Chapter 4 & 5 - Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life & The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules Flashcards
study of carbon containing compounds
organic chemistry
the number of covalent bonds an atom can form
valence
organic molecules consisting of only carbon and hydrogen
hydrocarbons
compounds that have the same numbers of atoms of the same elements but different structures and properties
isomers
differ in the covalent arrangements of their atoms
structural isomers
carbons have covalent bonds to the same atoms, but these atoms differ in their spatial arrangements due to the inflexibility of double bonds
cis-trans isomers (geometric isomers)
isomers that are mirror images of each other and differ in shape due to the presence of an asymmetric carbon
enantiomers
carbon that is attached to four different atoms or groups of atoms
asymmetric carbon
chemical groups that are directly involved in chemical reactions
functional groups
–OH
hydroxyl group
C=O
carbonyl group
-COOH
carboxyl group
–NH2
amino group
–SH
sulfhydryl group
–OPO3 2-
Phosphate group
–CH3
methyl group
large carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids
macromolecules
long molecule consisting of many similar or identical building blocks linked by covalent bonds
polymer
repeating units that serve as the building blocks of a polymer - are smaller molecules
monomers
specialized macromolecules that speed up chemical reactions
enzymes
a reaction in which two molecules are covalently bonded to each other with the loss of a water molecule
dehydration synthesis
process that is the reverse of dehydration synthesis
hydrolysis
carbohydrate that is called a single sugar – made of CH2O
monosaccharides
consists of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage
disaccharide
a covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction
glycosidic linkage
macromolecules, polymers with a few hundred to thousand monosaccharides joined by glycosidic linkages
polysaccharides
a polymer of glucose monomers
starch
a polymer of glucose that is like amylopectin but more extensively branched
glycogen
polysaccharide that is a major component of the touch walls that enclose plant cells
cellulose
the carbohydrate used by arthropods to build their exoskeletons
chitin
compounds are grouped together because they are hydrophobic
lipids
long carbon skeleton, usually 16 to 18 carbon atoms in length
fatty acid
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no double bond in a fatty acid
saturated fatty acid
fatty acid with one or more double bonds
unsaturated fatty acids
similar to a fat molecule but has only two fatty acids attached to glycerol
phospholipid
lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of 4 fused rings
steroids
type of steroid that is crucial in all animals
cholesterol
chemical agents that selectively speed up chemical reactions without being consumed in the reaction
catalysts
polymer of amino acids
polypeptide
biologically functional molecule made up of one or more polypeptides each folded and coiled into a specific 3D structure
protein
organic molecule with both an amino group and a carboxyl group
amino acid
covalent bond resulting from two amino acids becoming joined by a dehydration reaction
peptide bond
sequence of amino acids (linear chain of amino acid)
primary structure
segments of polypeptide chains repeatedly coiled or folded in patterns
(regions stabilized by hydrogen bonds between atoms of the polypeptide backbone)
secondary structure
delicate coil held together by hydrogen bonding between every 4th amino acid
alpha helix
two or more segments of polypeptide chain lying side by side are connected by hydrogen bonds between parts of the two parallel segments
beta pleated sheets
overall shape of a polypeptide resulting from interactions between the side chains of various amino acids
(3D shape stabilized by interactions between side chains)
tertiary structure
as polypeptide folds into its functional shape, amino acids with hydrophobic side chains usually end up in clusters at the core of the protein
hydrophobic interaction
form where two cysteine monomers are brought together by the folding of the protein
disulfide bridges
overall protein structure that results form the combination of polypeptide subunits
(association of two or more polypeptides) ONLY SOME PROTEINS
quaternary structure
when protein unravels and loses its native shape
denaturation
unit of inheritance
gene
polymers made of monomers called nucleotides
nucleic acids
nucleic acids are macromolecules that exist as polymers
polynucleotides
has one 6-membered ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms
pyrimidine
List the pyrimidines
cytosine, thymine, uracil
larger, with 6-membered ring fused to a 5-membered ring
purines
list the purines
adenine and guanine
sugar in DNA
deoxyribose
sugar in RNA
ribose
the 2 sugar phosphate backbones in DNA run __________ of each other.
antiparallel
the use of computer software and other computational tools that can handle and analyze these large data sets
bioinformatics
analyzing large sets of genes or even comparing whole genomes of different species
genomics
analysis of large sets of proteins and their sequences
proteomics