lecture 4 Flashcards
What element is found in living organisms such as proteins, DNA, carbohydrates, and other molecules?
carbon
What is organic chemistry?
the study of compounds that contain carbon, regardless of origin
What experiment did Stanley Miller perform?
the abiotic synthesis of organic compounds
What idea did Stanley Millers experiment support?
that abiotic synthesis of organic compounds, perhaps near volcanoes, could have been a stage in the origin life
What did alice ball do?
created a more effective treatment for Hansen’s disease and leprosy by isolating ester compounds from chaulmoogra oil. (The ball method)
How many covalent bonds can carbon form?
4
What is a valence?
the number of covalent bonds an atom can form
What are the three common themes in biochemistry for making complex interactions?
size, shape, and charge
What are some types of variety seen in organic molecules?
length, double bond position, branching, presence of rings
What are hydrocarbons?
organic molecules consisting of only carbon and hydrogen
Many organic molecules, such as fats, have _____.
hydrocarbon components
What do hydrocarbons release when they undergo reactions?
Large amounts of energy
What are isomers?
compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and properties
What are structural isomers?
have different covalent arrangements of their atoms
What are cis-trans isomers?
have the same covalent bonds but differ in their spatial arrangements (double bonds required)
What are enantiomers?
isomers that are mirror images of each other (require 4 different groups off the carbon)
What is a functional group?
the components of organic molecules that are mostly involved in chemical reactions
What two groups are important for sugars?
Hydroxyl groups and carbonyl groups
What two groups are important for amino acids?
carboxyl groups and amino groups
What are the four classes of large molelcules?
Lipids, Carbohydrates, Proteins, and Nucleic acids
Examples of lipids?
Fats and steriods
Examples of carbohydrates?
sugars, mono, di, and polysacharides
Examples of proteins?
polypeptides, polymers of amino acids
Examples of nucleic acids?
DNA, RNA, polymers of nucleotides
What is a polymer?
A long molecule consisting of many similar building blocks called monomers.
Examples of polymers?
Carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids
What are enzymes?
proteins that speed up chemical reactions such as those that make or break down polymers
When does a dehydration reaction occur?
when two monomers bond together through the loss of a water molecule
What is hydrolysis?
verse of dehydration recation
What is the monomeric unit of carbohydrates?
monosacharides
What is the monomeric unit of proteins?
amino acids
What is monomeric unit of nucleic acids?
nucleotides
What happens when we intake food?
we break down macromolecules and use the monomers to build new molecules
How many amino acids are found in proteins?
20
How many nucleotides are there?
4
