Chapter 2 & 3 Vocab Flashcards
Matter
Anything that has mass and takes up space.
Solid
A sample of matter that contains its shape and density when not confined.
Liquid
A substance that flows freely but is of constant volume.
Gas
A substance or matter in a state in which it will expand freely to fill the whole of a container, having no fixed shape and no fixed volume.
Element
A substance that cannot be changed to a simpler substance by normal chemical reaction.
Periodic table
A chart of the elements arranged in order by atomic number.
Atom
The smallest quantity of an element that retains the chemical properties of the element.
Subatomic particles
A particles smaller than an atom or a cluster of such particles. (Ex. neutron proton or electron.)
Proton
Positively charged subatomic particle.
 Electron
Negatively charged subatomic particle.
Nucleus
The central region of an atom that contains the protons and neutrons.
Atomic number
 The number of protons in an atom. determines which element it is.
Mass number
The sum of a number of protons in neutrons in an atom’s nucleus.
Isotope
Alternate mass forms of an element.
Have the same number of protons and electrons but different number of neutrons.
Neutron
Electrically neutral subatomic particle.
Radioisotope
Nucleus decay spontaneously, giving off particles and energy.
Compound
Substances that contain two or more elements in a fixed ratio. (Molecules are held together by covalent bonds).
Molecule
Holds together atoms via covalent bonds.
Chemical formula
Describes a chemical composition of a substance. Ex. NaCl
Molecular formula
Actual numbers of each type of atom per molecule.
Structural formula
Arrangement of atoms in a molecule.
Chemical reaction
Process in which one or more substances, or reactants, are converted to one or more different substances, known as products.
Chemical equation
Representation of a chemical reaction using symbols of the elements to indicate the amount of substance, usually in moles, of each reactant and product.
Reactant
 Substance that participates in a chemical reaction.
Product
Substance formed by a chemical reaction.
Electron shell
Groups of orbitals of electrons with similar energies.
Orbital
Region in which electrons occur in an atom or molecule.
Valence electrons
Electrons in the outer electron shell, known as the valance shell, of an atom; in the formation of chemical bond an atom can accept electrons into its valance shell or donate or share valence electrons.
Chemical bond
Force of attraction between atoms in a compound.
Covalent bond
The chemical bond involving shared pairs of electrons; maybe single, double, or triple.
Ionic bond
The chemical attraction between a cation and an anion.
Ion
An atom group of atoms is bearing one or more units of electrical charge, either positive (cation) or negative (anion).
Cation
A positively charged ion.
Anion
A negatively charged ion.
Hydrogen bond
A weak attraction between two atoms that already participate in other chemical bonds.
Polar molecule
Molecule with an uneven distribution of charge
Solvent
 Substance capable of dissolving other substances.
Solute
A dissolved substance.
Hydration
Each ion in a solution is surrounded by oppositely charged ends of the water molecules.
Cohesion
The tendency of water molecules to stick together.
Adhesion
When water sticks to other substances.
Capillary action
The ability of water to move in small-diameter tubes as a consequence of its cohesive and adhesive properties.
Surface tension
The measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid.
Acid
A chemical compound that releases H+ to a solution. 
Base
A compound that accepts H+ and removes them from the solution.
pH scale
Describes the acidity of a solution.
Buffer
Substances that resist pH change.
Inorganic compounds
Small, simple substances. Biologically important groups include water simple acids and bases, and simple salts.
Organic compounds
Generally large, complex carbon containing compounds.
Hydrocarbon
Inorganic compound composed solely of hydrogen and carbon atoms.
Macromolecule
Large biological molecules.
Polymer
A macromolecule built up from repeating subunits of the same general type (monomers).
Monomer
A molecule that can link with other similar molecules. Make up polymers.
Condensation reaction
A reaction in which to monomers are combined covalently through the removal of the equivalent of a water molecule.
Hydrolysis
Breaks bonds between monomers, add a molecule of water, and reverses the dehydration reaction.
Carbohydrate
Includes polymers of sugar. Compound containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, in the approximate ratio of C:2H:O.
Starches
Energy stored in plants.
Glycogen
Energy stored in animals.
Cellulose
Structural polysaccharide in plants .
Lipid
Nonpolar compounds insoluble in water. Includes fats, phospholipids, carotenoids, steroids, and waxes. Used for energy storage, structural components of cell membranes, and key hormones.
Monosaccharide
One sugar unit.
Disaccharide.
Two sugar units.
Polysaccharide
Many sugar units.
Complex carbohydrate
Polysaccharides, polymers of monosaccharides potentially consisting of thousands of bonded sugar molecules.
Nonpolar
Compounds insoluble in water.
Triglyceride, consists of a glycerol molecule, joined with three fatty acid molecules.
Triglyceride
Consist of a glycerol molecule, joined with three fatty acid molecules.
Glycerol
A component of triacylglycerols and phospholipids.
Fatty acid
A lipid that is an organic acid containing a long hydrocarbon chain, but double bonds (saturated fatty acid), one double bond (monosaturated fatty acid), or two or more double bonds (polyunsaturated fatty acid).
Saturated fatty acid
Solid at room temperature. A lipid that is an organic acid containing a long hydrocarbon chain, with no double bonds.
Unsaturated fatty acid
A lipid that is an organic acid containing a long hydrocarbon chain, with one or more double bonds. Liquid at room temperature.
Steroid
Lipid. Very different from fats in structure and function. The carbon skeleton is bent to form for fuse rings. For example, cholesterol.
Cholesterol
Key component of cell membranes. The “base steroid” from with your body produces other steroids, such as estrogen and testosterone.
Phospholipid
Amphipathic lipid, with one hydrophilic end and one hydrophobic end.
Amphiphathic
Containing both hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions.
Hydrophilic
Interacting readily with water; having a greater affinity for water molecules than they have for each other.
Hydrophobic
Not readily interacting with water; having less affinity for water molecules and they have for each other.
Lipid bilayer
Phospholipids form lipid bilayers in which the hydrophilic heads interact with water in the hydrophobic tails are in the bilayer interior.
Protein
Macromolecules composed of amino acids. Polymer.
Amino acid
An organic compound containing an amino group and a carboxal group; may be joined by peptide bonds to form a polypeptide chain.
Enzyme
Chemicals that change the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed in the process.
R group
Specific side chain that is attached to the a carbon. Decides the chemical versatility of the amino acid.
Peptide bond
A distinctive covalent carbon-to-nitrogen bond that links amino acids in peptides and proteins.
Polypeptide
A compound consisting of a chain of amino acid groups linked by peptide bonds.
Primary structure
The sequence of amino acids in a protein. Slight change affects the proteins ability to function.
Secondary structure
Irregular geometric shape produced by hydrogen bonding between the atoms of uniform peptide backbone.
Tertiary structure
Overall three-dimensional shape of a polypeptide that is determined by characteristics involving the amino acid side chains.
Quaternary structure
The overall configuration of a protein produced by the interaction of two or more polypeptide chains.
Denature
To alter the physical properties in three-dimensional structure of a protein, nucleic acid, or other macromolecule by treating with excess heat, strong acids, or strong bases.
Essential amino acid
A nutrient that must be provided in the diet because the body cannot make it or cannot make it insufficient quantities to meet nutritional needs.
Nucleus acids
Transmit hereditary information and determine what proteins in a cell manufactures.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Makes the hereditary material of the cell (genes) and contains instructions for making proteins and RNA.
Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
Used in processes that link amino acids to form polypeptides.
Nucleotides
Monomers that make up nucleic acid polymers. Each nucleotide contains a ribose sugar, a phosphate group, and nitrogen containing base.
Uracil
A nitrogenous pyrimidine base found in RNA.
Adenine 
A nitrogenous purine base that is a component of nucleic acids and ATP.
Cytosine
A nitrogenous pyrimidine base that is a component of nucleic acids.
Guanine
A nitrogenous purine base that is a component of nucleic acids and GTP.
Thymine
A nitrogenous pyrimidine base found in DNA.
