Chapter 3: Molecules of Life Flashcards
what element does an organic compound contain?
carbon
what elements are usually found attached to carbons in an organic compound?
hydrogen if making a hydrocarbon chain or most any general carbon skeleton (then oxygen and nitrogen in functional groups)
what are the four key types of organic compounds found in living organisms?
carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acid
what elements make up the organic compounds we relate with food?
carbohydrates: C, H, O
lipids: C, H, O
proteins: C, H, O, N
what are the building blocks of carbohydrates
monosaccharides
name the three categories of lipids and their building blocks
triglycerides: 3 fatty acids, 1 glycerol
phospholipids: 2 fatty acids, 1 glycerol, a phosphate group
waxes: 1 fatty acids and an alcohol
steroids: 3 six-sided carbon rings connected to 1 five-sided rings
what are the building blocks of proteins?
amino acids
what are the building blocks of nucleic acids
nucleotides (sugar, phosphate group, nitrogenous base)
what is the name for a sugar that is made up of two sugars combined? 3+?
disaccharide, polysaccharide
what is the main reason we need carbohydrates in our diet?
primary fuel and energy source
name examples of food that contain carbohydrates
whole grain breads and cereals, legumes, and starchy vegetables are all good complex carbohydrate sources. simple carbohydrates include sugars that occur naturally in some vegetables and many fruits, and these naturally sweet foods can make good sweeteners instead of using pure sugar
oils and fats are example of what organic compound?
lipids
name examples of lipids we can eat
edible animal fats: lard, fish oil, butter. these come from fats in milk, meat, or under skin of animals
plant fat: peanut, soya bean, sun flower, sesame, coconut, olive, vegetable oils
if a lipid is solid at room temperature it is which type of fat? what does that mean structurally?
saturated, it wouldn’t contain any double bonds in the hydrocarbon chains of the fatty acid (all of the fatty acids’ carbons would be bonded to four atoms)
where do we find proteins in our bodies
in muscles, organs and glands. in every living cell and all bodily fluids except bile and urine. the cells of muscles, tendons and ligaments have protein
name things we eat that have protein
fish, poultry, meat, eggs, chess, milk, soya beans, beans, rice, grain
most of the energy we get from what we ear is temporarily stored where in our bodies
adenosine triphosphate (ATP)
name two types of nucleic acids
- RNA (ribonucleic acid) 2. DNa (deoxyribonucleic acid)
where does DNA get its name from?
deoxyribonucleic acid (contains sugar deoxyribose
where does RNA get its name from
ribonucleic acid (contains sugar ribose)
one main difference between structure of DNA when compared to that of RNS
DNA is a double stranded (double helix) but RNA is single stranded
what is DNA’s main purpose
determines characteristics of an organism (basic unit of heredity, the gene). it also directs all cellular activity
what does RNA do
stores and transfers info from DNA that is essential for the manufacture of proteins. some act as enzymes, helping to move along chemical reactions that link together amino acids to from proteins
how do enzymes work
Enzymes work as biological catalysts, lowering the activation energy of chemical reactions. Each enzyme has an active site with a very specific shape. A substrate (reactant of the reaction needing to be catalyzed) must bond to the active site of the enzyme for the activation energy of the reaction to be lowered (and therefore a speeding up of the chemical reaction). As long as an enzyme is not denatured, after it helps with one reaction it can help with another, etc., etc., etc. In other words, an enzyme is not destroyed after one use but continues to be used over and over again as it itself remains unchanged.
