Chapter 1.3.2 Macromolecules Flashcards
What are the four main classes of important molecules
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Proteins
- Nucleic acids
What are macromolecules considered to be
Polymers
What is a polymer
Long molecule consisting of building blocks linked by covalent bonds
What are polymers built from
Monomers
What is a monomer
Repeating units that are the building blocks
Why are enzymes helpful for cells
Because they help making/destroying polymers by increasing the rate of reaction (most enzymes are proteins)
What does the dehydration reaction consist of
Consists of synthesizing a polymer by removing a water molecule to covalently bond 2 molecules
What does the hydrolysis reaction consist of
Consists of breaking down a polymer by adding a water molecule (reverse of dehydration)
Which of the four main important molecules is NOT a macromolecule
Lipids, too small to form polymers
What are carbohydrates
Sugars or polymers of sugars
Name the simplest form of carbohydrates
Monosaccharides (is a monomer)
What is a polysaccharide
Polymers composed of many sugars
What is most common monosaccharide
Glucose (C6H12O6)
What is the molecular composition of sugars
They’re made of at least 3 C with O and H and they’re polar
How do we name carbon chains based on their length (assuming they all end with -ose)
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)
By what reaction do two monosaccharides form one disaccharide and what name do we use for their link
- Dehydration reaction
- Glycosidic linkage
What are the two monosaccharides that compose Maltose
Glucose + Glucose
What are the two monosaccharides that compose Sucrose
Glucose + Fructose
What are the two monosaccharides that compose Lactose
Glucose + Galactose
Name the two uses of carbs
- Storage polysaccharides
- Structural polysaccharides
The function and shapes of the polysaccharides depend on 2 things
- Their sugar monomers
- The positions of their glycosidic linkage
Is starch a storage or structural polysaccharide
Storage
Is Cellulose a storage or structural polysaccharide
Structural
What are the 2 forms of starch stored in plastids
- Amylose (simplest, unbranched)
- Amylopectin (branched)
What do animals store carbohydrates as, in their liver or muscle cells
As glycogen (branched ++)
What makes cellulose a structural polysaccharide
- Tough
- Polymer of glucose (like starch) with straight and linear linkages
What are the two different ring structures for glucose and what differentiates them
- Alpha (-OH group of first C is below plane of ring)
- Beta (-OH group of first C is above plane of ring)
In what form of ring structure does starch presents itself in
All in alpha form
In what form of ring structure does cellulose presents itself in
All in beta form
What differs between the linkages and structures of starch and cellulose
- Structure and linkages of starch are helical
- Structure and linkages of cellulose are straight and never branched
Name the parallel cellulose strands held together by H bonds in plant cells
Microfibrils
An enzyme that can hydrolyze alpha can also hydrolyze beta linkages
False
What are the cell walls of fungi made of, what structural polysaccharide
Cithin
Are lipids a group of hydro phobic or philic molecules
Hydrophobic
Why are lipids hydrophobic
- Mostly hydrocarbon bonds, not polar
- Few polar bonds with O