Chapter 3 Vocab Flashcards
a chemical compound containing carbon
organic compound
a giant molecule formed by the joining of smaller molecules, usually by a dehydration reaction, polysaccaharides, proteins and nucleic acids are macromolecules
macromolecules
the bonding capacity of a given atom; the number of covalent bonds an atom can form usually equals the number of unpaired electrons in its outermost (valence) shell
valence
an organic molecule consisting of only carbon and hydrogen
hydrocarbons
a specific configuration of atoms commonly attached to the carbon skeletons of organic molecules and involved in chemical reactions
functional groups
an adenine-containing nucleoside triphosphate that releases free energy when its phosphate bonds are hydrolyzed. This energy is used to drive endergonic reactions in cells
adenosine triphosphate ATP
a long molecule consisting of similar or identical monomers linked together by covalent bonds
polymer
the subunit that serves as the building block of a polymer
monomers
a macromolecule serving as a catalyst, a chemical agent that increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction. Most enzymes are proteins
enzymes
a chemical reaction in which two molecules become covalently bonded to each other with the removal of a water molecule
dehydration reaction
a chemical reaction that breaks bonds between two molecules by the additon of water; functions in disassembly of polymers to monomers
hydrolysis
a sugar (monosaccaharide) or one of its dimers (disaccaharides) or polymers (polysaccaharides)
carbohydrates
the simplest carbohydrate, active alone or serving as a monomer for disaccaharides or polysaccaharides. Also known as simple sugars, monosaccaharides have molecular formulas that are generally some multiple of CH2O.
monosaccharides
a double sugar, consisting of two monosaccaharides joined by glycosidic linkage formed by a hydration reaction
disaccharide
a covalent bond formed between two monosaccaharides by a dehydration reaction
glycosidic linkage
a polymer of many monosaccaharides formed by dehydration reactions
polysaccarides
a storage polysaccaharide in plants consisting entirely of glucose monomers joined by a glycosodic linkages
starch
an extensively branched glucose storage polysaccaharide found in the liver and muscle of animals the animal equivalent of starch
glycogen
a structural polysaccaharide
cellulose
a structural polysaccharide, consisting of amino sugar monomers, found in many fungal cell walls and in the exoskeleton of all arthropods
chitin
any of a group of large biological molecules, including fats, phospholipids and steroids, that mix poorly if at all with water
lipids
a lipid consisting of three fattya cids linked to one glycerol molecule; also called a triacylglycerol or triglyceride
fat
a carboxylic acid with a long carbon chain; fatty acids vary in length and in the number and location of double bonds; three fatty acids linked to a glycerol molecule form a fat molecule, also known as a triacylglycerol or triglyceride
fatty acid
a lipid consisting of three fatty acids linked to one glycerol molecule; also called a fat or triglyceride
triacylglycerol
a fatty acid in which all carbons in the hydrocarbon tail are connected by single bonds, thus maximizing the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon skeleton
saturated fatty acid
fatty acid that has one or more double bonds between carbons in the hydrocarbon tail. Such bonding reduces the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon skeleton.
unsaturated fatty acid
a lipid made up of glycerol joined to 2 fatty acids and a phosphate group. The hydrocarbon chains of the fatty acids act as nonpolar, hydrophobic tails, while the rest of the molecule acts as a polar, hydrophilic head.; form bilayers that function as biological membranes
phospholipid
a steroid that forms an essential component of animal cell membranes and acts as a precursor molecule for the synthesis of other biologically important steroids, such as many hormones
cholesterol
a chemical agent that selectively increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction.
catalysts
A chain of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds or dehydration reactions
polypeptides
a biologically functional molecule consisting of one or more polypeptides folded and coiled into a specific 3D structure
protein
An organic molecule possessing both a carboxyl and an amino group; serve as monomers of polypeptides
amino acid
the covalent bond between the carboxyl group on one amino acid and the amino group on another, formed by dehydration reaction
peptide bond
a type of lipid characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of 4 fused rings with various chemical groups attached
steroids
the level of protein structure referring to the specific linear sequence of amino acids
primary structure
regions of repetitive coiling or folding of the polypeptide backbone of a protein due to hydrogen bonding between constituents of the backbone (not the side chains).
secondary structure
a coiled region constituting one form of the secondary structure of proteins, arising from a specific pattern of hydrogen bonding between the atoms of the polypeptide backbone (not the side chains)
alpha helix
one of the secondary structure of proteins in which the polypeptide chain fold back and forth. 2 regions of the chain lie parallel to each other and are held together by hydrogen bonds between atoms of the polypeptide backbone (not the side chains).
beta pleated sheet
The overall shape of a protein molecule due to interactions of amino acid side chains, including hydrophobic interactions, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, and disulfide bridges
tertiary structure
a type of weak chemical interaction caused when molecules that do not mix with water coalesce to exclude water
hydrophobic interaction
a strong covalent bond formed when the sulfur of one cysteine monomer bonds to the sulfur of another cysteine monomer
disulfide bridges
the particular shape of a complex, aggregate protein, defined by the characteristic 3D arrangement of its constituent subunits, each a polypeptide
quaternary structure
a recessively inherited human blood disorder in which a single nucleotie change in the Bglbin gene causes hemoglobin to aggreagate changing red blood cell shape and causing muptiple symptoms in affected individuals
sickle-cell disease
in proteins, a process in which a protein loses its native shape due to the disruption of weak chemical bonds and interactions, thereby becoming Biologically inactive; in DNA, the separation of the two strands of the double helix. Occurs under extreme (noncellular) conditions of pH, salt concentration or temperature
denaturation
a technique used to study the three dimensional structure of molecules. It depends on the diffraction of an xray beam by the individual atoms of a crystallized molecule
xray crystallagraphy
a discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses)
gene
a polymer (polynucleotide) consisting of many nucleotide monomers; serves as a blueprint for proteins and, through the actions of proteins, for all cellular activities. the 2 types of nucleic acid are DNA and RNA
nucleic acid
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) a double-stranded, helical nucleic acid molecule, consisting of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T); capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell’s proteins
DNA
a type of nucleic acid consisting of a polynucleotide made up 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, gene regulation, and as the genome of some viruses
RNA
a polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers in a chain. The nucelotides can be those of DNA or RNA.
polynucleotides
the building block of a nucleic acid, consisting of a 5 carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and one or more phosphate groups
nucleotides
1 of 2 types of nitrogenous bases found in nucleotides, characterized by a 6-membered ring. Cytosine (C), thymine (T) and uracil (U) are examples of these.
pyridimine
1 of 2 types of nitrogenous bases found in nucleotides, characterized by a 6-membered ring fused with a 5-membered ring. Adenine (A) and guanine (G) are examples of these.
purines
deoxyribose the sugar component of DNA nucleotides, having 1 of fewer hydroxyl group than ribose, the sugar component of the RNA nucleotide
deoxyribose
the sugar component of RNA nucleotides
ribose
the form of native DNA, referring to its two adjacent antiparallel polynucleotide strands wound around an imaginary axis into a spiral shape
double helix
referring to the arrangement of the sugar phosphate backbones in a DNA double helix (they run in opposite 5’ to 3’ directions)
antiparallel
