Ch 4 + 5 Flashcards
Carbon: how many bonds, what type
4 covalent bonds
What elements other than carbon are commonly found in organic compounds?
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen
What is a different arrangement called?
isomer
What are functional groups?
chemical groups that affect molecular function, give a molecule its personality
What is a monomer?
molecular building blocks of macromolecules
Dehydration
synthesizes polymers by taking away a water molecule
Hydrolysis
breaks down polymers by adding a water molecule
monomer of carbohydrates
monosaccharides
general molecular formula of carbohydrates
CH20 (often multiples)
What bond joins monosaccharides into polymers?
glycosidic linkage
Major functions of carbohydrates
energy, storage, structure
important monomer
glucose
important dimer
sucrose
important polymer
starch
What is chitin and what makes it different?
Chitin builds exoskeletons. It is unlike other carbohydrates because it has nitrogen.
the biologically important types of lipids
fats, phospholipids, and steroids/sterols
Why are neutral fats called triglycerides? What bond holds them?
3 fatty acids, and one glycerol molecule with three carbons held together by ester linkages
Saturated vs. unsaturated
saturated has the most possible hydrogen atoms, unsaturated has at least one double bond
Saturated fats are more ______ and are ___ at room temp
flexible, solid
general formula for lipids
CH(O)
Major function of fats
energy storage
major difference between fats and phospholipids chemically
phospholipid has a phosphate group in place of one of the fatty acids
purpose of phosphate group in phospholipids
the phosphate group is hydrophilic, so phospholipids self-assemble into a bilayer with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails
Steroids
carbon skeleton of four fused rings with a chemical group, has cholesterol and can be used in animal cell membranes as well as estrogen, testosterone
monomer of proteins
amino acids
how many amino acids?
20
polymer of proteins
polypeptides
what is a protein? (vs. polypeptide)
biologically functional molecule with at least one polypeptide
functions of proteins
enzymatic, defensive, transport, hormonal, receptor
what categories are amino acids sorted into and how is it determined?
Determined by r-group: non polar, polar, acidic, basic
How are amino acids joined together?
peptide bonds (dehydration)
What do the ends of an amino acid chain look like?
n-terminus and c-terminus
what must happen to a polypeptide in order for it to be considered a protein?
it must be twisted and folded into a unique 3D molecule
4 stages of protein structure
- Primary: amino acid sequence
- Secondary: coils and folds as a result of hydrogen bonds
- Tertiary: overall shape as a result of r-groups interactions
- Quaternary: combined structure of multiple polypeptides
most crucial aspect of protein to make it functional
shape
two types of nucleic acids and functions
DNA: info storage
RNA: info transport
Purines
double hexagon, adenine and guanine
Pyrimidine
single hexagon, cytosine and thymine
chaperonins
separate polypeptide from obstruction while folding
monomer of nucleic acids and what does it consist of
nucleotide (composed of nitrogenous base, five carbon sugar, at least one phosphate group)
what part of the nucleic acid stores info?
nitrogenous base (ATCG, U in place of T in RNA
