Chemistry of Life 1 - MT1 - Part 3 Flashcards
What are most lipid molecules made up of?
Hydrocarbons
- C and H atoms
What do lipids not like?
Water
- not soluble in water
What are 4 types of lipids?
- Fatty acids
- Triglycerides
- Phospholipids
- Sterols
What are fatty acids?
Components of larger lipid molecules
What do fatty acids contain/require?
- Contains O2
- Requires a negative charge
Are fatty acids branched on unbranched?
Unbranched
What are triglycerides used for? (2)
- Energy source
2. Storgage
What are triglycerides build from?
Fatty acids
- 3 fatty acid chains
Unsaturated triglycerides with example
Contains kinks in their tails so they do not pack well together nicely resulting in a more liquid like substance at room temp
- eg) Oils
Saturated triglycerides
Does not contain kinks so they pack well together nicely resulting in a more solid like from at room temp
What happens if you put random phospholipids in water?
They will form spontaneously so that the tails are in the middle (away from the water) and the heads are on the outside (facing water)
What 2 things are sterols good for?
- Chemical signalling
2. Membrane stabilization
What are 3 examples of sterols?
- Cholesterol
- Estradiol
- Testosterone
Hormone
A regulatory substance produced in an organism and transported in tissue fluids
What makes up proteins?
Polymers of amino acids
What are 5 functions of proteins?
- Catalysis of biochemical reactions
- Structure and movement
- Transport of materials across membrane
- Transmission of signals
- Defense
What do catalysis do?
They are enzymes that speed up the process of breaking chemical bonds of a large molecule
What are the 3 steps for a catalysis?
- Substance binds to the active site of a specific molecule
- The active site of the enzyme changes shape
- Enzyme releases the resulting products and the enzyme is ready to be used again
- it gets regenerated to its original form
What are 2 examples of structure and movement?
- Cytoskeleton
- microtubules interacting with actin - Extracellular matrix
What do proteins provide for movement?
Channels to transport specific substances across the membrane