Describe the Basic Macromolecules in a Biological System Flashcards
___ ___ are composed of chemical elements bonded together to form organic Macromolecules
Living Organisms
What are used to build Macromolecules in biological systems?
Monomers from food
What are used to fuel production of energy in the form of Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)?
Monomers
___ are large Monomers
Macromolecules
What is a Polymer?
A chemical compound formed when covalent bonds link monomers in long, repeating chains
How are Covalent Bonds in Macromolecules formed?
By an endergonic removal of a water molecule
What is Dehydration or Condensation Synthesis?
The chemical reaction of endergonic removal of a water molecule creating a covalent bond in macromolecules
The Dehydration or Condensation Synthesis requires:
Energy
Covalent Bonds can be broken by an exergonic addition of water which is known as ___
Hydrolysis
___ releases energy as bonds break between Monomers?
Hydrolysis
Macromolecules are classified into 4 groups:
Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids
What are Carbohydrates?
Sugars, or Starch and is found in all living organisms
What are the Monomers that join together to form Carbohydrates have the general formula:
CnH2nOn
Carbohydrate Monomers are typically _ _ _ _ Carbons long
3 4 5 6
Carbohydrate Monomers are also known as:
Monosaccharides or Simple Sugars
C6H12O6 is a common Monosaccharide known as:
Glucose
Two Monosaccharides join by dehydration synthesis to form:
Disaccharides
What is a common Disaccharide?
Sucrose
Sucrose is made up of:
One Glucose Monosaccharide and One Fructose Monosaccharide
What are Polysaccharides?
Carbohydrate molecules formed by large numbers of link Monosaccharides
Animals store the ___ ___ in the Polysaccharide Glycogen
Monosaccharide Glucose
How is Glycogen formed by and stored?
Dehydration synthesis and is stored mainly in the liver and the muscles
What happens when Glucose is needed for energy production by a cell?
Glycogen is hydrolyzed into Glucose
Plants store ___ as the Polysaccharide Starch
Carbohydrates
What are Oligosaccharides?
They are found on the surface of the cell membrane and function in cell recognition that contain a small number of Monosaccharides
What shapes can Carbohydrates be?
Linear, Branched, or Helix Shaped
What form structures?
Linear Carbohydrates
What is a major component in the rigid cell walls in plants?
Cellulose
What Carbohydrates function in energy storage?
Branched
Glycoproteins and Glycolipids are molecules that:
Contain Carbohydrates and other Macromolecules and they function in cell recognition
Are Lipids true Polymers? Why?
No, Because they are not formed from one type of repeated Monomer
How are Lipids formed?
By linear arrangements of carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms called Fatty-Acid Chains that are attached to a Glycerol molecule
Lipids tend to be:
Hydrophobic and Nonpolar
What are the 4 groups Lipids are subdivided into?
Fats and Oils, Waxes, Phospholipids, and Steroids, and are all insoluble in water
What does a Fat Molecule consist?
A Glycerol backbone and Three Fatty Acid Chains
What does the human body use Fat for?
Energy storage, cushioning, and insulation
Fats are a dietary component found in:
Oils, butter, and meat
Waxes usually contain long Fatty Acid Chains connected to:
Alcohols
Waxes are ___ and are used by living things to stay ___
Hydrophobic, Dry
What covers the feathers of some birds and leaves of many plants?
Waxes
What are Phospholipids?
Two Fatty-Acid chains attached to a Phosphate molecule
What is one function of Phospholipids?
To form a semipermeable membrane around cells
What helps to separate aqueous compartments in living things?
Phospholipids
Steroids often function as:
Chemical messengers
A four ring structure and include Cholesterol, Sex Hormones, and Hormones of the Adrenal Cortex:
Steroids
What are Proteins?
Polymers of long chains of amino acid monomers
Amino Acids are composed of:
A central carbon, an amine group, a carboxylic acid, and a side group
What does the side group provide?
The variation that creates the 20 different types of Amino Acid
In proteins, the link between Amino Acids is a Covalent Bond called a:
Peptide Bond
Each Amino Acid has different properties because of its:
Different side group
What has Hydrophobic Amino Acids on their surface and are not soluble in water?
Fibrous, Hydrophobic proteins like keratin and collagen
Fibrous, Hydrophobic Proteins function as:
Structural molecules in hair and nails
What proteins have Hydrophilic surface Amino Acids and are soluble in water?
Globular Proteins
What do Globular Proteins function as?
Carrier molecules like Hemoglobin, as antibodies and as enzymes
Proteins associated with the Cell Membrane have a layer of:
Hydrophobic Amino Acids sandwiched between layers of Amino Acids
What are imbedded in membranes where they function in transport or signal transfer?
Proteins
What can be found in foods such as eggs, meat, and beans?
Proteins
What are an important class of proteins that catalyze biochemical reactions without being consumed in the reaction?
Enzymes
Enzymes speed up reactions by:
Lowering the energy required by the system to initiate the reaction
Reactions can be ___ or ___
Exergonic (releases energy), Endergonic (requires energy)
Energy in living organisms is typically supplied an released as ___
ATP
Different cell types have a different enzymes present based on the ___ ___ of the cell
Metabolic Function
Enzyme activity if affected by:
Environmental conditions such as temperature and pH level
What typically have an active site into which the substrate or molecule being acted on fits?
Enzymes
Where does Catalyst occur?
Active Site
What is Pepsin?
An enzyme that is produced and secreted by stomach cells and initiates protein digestion in the stomach
What are Nucleic Acids?
Polymers made of linked nucleotides that contain hydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus
What are the 3 components of Nucleotides?
A nitrogenous base, a sugar, and a phosphate group
What are the two Nucleic Acids in living systems?
Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)
What is DNA?
A double-stranded helix that stores genetic information
Genes are made up of ___
DNA
Some genes provide the instructions to make molecules called ___
Proteins
In humans, genes can contain a few hundred ___ bases to more than a million bases
DNA
Genes made of DNA are located on on larger structures called:
Chromosomes
Chromosomes made of DNA and Proteins are located in the ___ of the cell
Nucleus
DNA contains nucleotides composed of
A deoxyribose sugar, one of four nitrogenous bases, and a phosphate molecule
What are the 4 Nitrogenous bases in DNA?
Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Thymine
What does RNA consist of?
Ribonucleotides containing a ribose sugar, a nitrogenous base, and is typically a single-stranded molecule
What are the 4 Nitrogenous bases in RNA?
Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Uracil
What does RNA do?
Help to convert information stored in the genes composed of DNA into the proteins
What are the 3 types of RNA molecules?
Messenger RNA (mRNA), Ribosomes RNA (rRNA), and Transfer RNA (tRNA)
What is mRNA?
Located in the Nucleus of the cell and transcribes genetic code for a protein from the DNA template
mRNA carries the genetic code out of the Nucleus to ___ located in the cell’s Cytoplasm
Ribosomes (rRNA)
What brings the Amino Acid dictated by the mRNA’s code to the Ribosome (rRNA)?
Transfer RNA (tRNA)
The ___ provides the catalytic environment necessary for Peptide Bonds to form
Ribosome
What is the site of Protein Synthesis from Amino Acid Monomers?
Ribosomes
The sequence of Nucleotides in a Nucleic Acid is important in the process of ___ ___
Building Proteins
What does the sequence of Nucleotides determine?
The specific Protein synthesized
What are Mutations?
Errors in the precise sequence of Nucleotides, they typically interfere with protein structure and function
Nucleic Acids can be found in:
Small amounts in all foods that contain Proteins
