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General Biology I > Chapter 1.3.2 Macromolecules > Flashcards

Chapter 1.3.2 Macromolecules Flashcards

1
Q

What are the four main classes of important molecules

A
  1. Carbohydrates
  2. Lipids
  3. Proteins
  4. Nucleic acids
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2
Q

What are macromolecules considered to be

A

Polymers

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3
Q

What is a polymer

A

Long molecule consisting of building blocks linked by covalent bonds

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4
Q

What are polymers built from

A

Monomers

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5
Q

What is a monomer

A

Repeating units that are the building blocks

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6
Q

Why are enzymes helpful for cells

A

Because they help making/destroying polymers by increasing the rate of reaction (most enzymes are proteins)

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7
Q

What does the dehydration reaction consist of

A

Consists of synthesizing a polymer by removing a water molecule to covalently bond 2 molecules

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8
Q

What does the hydrolysis reaction consist of

A

Consists of breaking down a polymer by adding a water molecule (reverse of dehydration)

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9
Q

Which of the four main important molecules is NOT a macromolecule

A

Lipids, too small to form polymers

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10
Q

What are carbohydrates

A

Sugars or polymers of sugars

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11
Q

Name the simplest form of carbohydrates

A

Monosaccharides (is a monomer)

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12
Q

What is a polysaccharide

A

Polymers composed of many sugars

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13
Q

What is most common monosaccharide

A

Glucose (C6H12O6)

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14
Q

What is the molecular composition of sugars

A

They’re made of at least 3 C with O and H and they’re polar

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15
Q

How do we name carbon chains based on their length (assuming they all end with -ose)

A

By using numeral prefixes such as hex for 6, tri for 3 and pent for 5 (if it ends by -ose, it’s most likely a sugar)

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16
Q

By what reaction do two monosaccharides form one disaccharide and what name do we use for their link

A
  1. Dehydration reaction
  2. Glycosidic linkage
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17
Q

What are the two monosaccharides that compose Maltose

A

Glucose + Glucose

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18
Q

What are the two monosaccharides that compose Sucrose

A

Glucose + Fructose

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19
Q

What are the two monosaccharides that compose Lactose

A

Glucose + Galactose

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20
Q

Name the two uses of carbs

A
  1. Storage polysaccharides
  2. Structural polysaccharides
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21
Q

The function and shapes of the polysaccharides depend on 2 things

A
  1. Their sugar monomers
  2. The positions of their glycosidic linkage
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22
Q

Is starch a storage or structural polysaccharide

A

Storage

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23
Q

Is Cellulose a storage or structural polysaccharide

A

Structural

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24
Q

What are the 2 forms of starch stored in plastids

A
  1. Amylose (simplest, unbranched)
  2. Amylopectin (branched)
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25
Q

What do animals store carbohydrates as, in their liver or muscle cells

A

As glycogen (branched ++)

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26
Q

What makes cellulose a structural polysaccharide

A
  1. Tough
  2. Polymer of glucose (like starch) with straight and linear linkages
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27
Q

What are the two different ring structures for glucose and what differentiates them

A
  1. Alpha (-OH group of first C is below plane of ring)
  2. Beta (-OH group of first C is above plane of ring)
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28
Q

In what form of ring structure does starch presents itself in

A

All in alpha form

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29
Q

In what form of ring structure does cellulose presents itself in

A

All in beta form

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30
Q

What differs between the linkages and structures of starch and cellulose

A
  • Structure and linkages of starch are helical
  • Structure and linkages of cellulose are straight and never branched
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31
Q

Name the parallel cellulose strands held together by H bonds in plant cells

A

Microfibrils

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32
Q

An enzyme that can hydrolyze alpha can also hydrolyze beta linkages

A

False

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33
Q

What are the cell walls of fungi made of, what structural polysaccharide

A

Cithin

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34
Q

Are lipids a group of hydro phobic or philic molecules

A

Hydrophobic

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35
Q

Why are lipids hydrophobic

A
  • Mostly hydrocarbon bonds, not polar
  • Few polar bonds with O
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36
Q

What are the 3 most important lipids

A
  1. Fats
  2. Phospholipids
  3. Steroids
37
Q

By what reaction are large molecules of lipids assembled from smaller molecules

A

Dehydration reaction

38
Q

What is a fat composed of

A

1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids

39
Q

What characterize a saturated fat

A
  • No double bonds
  • As many H as possible
40
Q

What characterize an unsaturated fat

A
  • One or more double bonds
41
Q

Explain why saturated fats can stay solid at room temperature

A

Because the flexibility from their single bonds let them pack together tightly

42
Q

Explain why unsaturated fats are often liquid at room temperature

A

Because their double bonds prevents them from packing together tightly enough to stay solid

43
Q

What is the main function of fat

A

Energy storage (a gram of fat store more than 2x the energy of a gram of polysaccharide like starch)

44
Q

How does fat help animals other that being a source of energy

A
  • Can cushion vital organs
  • Helps insulate to keep warmer body temperature
45
Q

What part of the cell do phospholipids make up

A

The cell membrane

46
Q

How can the phospholipids self assemble into a bi-layer in water

A

Because one side is hydrophilic (the head) and the other is hydrophobic (tails)

47
Q

What are steroids characterized by

A

A carbon skeleton consisting of 4 fused rings

48
Q

Rearranging cholesterol can result in other steroids

49
Q

Name examples of steroids we saw in class

A
  • Cholesterol
  • Vertebrate sex hormones
50
Q

Name the 4 functions or proteins

A
  1. Enzymatic proteins : selective acceleration of chemical reactions
  2. Defensive proteins : protection against disease
  3. Storage proteins : storage of amino acids
  4. Transport proteins : transport of substances
51
Q

Name the 4 different types of proteins

A
  1. Hormonal proteins : coordination of an organism’s activities
  2. Receptor proteins : response of cell to chemical stimuli
  3. Contractile and motor proteins : movement
  4. Structural proteins : support
52
Q

What are the monomers of proteins called

A

Amino acids

53
Q

What are the polymers of proteins called

A

Peptides or polypeptides

54
Q

Define protein

A

Biologically functional molecule made up of one or more polypeptides

55
Q

What is an amino acid composed of

A
  • NH3+ group
  • COO- group
  • H atom
  • R group (variant group)
56
Q

What does the side chain (variable group R) does in an amino acid

A

Determines the characteristics of the the amino acid

57
Q

What makes certain amino acids hydrophobic

A

Their side chains/bonds do not contain oxygen making them nonpolar

58
Q

What does having O in a side bond of an amino acid do

A

It charges it, making it polar and hydrophilic

59
Q

What is a peptide bond

A

Resulting covalent bond formed by the linkage of two amino acid polymers

60
Q

By what type of reaction do amino acid polymers link together to form chains

A

Dehydration reaction

61
Q

How can you recognize polypeptides

A

By their N terminus and C terminus

62
Q

What do nucleic acids do

A

Store, transmit and help express hereditary information

63
Q

What determines a polypeptide’s amino acid sequence

A

Programmed by a gene

64
Q

What are the monomers of nucleic acids called

A

Nucleotides

65
Q

What are the 2 types of nucleic acids

A
  • DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
  • RNA (ribonucleic acid)
66
Q

If the DNA acts like a blueprint and does not carry out the activities, what does

67
Q

What are the 3 steps of gene expression

A
  1. Synthesis of mRNA in the nucleus
  2. Movement of mRNA into cytoplasm via nuclear pore
  3. Synthesis of protein using information carried on mRNA (occurs at the ribosome)
68
Q

What are the 3 parts that compose a nucleotide

A
  1. Nitrogenous base
  2. Pentose sugar
  3. One or more phosphate groups
69
Q

What are the 2 types of nitrogenous bases

A

Pyrimidines and purines

70
Q

What are the nitrogenous bases in pyrimidines

A

Cytosine, Thymine and Uracil (in RNA)

71
Q

What are the nitrogenous bases in purines

A

Adenine and Guanine

72
Q

What nitrogenous base is exclusive to DNA

73
Q

What nitrogenous base is exclusive to RNA

74
Q

What are the components of the nucleoside

A

Sugar + nitrogenous base

75
Q

What is the difference between the two sugar Deoxyribose (in DNA) and Ribose (in RNA)

A

Deoxyribose lacks an atom of O

76
Q

What type of linkage join nucleotides

A

Phosphodiester linkages

77
Q

Are nitrogenous bases part of the backbone

78
Q

What is the structure of DNA composed of

A

2 polynucleotides that forms a double helix

79
Q

What are the 2 DNA strands held together by

80
Q

In DNA what does A and G pairs with

81
Q

What do we call the strands of DNA when we know the sequence of one strand because of the other one

A

That they are complementary

82
Q

The amounts of the A and T(A and U in RNA) and C and G pairs are equivalent

83
Q

RNA exists as single strands

84
Q

What are the 3 kinds of cellular work

A
  1. Chemical : pushing endergonic/anabolic reaction (requires energy)
  2. Transport : pumping substances across membranes
  3. Mechanical : muscle contraction, movement of chromosomes during cellular reproduction
85
Q

What is ATP (adenosine triphosphate)

A

Source of energy that powers cellular work
Eg. making RNA

86
Q

What does ATP contain (3)

A
  • Ribose
  • Nitrogenous base (Adenine)
  • Triphosphate (chain of 3 phosphate groups)
87
Q

Why does ATP releases more energy than most other molecules

A
  • Because all 3 phosphate groups are negatively charged so they repel each other
  • Triphosphate tail acts like a compressed spring ready to be released
88
Q

What is the ATP cycle

A

The process of coupling exergonic processes to endergonic ones

89
Q

How do plants make ATP

A

By using light energy

General Biology I (11 decks)

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