Lecture focus questions; Bio Molecules Flashcards
What are organic molecules?
-They are compounds that include carbon & use carbon’s ability to make 4 covalent bonds to achieve variety in molecules
What are small biological molecules called?
-Metabolites
What are larger biological molecules called?
-Macromolecules which are made of polymers of simpler subunits
What is a polymer?
-It is a molecule that covalently combines simple subunits
How are biological polymers synthesized?
-They are synthesized by dehydration synthesis (condensation reactions) which releases a water molecule from the atoms of the subunits as they are joined
How are biological polymers degraded?
-They are degraded by hydrolysis which is where a water molecule is added when the subunits are separated
What are the 4 categories of Macromolecules?
- Polypeptides (more= proteins)
- Nucleic Acids
- Triglycerides & phospholipids
- Complex carbohydrates
What are the monomers for Polypeptides?
-Amino acids
What are the monomers for Nucleic Acids?
-Nucleotides
What are the monomers for Triglycerides?
- Fatty acids linked with glycol
- and with a phosphate group for phospholipids
What are the monomers for Complex Carbohydrates?
-Simple sugars
What is the basic structure for the monomer of Polypeptides?
- The amino acid has a backbone that consists of an amino group at one end and a carboxylic acid group on the other end and an Alpha carbon in the middle
- The variable side chain is attached to the alpha carbon
- There can be 20 amino acids
What can be the differences between the 20 amino acids and their side chains?
- The side chains of amino acids can be nonpolar, polar and uncharged, polar and charged
- The polar & uncharged can be acidic or basic
What kind of bonds are amino acids in a polypeptide held by?
-The amino acids are held by amide bonds=peptide bonds
What happens to the linear polypeptide polymer after synthesis?
- It folds up due to the hydrophobic effect
- After folding, the non-polar side chains are located inside the protein while the polar side chains are outside the protein
What is the structure of the monomer nucleotide?
-It is a ribose (or deoxyribose) sugar, a phosphate & a nitrogenous base
What are the 5 different nucleotide monomers/base pairs?
- Adenine
- Guanine
- Thymine
- Uracil
- Cytosine
What are the 4 base pairs that makeup DNA & what kind of sugar are they made with?
- Adenine
- Thymine
- Guanine
- Cytosine
- They are made with deoxyribose sugar
What are the 4 base pairs that makeup RNA & what kind of sugar are they made with?
- Adenine
- Guanine
- Uracil
- Cytosine
- They are made with ribose sugar
What’s the difference between Pyrimidines & Purines?
- Pyrimidines are the smaller bc they have 1 rings of atoms
- Purines are bigger bc they have 2 rings of atoms
Which basepairs are Pyrimidines?
- Thymine
- Uracil
- Cytosine
Which basepairs are Purines?
- Adenine
- Guanine
How are the nucleotides in DNA & RNA assembled into a nuclear polymer?
-They are assembled through a backbone of phosphates & sugars connected by covalent phosphodiester bonds
What are the 2 ends of a polynucleotide called?
5’ and 3’
-bc they either have a 5 carbon or a 3 carbon sugar sticking out that end
In what direction is the sequence of bases written?
5’ to 3’ direction
What’s the difference between the structure of DNA & RNA?
- DNA is stored for genetic info & it is double-stranded w/ each strand is made of one covalently connected polymer & the 2 strands are connected to each other via hydrogen bonds
- RNA is used to express it & can be single or double stranded
What are lipids?
-They are non-polar molecules that include triglycerides, phospholipids, & steroids
What is the structure of Steriods?
-They have 4 rings of C and H atoms & different attachments off the rings
What are Triglycerides & their functions?
- They are 3 fatty acids attached to a glycerol
- They can be used as a dense store of energy= storing energy in a small mass
What are the fatty acid & glycerol components of Triglycerides?
- Fatty acids include a carboxylic acid at one end connected to a long chain of methylene (CH2) with a methyl (CH3) group at the other end
- Glycerol is a short carbohydrate w/ 3 carbon atoms & 3 hydroxyl groups
What are key characteristics of Saturated Fatty Acids?
-They only have single bonds between carbon atoms & are fully saturated for hydrogen atoms
What are the key characteristics for Unsaturated Fatty Acids?
- AKA fats or oils
- They have some double bonds (kinks) between carbon atoms and are oils in room temperature
What are the 2 types of bonds in Unsaturated Fatty Acids?
-A double bond can either be Cis or Trans
What is the difference between Cis and Trans fatty acids in Unsaturated Fatty Acids?
- Cis bonds are made from natural triglycerides
- Trans are made artificially by “partial hydrogenation” of cis fatty acids
What is the relationship between fatty acids & health?
- Cis unsaturated fatty acids are the healthiest
- While saturated fatty acids are less healthy & can lead to heart disease when eaten a lot
- And trans fatty acids are hella unhealthy
What are Phospholipids?
-They are molecules that contain 2 fatty acids and a phosphate/ modified phosphate attached to a glycerol
What is the role of Phospholipids?
-They are used as a major component of cellular membranes which are aggregates of lipids
What is the structure of Phospholipids?
- They have a Polar head & a Non-polar tails
- They associated in a bilayer w/ Polar head facing water & Non-polar tails associating together inside the bilayer
What is a Simple Sugar?
-it is a carbohydrate= has general formula of (CH2O)n
What is the structure of a Simple Sugar?
- For 5 carbon sugars, they are used in RNA & DNA
- The 6 carbon sugars include glucose, fructose, galactose
What are the 2 roles a complex carbohydrate can have?
- Structural
- And energy storage
What complex carbohydrate plays the role of Structure?
-Cellulose which is found in plants & is the most common biological molecules on earth
Which complex carbohydrates play the role of Energy Storage
- Glycogen and starch
- Glycogen is found in animals while starch is found in plants
What is the difference between the complex carbohydrates Glycogen & Starch?
- Glycogen is found in animals & provides short term energy storage in animals (when we sleep)
- Starch is found in plants & supplies energy to them
What is our food made of?
-They are mostly made of cells= mostly macromolecules
What are the properties of foods determined by?
-The properties of macromolecules (sequences & how they are digested/hydrolyzed)
