Chapter 3 Flashcards
Organic chemistry
A branch of chemistry devoted to the study of molecules that have carbon as their central element.
Hydrocarbon
A compound made of hydrogen and carbon. They are nonpolar covalent molecules and therefore are not easily dissolved in water.
Functional group
A group of atoms that confers a special property on a carbon-based molecule.
The element ____ is central to the molecules that make up the living world. This element comes to its special status because of the great power it has to form stable ____.
carbon, bonds with other elements.
Monomers
A small molecule that can be combined with other similar or identical molecules to make a larger polymer.
Polymer
A large molecule made up of many similar or identical subunits, called monomers.
Carbohydrates
Organic molecules that always contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen and sometimes it only contains those.
Monosaccharides
A building block, or monomer, of carbohydrates. They combine to form complex carbohydrates, or polysaccharides.
Polysaccharides
A polymer of carbohydrates, composed of many monosaccharides.
Simple sugars
The smallest and simplest form of carbohydrates, which serve as energy-yielding molecules and as the building blocks, or monomers, of complex carbohydrates. It can be monosaccharides or disaccharides.
Starch
Complex carbohydrate found in plants. Serves as the major form of carbohydrate storage in plants.
Glycogen
A complex carbohydrate that serves as the primary form of carbohydrate storage in animals. Sometimes called animal starch.
Cellulose
A structural, complex carbohydrate produced by plants and other organisms. It makes up a lot of the natural world.
Examples of monosaccharides
Fructose, glucose, deoxyribose.
Examples of disaccharides
Maltose, sucrose, lactose.
