lecture 1 + 2

Question 1

four types of polymers

Answer 1

nucleic acids
polysaccharides
lipids
proteins

Question 2

formation of lipid polymers

Answer 2

Acetate are building blocks of fatty acid (acyl) chains formed via dehydration.

acyl chains join with glycerol by ester linkages via dehydration to form triacylglycerol (fat/lipid molecule)

Question 3

how life may have begun?

Answer 3

dust condensed into stars which make the elements (carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, helium)

Question 4

what is life composed of

Answer 4

1.) simple molecules
2.) water vapour
3.) electrical discharge (lightning, solar energy, hydrothermal vents, earth’s magnetic core transferring electrons up to surface)
4.) amino acids and metabolites (pyruvate) produced

Question 5

functions of lipids

Answer 5

energy storage
structural molecules
steroid hormones

Question 6

phospholipid contribution to beginnings of life

Answer 6

phospholipid membrane vesicles grow in size until they destabilise and naturally bud into two vesicles grow repeat etc

phospholipid membranes also attract each other

Question 7

polysaccharides structure

Answer 7

monosacchardies joined with glycosidic bonds

Question 8

polysaccharides function

Answer 8

energy storage (glycogen in animal liver/muscles,, starch in plants)
structural molecules (cellulose in plants, chitin exoskeleton in arthropods, fungi)
carbohydrate residues –> glycolipids and glycoproteins

Question 9

glycosidic bond types

Answer 9

alpha and beta (both 1-4)

alpha allows for more flexibility in glycogen and starch

beta allows for more rigidity in cellulose and chitin

Question 10

nucleic acids/polynucleotides formation

Answer 10

nucleotides join together by phosphodiester bonds to form polynucleotides

Question 11

variation of monomers in which polymers

Answer 11

nucleic acids - nucleotides sugars (ribose or deoxyribose) and base (purine, pyrimidine) can vary

proteins - amino acid R chains can vary

Question 12

nucleic acid functions

Answer 12

energy storage (chemical energy in ATP)
information processes involving DNA and RNA
intracellular signalling cAMP

Question 13

proteins formation

Answer 13

amino acids join by peptide bonds to form polypeptide chains

Question 14

purine bases

Answer 14

double ring
adenine and guanine

Question 15

pyrimidine bases

Answer 15

single ring
cytosine, uracil, thymine