Intro to Biochem Flashcards
Biochemistry ‘s main goal is to explain all processes of life in ??? detail.
molecular
The biochemistry discipline relies heavily on fundamental principles of ??? and other basic sciences.
organic chemistry
Among the vast number of different
biomolecules, many are complex and large molecules (known as ???), consisting of similar repeating subunits (known as ???).
polymers;
monomers
Then, in [year], [person] published a paper on the synthesis of urea, proving that organic compounds can be created artificially.
1828;
Friedrich Wöhler
The dawn of biochemistry may have been the discovery of the first enzyme, ??? (today called
???), in 1833 by [person].
diastase;
amylase
Anselme Payen
[person] contributed the first demonstration of a complex biochemical process outside of a cell in [year]: alcoholic fermentation in cell extracts of yeast.
Eduard Buchner;
1896
Although the term “biochemistry” seems to have been first used in 1882, it is generally accepted
that the formal coinage of biochemistry occurred in 1903 by [person], a German chemist.
Carl Neuberg
3 types of biochemistry
plant
general
human/medical/medicinal
involves the study of the biochemistry of autotrophic organisms such as photosynthesis and other plant specific biochemical processes.
Plant biochemistry
encompasses both plant and animal biochemistry.
General biochemistry
biochemistry focuses on the biochemistry of humans and medical illnesses.
Human/medical/medicinal
The biomolecules such as proteins found in living organisms are compounds based on ???
carbon
The third most abundant element of living organisms
carbon
is the basis of all biochemical
compounds, therefore it is essential for Earth’s life.
Carbon
The carbon atom has unique properties which allow it to:
- form covalent bonds to as many as ??? different atoms, making this versatile element ideal for serving
as the macromolecules’ basic structural component, or “backbone.”
four
contain both positively and negatively charged ions resulting in a complete zero charge
Ionic compounds
Most of the ??? consist of molecules, groups of atoms in which at least two atoms share one or more pairs of electrons to form a … bond.
covalent compounds
Compounds containing mainly carbon and hydrogen
organic compounds
are compounds composed mostly of elements other than carbon and hydrogen
inorganic compounds
indicates the composition of a molecule and its approximate structure and shape
structural formula
Single bonds, double bonds, and triple bonds are ??? in which two bonded atoms share one, two, and three pairs of electrons, respectively
covalent bonds
The chemical reactions of biomolecules are dictated by the ??? they contain.
functional groups
The first carbon atom attached to the functional group is called ???; the second, ???; the third, ???, and so on
alpha carbon;
beta carbon;
gamma carbon
A functional group can be classified as (3) depending on whether it is
connected to one, two or three carbon atoms
primary, secondary or tertiary
imino group
NH
classes of hydrocarbons (4)
alkanes
alkenes
alkynes
arenes
classes of halogen-containing compounds (2)
alkyl halides
aryl halides
classes of oxygen-containing compound (6)
alcohols
phenols
ethers
aldehydes
ketones
carboxylic acids
classes of carboxylic acid derivatives (2)
esters
amides
carboxylic acid
-COOH
classes of nitrogen-containing compounds
amines
nitriles
nitro compounds
are formed by condensation reactions in which water is removed from the reacting monomer units.
Biopolymers
Each unit of a biopolymer’s monomer is called a?
residue
make up much of the cell’s chemical reactions
Proteins
are also the major structural constituents of most cells and tissue
Proteins
Proteins are also called ??? because they consist of amino acids that are bound together by peptide bonds
polypeptides
are essentially amide bonds formed by condensation of carboxyl groups and amino groups of consecutive amino acids in the polymer chain.
Peptide bonds
are polymers of simple sugars called monosaccharides (e.g.
glucose).
Polysaccharides
Diverse polysaccharides perform either ??? or ???.
structural (cellulose);
energy storage (glycogen, starch) functions
are a complex group of biomolecules, consisting primarily of hydrogen and carbon, that is,
hydrocarbons.
Lipids
is the principal building block of many lipids
A fatty acid
The cell membrane’s most common structural lipid — contains 2 fatty acids, glycerol and a group of polar heads
glycerophospholipid
Nucleic acids are constituted by monomer units of
nucleotides
contain a monosaccharide, a nitrogen base, and one or more groups of phosphates
Nucleotides
All nucleotides are held together by
??? where one group of phosphates is attached to two units of sugar in the polymer ‘s backbone
phosphodiester bonds
In animals, energy is derived from the breakdown of fuel molecules by processes referred to as
catabolism
energy released from catabolism is used to drive biosynthetic processes collectively referred to as
anabolism
Energy flows within biological systems are covered by the discipline known as ???
bioenergetics
