Chapter 5: the structure and fucntion of large biological molecules Flashcards

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1
Q

All living things are made up of four classes of large biological molecules:

A

carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids

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2
Q

Within cells, small organic molecules are joined together to form

A

larger molecules

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3
Q

___ are large molecules composed of thousands of covalently connected atoms

A

Macromolecules

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4
Q

Molecular structure and function are ___

A

inseparable

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5
Q

A ___ is a long molecule consisting of many similar building blocks

A

polymer

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6
Q

A polymer is a long molecule consisting of many similar building blocks ​ These small building-block molecules are called ___

A

monomers

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7
Q

Three of the four classes of life’s organic molecules are polymers:​

A

Carbohydrates​ Proteins​ Nucleic acids

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8
Q

A ___ occurs when two monomers bond together through the loss of a water molecule

A

dehydration reaction (dehydration synthesis)

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9
Q

Polymers are disassembled to monomers by ___, the addition of a water molecule, a reaction that is essentially the reverse of the dehydration reaction

A

hydrolysis

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10
Q

Each cell has thousands of different kinds of macromolecules ​

An immense variety of polymers can be built from a small set of monomers

A
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11
Q

___ include sugars and the polymers of sugars

A

Carbohydrates

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12
Q

The simplest carbohydrates are ___, or single sugars

A

monosaccharides

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13
Q

___ consist of two monosaccharides joined by a dehydration synthesis reaction

A

Disaccharides

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14
Q

Carbohydrate macromolecules are ___, polymers composed of many monosaccharides (sugar building blocks)

A

polysaccharides

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15
Q

Monosaccharides have molecular formulas that are usually multiples of CH2O​

Glucose (C6H12O6) is the most common monosaccharide. Other examples are fructose and galactose.​

Monosaccharides are classified by ​

The number of carbons in the carbon skeleton

A
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16
Q

trioses, pentoses, hexoses

A
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17
Q

Though often drawn as linear skeletons, in aqueous solutions many sugars form rings​

Monosaccharides serve as a major fuel for cells and as raw material for building molecules

A
18
Q

Two monosaccharides can join to form a disaccharide via dehydration synthesis reaction​

This covalent bond is called a ___

A

glycosidic linkage​

19
Q

Examples of disaccharides include ___

A

maltose, sucrose and lactose

20
Q

___ the polymers of sugars (may have a few hundred to a few thousand monosaccharides joined).​

These have different functions in the cell: ​

Storage roles​

Structural roles

A

Polysaccharides,

21
Q

___, a storage polysaccharide of plants, consists entirely of glucose monomers

A

Starch

22
Q

___ is a storage polysaccharide in animals​

Humans and other vertebrates store glycogen mainly in liver and muscle cells

A

Glycogen

23
Q

The polysaccharide ___ is a major component of the tough wall of plant cells​

Like starch, cellulose is a polymer of glucose, but the glycosidic linkages differ

A

cellulose

24
Q

Enzymes that digest starch can’t ___ cellulose

A

hydrolyze

25
Q

Cellulose in human food passes through the digestive tract as ___

A

insoluble fiber

26
Q

Some microbes use enzymes to digest cellulose (these are called ___)​

A

cellulase enzymes

27
Q

___, another structural polysaccharide, is found in the exoskeleton of arthropods(ie beetles, lobsters)

A

Chitin

Chitin also provides structural support for the cell walls of many fungi​

Chitin is similar to cellulose except it has a nitrogen containing functional group on each glucose monomer.

28
Q

Lipids are the one class of large biological molecules that ___

A

do not form polymers

29
Q

The unifying feature of lipids is having little or no ___

A

affinity for water

30
Q

Lipids are ___ becausethey consist mostly of hydrocarbons, which form nonpolar covalent bonds

A

hydrophobic

31
Q

Fats are constructed from two types of smaller molecules: ___

A

glycerol and fatty acids

32
Q

___ is a three-carbon alcohol with a hydroxyl group attached to each carbon

A

Glycerol

33
Q

A ___consists of a carboxyl group attached to a long carbon skeleton

A

fatty acid

34
Q

Fatty acids vary in length (number of carbons) and in the number and locations of double bonds

A
35
Q

___ fatty acids have the maximum number of hydrogen atoms possible and no double bonds

A

Saturated

36
Q

___ fatty acids have one or more double bonds

A

Unsaturated

37
Q

Fats made from saturated fatty acids are called ___, and are solid at room temperature​

Most animal fats are saturated

A

saturated fats

38
Q

Fats made from unsaturated fatty acids are called ___ or oils, and are liquid at room temperature​

Plant fats and fish fats are usually unsaturated​

A

unsaturated fats

39
Q

A diet rich in saturated fats may contribute to cardiovascular disease through plaque deposits ​

___is the process of converting unsaturated fats to saturated fats by adding hydrogen

A

Hydrogenation

Hydrogenating vegetable oils also creates unsaturated fats with trans double bonds​

These trans fats may contribute more than saturated fats to cardiovascular disease​

40
Q

Humans and other mammals store their fat in ___

A

adipose cells

41
Q

The major function of fats is ___

A

energy storage

Adipose tissue also cushions vital organs and insulates the body

42
Q
A