Chapter 3: Biochemistry Flashcards
All living things contain these organic molecules:
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic
acids
What are organic molecules?
Molecules that contain carbon and hydrogen.
Carbon can bond with other carbons forming?
Straight chains, branched chains, or rings.
Are polar and ionic molecules hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
Hydrophilic because they dissolve in water by forming hydrogen bonds.
Are non-polar molecules hydrophobic or hydrophilic?
Hydrophobic because it doesn’t dissolve in water.
What are isomers?
Different molecules that are composed of the same number and kinds of atoms but the atoms are arranged differently in each molecule.
What is a functional group?
A group of atoms of a particular arrangement that gives the entire molecule certain characteristics.
What letter do organic chemists use to indicate an organic molecule?
“R”
What are monomers?
Smaller, simpler, molecules that build up carbon compounds. Also, the building blocks of macromolecules.
What are polymers?
Molecules that consist of a monomer repeated several times.
What are macro molecules?
Large polymers.
What is a dehydration/contestationaction?
A chemical reaction that involves monomers linking to form polymers and the loss of water to do so.
What is a hydrolysis reaction?
A chemical reaction that involves polymers being broken down into monomers and the addition of water to do so.
What does ATP stand for?
Adenosine triphosphate.
What does ATP do?
It is a compound that stores large amounts of energy for the cells’ constant use.
What are the four important classes of organic molecules?
Carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acid, and lipids.
What is the general formula for carbohydrates?
(CH2O)n
What are monosaccharides?
Simple sugars, having 3 to 7 carbon atoms. They can be bonded together to form polysaccharides.
What do the names of most sugars end with?
“ose”
What do simple sugars do?
Store energy for cells.
What is a disaccharide?
Two monosaccharides joined together by a
dehydration/condensation reaction.
What are polysaccharides?
Monosaccharides that are bonded together to form long chains.
What are four polysaccharides?
Starch, Glycogen, Cellulose, Chitin.
What do starch and glycogen do?
They function to store energy.
What do cellulose and chitin do?
They function to support and protect the organism.
What do enzymes do?
Regulate the rate of chemical reactions.
What proteins have storage as their function?
Casein in milk, ovalbumin in egg whites.
What proteins have transport as their function?
Hemoglobin.
What proteins have fence as their function?
Antibodies.
What proteins have a structural function?
Keratin, collagen, silk.
What are the building blocks of proteins?
Amino acids.
How many amino acids are used to make protein?
20
What is a peptide?
Two or more amino acids bonded together.
What is a polypeptide?
A chain of many amino acids.
What is a protein?
Either one or more chains of amino acids.
Amino acids are joined together by what?
A peptide bond.
What is the primary structure?
The sequence of amino acids found in a protein.
What is the secondary structure?
The oxygen or nitrogen atoms of the peptide bond are capable of hydrogen- bonding.
What is the tertiary structure?
The overall 3-dimensional shape of the polypeptide chain, typically described as being globular or fibrous.
What is the quaternary structure?
Some proteins contain two or more polypeptide chains that associate to form a single protein.
What are lipids?
Compounds that are insoluble in water but soluble in nonpolar solvents.
What do lipids function in?
Long-term storage.
What are triglycerides composed of?
Fatty acids and glycerol.
Are fats polar or non-polar?
Nonpolar.
Are phosphate group non-polar or polar?
Polar.
What are steroids’ backbone?
Four carbon rings.
What are waxes?
Long-chain fatty acid bonded to a long-chain alcohol.
Nucleic acids are composed of what?
Units called nucleotides, which are linked to form a larger molecule.
What does each nucleotide contain?
A base, a sugar, and a phosphate group.
What is the sugar?
Deoxyribose(DNA) and Ribose(RNA)
What are the bases of DNA?
Guanine, cytosine, thymine, and adenine.
What is DNA composed of?
Two strands in which the bases of one strand are hydrogen- bonded to the bases of the other. The strands are twisted forming a configuration that is often referred to as a double helix.
In DNA what is paired with what?
Adenine to thymine and guanine to cytosine.
What is DNA’s function?
To store genetic information regarding the sequence of amino acids.
What does RNA do?
Stores genetic information regarding the sequence of amino acids.
How many strands does RNA have?
One.
What are the bases of RNA?
Uracil, adenine, guanine, and cytocine.
