Chapter 3: Introduction To Organic Compounds

Question 1

What are organic compounds?

Answer 1

Carbon based molecules are organic compounds

Question 2

How many electrons in are in a carbon atoms valence shell?

Answer 2

4

Question 3

alpha (α) helix

Answer 3

The spiral shape resulting from the coiling of a polypeptide in a protein’s secondary structure.

Question 4

amino acid

Answer 4

An organic molecule containing a carboxyl group and an amino group; serves as the monomer of proteins.

Question 5

amino group

Answer 5

In an organic molecule, a functional group consisting of a nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms.

Question 6

anabolic steroid

Answer 6

A synthetic variant of the male hormone testosterone that mimics some of its effects.

Question 7

carbohydrate

Answer 7

Member of the class of biological molecules consisting of simple single-monomer sugars (monosaccharides), two-monomer sugars (disaccharides), and other multiunit sugars (polysaccharides).

Question 8

carbon skeleton

Answer 8

The chain of carbon atoms that forms the structural backbone of an organic molecule.

Question 9

carbonyl group

Answer 9

In an organic molecule, a functional group consisting of a carbon atom linked by a double bond to an oxygen atom.

Question 10

carboxyl group

Answer 10

In an organic molecule, a functional group consisting of an oxygen atom double-bonded to a carbon atom that is also bonded to a hydroxyl group.

Question 11

cellulose

Answer 11

A structural polysaccharide found in many fungal cell walls and in the exoskeletons of arthropods.

Question 12

cholesterol

Answer 12

A steroid that is an important component of animal cell membranes and that acts as a precursor molecule for the synthesis of other steroids such as hormones.

Question 13

dehydration reaction

Answer 13

A chemical process in which two molecules become covalently bonded to each other with the removal of a water molecule. Also called condensation.

Question 14

denaturation

Answer 14

A process in which a protein unravels, losing its specific structure and hence function; can be caused by changes in pH or salt concentration or by high temperature. Also refers to the separation of the two strands of the DNA double helix, caused by similar factors.

Question 15

deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)

Answer 15

A double-stranded helical nucleic acid molecule consisting of nucleotide monomers with deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T). Capable of replicating, is an organism’s genetic material. See also gene.

Question 16

disaccharide

Answer 16

A sugar molecule consisting of two monosaccharides linked by a dehydration reaction.

Question 17

double helix

Answer 17

The form of native DNA, referring to its two adjacent polynucleotide strands wound into a spiral shape.

Question 18

enzyme

Answer 18

A protein (or RNA molecule) that serves as a biological catalyst, changing the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed into a different molecule in the process.

Question 19

fat

Answer 19

A large lipid molecule made from an alcohol called glycerol and three fatty acids; a triglyceride. Most fats function as energy-storage molecules.

Question 20

functional group

Answer 20

An assemblage of atoms commonly attached to the carbon skeletons of organic molecules and usually involved in chemical reactions.

Question 21

gene

Answer 21

A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses). Most of the genes of a eukaryote are located in its chromosomal DNA

Question 22

glycogen

Answer 22

An extensively branched polysaccharide of many glucose monomers; serves as an energy-storage molecule in liver and muscle cells; the animal equivalent of starch.

Question 23

hydrocarbon

Answer 23

A chemical compound composed only of the elements carbon and hydrogen.

Question 24

hydrolysis

Answer 24

A chemical process in which polymers are broken down by the chemical addition of water molecules to the bonds linking their monomers; an essential part of digestion.

Question 25

hydroxyl group

Answer 25

In an organic molecule, a functional group consisting of a hydrogen atom bonded to an oxygen atom.

Question 26

isomer

Answer 26

Organic compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and, therefore, different properties.

Question 27

lipid

Answer 27

An organic compound consisting mainly of carbon and hydrogen atoms linked by nonpolar convalent bonds, making the compound mostly hydrophobic. Lipids include fats, phospholipids, and steroids and are insoluble in water.

Question 28

methyl group

Answer 28

In an organic molecule, a carbon bonded to three hydrogens.

Question 29

nucleic acid

Answer 29

A polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers; serves as a blueprint for proteins and, through the actions of proteins, for all cellular structures and activities. The two types of nucleic acids are DNA and RNA.

Question 30

nucleotide

Answer 30

An organic monomer consisting of a five-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group. Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids.

Question 31

peptide bond

Answer 31

The covalent linkage between two amino acid units in a polypeptide; formed by a dehydration reaction.

Question 32

phosphate group

Answer 32

A functional group consisting of a phosphorus atom covalently bonded to four oxygen atoms.

Question 33

phospholipid

Answer 33

A lipid made up of glycerol joined to two fatty acids and a phosphate grou

Question 34

primary structure

Answer 34

The first level of protein structure

Question 35

Protein

Answer 35

A functional biological molecule consisting of one or more polypeptides folded into a specific three-dimensional structure.

Question 36

quaternary structure

Answer 36

The fourth level of protein structure

Question 37

RNA

Answer 37

A type of nucleic acid consisting of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U); usually single-stranded; functions in protein synthesis and as the genome of some viruses.

Question 38

saturated

Answer 38

ats and fatty acids whose hydrocarbon chains contain the maximum number of hydrogens and therefore have no double covalent bonds

Question 39

secondary structure

Answer 39

The second level of protein structure

Question 40

Starch

Answer 40

A storage polysaccharide found in the roots of plants and certain other cells; a polymer of glucose.

Question 41

Steroid

Answer 41

A type of lipid whose carbon skeleton is in the form of four fused rings with various chemical groups

Question 42

tertiary structure

Answer 42

The third level of protein structure