Chapter 2- chemistry of life Flashcards
Our bodies consists of 96% of what 4 elements?
Oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon
Mostly water
Protons
Positive charge
Electrons
Negative charge
Neutrons
Neutral charge
Mass number
Top, number of protons and neutrons
Atomic number
Bottom number, Number of protons
Metabolism
The sun of all chemical reactions in the body
Catabolism
Breakdown food compounds into simpler ones
Anabolism
Builds larger more complex molecules from smaller subunits
Organic compounds
Contain carbon
Scale for acidity
<7 is acidic
=7 is neutral (pure water)
>7 is basic “alkaline”
Nucleic acid
Made of nucleotides
Include DNA and RNA
What organic compounds are found in the body
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Protiens
Carbohydrates
Starches or sugars (main source of energy)
Consist of: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
Form saccharide units
Monosaccharides
Carbohydrates Contain one sugar unit Glucose(most body cells) Fructose(found in fruit) Galactose(found in dairy)
Disaccharide
Carbohydrates Contain two sugar units •Sucrose (table sugar) •lactose (milk sugar) •maltose (germinating wheat)
Polysaccharide
Carbohydrates
Many sugar units
Glycogen: stored from glucose
Starch: form in which plants store polysaccharides
Cellulose: produced by plant cells as part of their cell walls
Lipids
Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen Insoluble in water Triglycerides Steroids Phospholipids
Triglycerides
Most abundant lipid
Aka: fats
Saturated: carbon atoms saturated with hydrogen atoms (solid at room temperature) animal sources
Unsaturated: carbon atoms not saturated with hydrogen atoms (liquid at room temperature) plant sources
Steroids
Lipid
Cholesterol is the most important steroid
Phospholipid
Lipid
Form structures of cell membrane
Fat compounds similar to triglycerides but have a phosphate group in place of one of the fatty acids
Proteins
Most abundant and important organic compound
Provides cell structure and metabolic function
Amino acids
Nucleic acids
Amino acids
Build proteins
Contain carbon oxygen hydrogen and nitrogen
Link to form peptide bonds
Nucleic acids
DNA and RNA
Made of nucleotides (building blocks of DNA and RNA)
