Chapter 5 Flashcards
4 classes of large biological molecules
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids
Macromolecules
large molecules composed of thousands of covalently connected atoms
Polymer
long molecule consisting of many similar building blocks (monomers)
-3/4 classes are polymers (carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids)
Monomers
small building blocks of polymers
Dehydration reaction
occurs when two monomers bond together through loss of water molecule
Hydrolysis
breaks down polymer into monomer through adding a water molecule
-opposite od dehydration
Carbohydrates
-include sugars and polymers of sugar
Monosaccharies
-simplest carbohydrates
-simple sugars which can form polysaccharides
-classified by location of carbonyl group (as aldose or ketone) and # of carbons in carbon skeleton
-fuel for cells and raw material for building molecules
Cx(H2O)x formula
Olgiosaccharide
saccharide polymer containing 3-10 monosaccharides
-functions= cell recognition and binding
Polysaccharides
-polymers of sugars
-storage and structural roles determined by sugar monomers and positions of glycosidic linkages
Starch
-storage polysaccharide of plants, consists of glucose monomers
-simplest form=amylose
Glycogen
storage polysaccharide in animals
Cellulose
component of tough wall of plant cells, polymer of glucose but glycosidic linkages differ
Alpha
below plane of molecule
Beta
above plane of molecule
Helical
polymers with alpha glucose
Straight
polymers with beta glucose
-H atoms on one strand can bond with OH groups on other strands (hydrogen bonding)
Chitin
another structural polysaccharide, found in exoskeleton of arthropods, provides structural support of cell walls
Lipids
-one class of large biological molecules that do not form polymers
-have little or no affinity for water (hydrophobic) because consist of mostly hydrocarbons which form non polar covalent bonds
-important lipids-fats, phospholipids, steroids
Fats
-major function is energy storage
-constructed from 2 types of smaller molecules (glycerol and fatty acids)
-separate from water because water molecules form hydrogen bonds with each other and exclude the fats
Glycerol
3 carbon alcohol with with a hydroxyl group attached to each carbon
Fatty acid
carboxyl group attached to a long carbon skeleton
-vary in length (# of Cs) and in # and locations od double bonds
Saturated fatty acids
have maximum number of hydrogen atoms possible and no double bonds
Unsaturated fatty acids
one or more double bonds