Exam 1 Flashcards
What are the four small, organic molecules that are contained in all living species?
Sugars, fatty acids, amino acids, and nucleotides
What bonds contribute to the ability of a molecule to be hydrophilic?
Polar covalent and hydrogen
What bonds contribute to preventability of a molecule to be hydrophobic?
Non polar covalent
What are acids?
Substances that release protons when they dissolve in water
What are bases?
Substances that accept protons when they dissolve in water
What combinations of atoms occur repeatedly in organic molecules?
Methyl (CH3), hydroxyl (OH), carboxyl (COOH), carbonyl (C=O), phosphoryl (PO3^2-), and amino (NH2)
What are the primary source of chemical energy for cells?
Sugars
What are monosaccharides?
The smallest sugars with the general formula (CH2O)n
What are oligosaccharides?
2-10 monosaccharides
How do monosaccharides join together?
By linking their covalent bonds called glycosidic bonds to form larger carbohydrates
What is a condensation reaction?
A bond is formed between OH groups between sugars and a water molecule is expelled
What is hydrolysis?
A bond is broken between OH groups and a water molecule is consumed
What are some polysaccharides?
Glycogen and starch (used as energy store), cellulose (used as support), and chitins (used as exoskeletons and fungal cell walls)
How can oligosaccharides be linked?
To proteins to form glycoproteins or to lipids to form glycolipids
What are an even richer (but not more prevalent) energy source for cells than sugars?
Fatty acids
What is the essential function of fatty acids?
To form lipid molecules that assemble into cell membranes
What are the two chemically distance parts of fatty acids and what are their characteristics?
Long hydrocarbon chain (hydrophobic, not reactive) and the carboxyl group that behaves as an acid because in aqueous solution it is (ionized, hydrophilic, and chemically reactive)
What are amphipathic molecules?
Molecules that have hydrophilic and hydrophobic regions
How are fatty acid molecules linked?
Covalently by their carboxyl regions
What is a saturated fat?
No double bonds between carbons and the maximum number of hydrogens
What is an unsaturated fat?
One or more double bonds that creates kinks in the hydrocarbon tails and interferes with its ability to pack together
What are lipids?
Found in the long hydrocarbon chains of fatty acids and multiple linked aromatic rings in steroids that are insoluble in water but soluble in fat and other organic solvents
What are phospholipids?
Type of fatty acid that forms a lipid bilayer due to its amphipathic nature
Which bonds are non polar?
C-H, C-C