Lecture 3: Molecular Composition of the Cell Flashcards
What are the 4 types of Carbohydrates?
Monosaccharides, Disaccharides, Oligosaccharides and Polysaccharides.
How many carbons do hexose monosaccharides have?
6
How many carbons do pentose monosaccharides have?
5
What are the 3 main functions of carbohydrates?
- Recognition (on the cell surface, cell to cell)
- Energy
- Structure
Which carbohydrates can be used as energy?
Only starch and glycogen - NOT CELLULOSE.
Are lipids polymers?
No!
Are lipids heterogenous or homogenous?
Heterogenous
Lipids are hydrophobic. True or False?
True
What are the three main functions of lipids?
Structure, regulation and energy.
What are two examples of nucleic acids?
DNA and RNA
What is the function of nucleic acids?
They are information molecules.
What is a nucleic acid made up of?
Nucleotides
What are nucleotides made up of?
A phosphate, a sugar and a base.
What types of nucleic bases exist?
Purines and Pyrimidines.
What are proteins?
They are polymers of amino acids.
How many different proteins exist, and what makes them different?
- They each differ by their ‘R’ group.
List three building blocks and the corresponding macromolecules they give rise to.
Amino acids ➡ Proteins
Simple carbohydrates ➡ Complex carbohydrates
Nucleobases ➡ DNA or RNA
What is a macromolecule?
‘Biopolymers’
Very large molecules created by polymerisation of building blocks.
Give 4 examples of macromolecules.
proteins DNA (nucleic acid) RNA (nucleic acid) complex carbohydrates lipids
One of the 4 macromolecules is different from the other 3. Which one and in what
way is it different?
Lipids. Lipids are not polymers.
Give an example of a common building block (monomer) of carbohydrates.
Monosaccharides
What type of structural carbohydrate is found in plants?
Cellulose
Which lipid(s) can be found in cell membranes?
Cholesterol and phospholipids.
Name two regulatory lipids derived from cholesterol.
Testosterone and Estradiol ( an estrogen).
What is the function of proteins in our cells?
Proteins perform a variety of biological functions
Which bases can be found in DNA and RNA nucleotides respectively?
DNA: C, G, A & T
RNA: C, G, A & U
What is the difference between a DNA and an RNA nucleotide (assuming the
base component is the same)?
DNA has a deoxyribose sugar, whereas RNA has a ribose sugar.
How do DNA and RNA polymers differ structurally?
DNA is double stranded, RNA is single stranded.
