, n. acids
6) Sulfhydryl - proteins
7) methyl - proteins, n. acids
What’s an isomer?
Organic molecules w/ same molecular/emperical formula but, live in different forms
What’s an enantiomer?
Stereoisomers that’s mirror images of each other
Nucleic acids, DNA and RNA, are _____ of nucleotides
polymers
What’s dehydration reaction (aka condensation)?
a chemical reaction that involves the loss of water from the reacting molecule or ion
What’s catalysis?
process of positioning and stressing and is carried out w/in cells by enzymes
What’s hydrolysis?
The reverse of dehydration reaction in which a molecule of water is added
What are carbohydrates?
group of molecules containing C, H, and O in a 1:2:1 ratio
What’s glycogen?
an insoluble polysaccharide in animals
What’s cellulose?
a polymer of b-glucose and is a chief component of plant cell walls
What’s chitlin?
structural material in anthropoids and fungi
What’s Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) do?
stores genetic information
What does Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) do?
Creates short lined copies of genetic info used to direct synthesis of proteins; carries genetic info, plays part in protein synthesis, regulates process of gene expression
What is Messenger RNA?
A carrier of info that has transcribed copies of parts of DNA which specify the sequence of amino acids of proteins
What’s a nucleotide?
nucleic acids w/ long polymers of repeating sub-units
What’s a polynucleotide?
when one phosphate of a nucleotide joins a hydroxyl group on the sugar of another nucleotide in a dehydration reaction; aka phosphodiester bond
What’s nucleic acid?
a chain of 5-carbon sugars linked by phosphodiester bonds w/ a nitrogenous base protruding from each sugar
What’s shape is a helix?
spiral
What’s a double helix?
helix with two chains
What are the roles of the different RNA’s in cells?
1) carries info in form of mRNA
2) part of ribosome in form of ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
3) carries amino acids in form of transfer RNA (tRNA)
What’s Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)?
energy currency of the cell
What are Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide (NAD+) and Flavin Adenine Dinucleotide (FAD)?
Electron carriers in many cellular processes
What are the 4 levels of a protein structure?
1) primary
2) secondary
3) tertiary
4) quanternay
What is the primary structure of a protein?
Sequence of amino acids
What’s the secondary structure of a protein?
interaction of groups in peptide backbone (a-helix (coiled spiral) and b-sheet (plantar structure))
What’s the tertiary structure of a protein?
final folded shape of globular protein and the functioning stage
What’s the quanternay structure of the protein?
arrangement of individual chains of protein w/ 2+ polypeptide chains
Where are hydrophobic animo acids located on a protein?
The interior
Where are hydrophilic amino acids located on a protein?
The exterior
What is a motif?
common element of the secondary structure in polypeptides; aka super secondary structure
What are chaperone proteins?
Helpers that help proteins fold correctly
What’s denaturation?
when a protein loses its tertiary structure by unfolding and loses its function
Why does denaturation occur (hint there’s 3 answers)
1) pH
2) temperature
3) ionic concentration of solution
What’s a lipid?
A group of molecules w/ one main chemical characteristic –> insoluble in water
What’s a micelles?
Lipid molecules that orient w/ polar (hydrophilic) head towards water and non polar (hydrophobic) tails away from water
What’s a phospholipid bilayer?
A structure with 2 layers that form with the hydrophobic portion facing inwards and the hydrophilic portion facing outwards
What’s an amino acid?
organic compounds that contain both amino and carboxylic acid functional groups
What are the 5 chemical classes based on the “R group” in amino acids?
1) Nonpolar
2) polar uncharged
3)Charged
4) Aromatic
5) Ones w/ special functions w/ unique properties
What’s a peptide bond?
A covalent bond that links two animo acids
What’s a polypeptide?
an unbranched chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds
What’s a domain?
functional unit w/in a larger structure (are substances w/in the tertiary structure of a protein)
Solve the metaphor.
Amino acids are the ____ in a protein’s language. Motifs are the _____ _______/________. Domains are the _______.
1) letters
2) repeated words/phrases
3) paragraphs
What are heat shock proteins?
Chaperone proteins who help proteins unraveled by heat, refold
What’s renaturation?
when a protein changes back into its normal shape and refolds itself
What’s dissociation?
proteins in the quarternay structure that’s subunits separate w/o losing their individual tertiary structure
What’s a lipid?
A group of molecules w/ the main chemical characteristic of being insoluble in water and is built from either fatty acids or glycerol
What’s a triglyceride?
A lipid/fat molecule that consists of a glycerol molecule w/ 3 fatty acids attached and have 14-20 carbon chains
What’s saturated fat?
when all internal carbon atoms in a fatty acid chain are bonded with 2 hydrogen atoms
What’s unsaturated fat?
a fatty acid w/ double bonds between 1+ pairs of successive carbon atoms and have fewer hydrogen atoms
What’s mono-unsaturated? What’s poly-unsaturated?
1) Mono-unsaturated is fatty acids w/ one double bond
2) Poly-unsaturated are fatty acids w/ 1+ double bonds
What’s trans-configuration?
When carbon atoms are on opposite side before and after a double bond
Why are unsaturated fats liquid and saturated fats are solid?
Due to the presence of double bonds in fatty acids, they affect the melting points of triglycerides b/c of a lack of free rotation
What are Terpenes?
Long-chained lipids that’re components of pigments
What’re steroids composed of?
4 carbon rings
What are prostaglandins?
about 20 lipids in a group that are modified fatty acids w/ 2 non polar “tails” attached to a 5-carbon ring and act as local chemical messengers
What’s a phospholipid?
a complex lipid molecule that forms the core of all biological membranes
