Chapter 5.1-5.3 - Building Biological Molecules Flashcards
Monomers
The repeating units that serve as the building blocks of a polymer
Polymer
Chains of monomers
Polymerization
Polymer Synthesis
Facilitated by enzymes
Macromolecules
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acid
Dehydration Reaction
A reaction in which two molecules are covalently bonded to each other with the loss of a molecule
Enzymes
Specialized monomers that speed up chemical reactions
Hydrolysis (Depolymerization)
A process that is essentially the reverse of the dehydration reaction. It means water breakage. Catalyzed by enzymes
Carbohydrates
- sugars and starches
- used by cells to store energy
- cell-cell communication
- monosaccharides
Monosaccharide
Carbohydrate monomer (simple sugars) ex: glucose most popular.
Glucose
- 6 carbon sugar
- exists in both linear and ring form
Monosaccharides differ in:
- Number of carbons
- Position of carbonyl group
- Arrangement of functional groups
Disaccharide (3)
- 2 monosaccharides
- linked by covalent bond; glycosidic bond
- bond formed by dehydration reaction.
Polysaccharide (5)
- carbonate polymer
- formed by a dehydration reaction
- monomers joined by glycosidic Bonds
- they’re short polymers (oligosaccharides)
- storage and structural molecules of cell
Starch
A polymer of glucose monomers
Glycogen
A polymer of glucose that is like amylopectin but more extensively branched
Glycolipids
Membrane lipids
Glycoproteins
Membrane-bound proteins
Sugar code
Sugar (glycan) chains on cell surfaces present a biochemical message (signal) for intercellular communication. May be covalently linked to glycolipids or to glycoproteins
Lipids (5)
- nonpolar molecules
- composed mostly of hydrocarbons
- hydrophobic ex: water sliding off of duck feathers
- energy storage molecule
- a structural component of cell membranes
Types of lipids
1) fats and oils
2) steroids
3) phospholipids
Fatty Acids (4)
- monocarboxylic acids
- contain hydrocarbon chains of varying lengths
- mostly natural fatty acids have an even number of carbons
- long hydrocarbon chain renders fatty acids insoluble in water
Saturated Fatty Acids (3)
- each C is covalently bonded with 4 atoms
- semisolid at room temperature
- fats
Unsaturated Fatty Acids (3)
- contain c=c double bonds
- liquid at room temperature
- oils
Glycerides (Acylglycerols) (3)
- Glycerol and fatty acids
- linked by dehydration reaction
- ester linkages between glycerol and fatty acids