Lipids, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids

Question 1

Lipids share one trait: What one trait do they share?

Answer 1

They mix poorly, if at all, with water.

Question 2

What elements, and/or what atoms are lipids made of?

Answer 2

Mainly carbon and hydrogen atoms.

Question 3

How are lipids linked to each other?

Answer 3

Nonpolar covalent bonds.

Question 4

How are lipids different from carbohydrates?

Answer 4

Lipids are hydrophobic (water-fearing).

Question 5

The term oil and water don’t mix is?

Answer 5

The term used when discussing lipids

Question 6

True or False: Oils are liquid fat?

Answer 6

True.

Question 7

What two smaller molecules does fat consist of?

Answer 7

Glycerol and fatty acids.

Question 8

What is glycerol?

Answer 8

Glycerol is an alcohol with three carbons, each bearing a hydroxyl group and a hydrocarbon chain, usually 16 or 18 carbon atoms in length.

Question 9

True or False: Fatty acids have carbons in the chain that are linked to each other and to hydrogen atoms by nonpolar covalent bonds, making the hydrocarbon chain hydrophobic?

Answer 9

True.

Question 10

What is a triglyceride? Hint: Tri is three. It’s a rocket ship, duh.

Answer 10

Triglycerides have one fatty acid molecule that links to a glycerol molecule by a dehydration reaction.

Question 11

What is the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats.

Answer 11

Saturated fats have the maximum number of hydrogens and unsaturated fats have double bonds, that is, having less than the maximum number of hydrogens.

Question 12

True or False: Most plant fats are unsaturated oils?

Answer 12

True.

Question 13

True or False: Most animal fats are made of unsaturated oils?

Answer 13

False: Animal fats are saturated oils.

Question 14

On a food package ingredients label, what does unsaturated fats mean?

Answer 14

Unsaturated fats are fats with some double bonds in the carbon chain of their fatty acids. These fats have fewer hydrogen atoms than they would without the double bonds.

Question 15

What kind of carbon ring structure would you find in an anabolic steroid?

Answer 15

Four fused carbon rings: three six-sided and on five-sided, as in all.

Question 16

True or False: Steroids are lipids whose carbon skeleton contains four fused rings?

Answer 16

True.

Question 17

What are anabolic steroids? Hint: Larry the Lobster and A-Rod take steroids.

Answer 17

Anabolic steroids are synthetic variants of the male hormone testosterone.

Question 18

What is cholesterol?

Answer 18

Cholesterol is a common component in animal cell membranes.

Question 19

What is phospholipids?

Answer 19

Cells can’t exist without phospholipids. Phospholipids are structurally similar to fats, but they contain only two fatty acids attached to glycerol instead of three.

Question 20

Where did the name “Protein” originate from?

Answer 20

From the Greek word proteios, meaning “first place,” suggesting the importance of macromolecules.

Question 21

What is a protein?

Answer 21

A protein is a polymer constructed from amino acid monomers.

Question 22

What is the most important role of protein?

Answer 22

Enzymes, the chemical catalyst that speed and regulate virtually all chemical reactions in cells.

Question 23

Which of the following is not a protein?

Answer 23

Cholesterol.

Question 24

True or False: Proteins are made of amino acids linked by peptide bonds?

Answer 24

True.

Question 25

What are amino acids?

Answer 25

Amino acids a simple organic compound containing both a carboxyl (-COOH) and an amino (-NH2) group.

Question 26

Why does a denatured protein no longer function normally?

Answer 26

The function o f each protein is a consequence of its specific shape, which is lost when a protein denatures.

Question 27

True or False: The dependence of protein function on a protein’s specific shape becomes clear when proteins are altered.

Answer 27

True.

Question 28

What is denaturation?

Answer 28

Denaturation occurs when polypeptide chains unravel, losing specific shape and, as a result, their function.

Question 29

What is the three letter acronym: DNA

Answer 29

Deoxyribonucleic acid.

Question 30

RNA?

Answer 30

Ribonucleic acid.

Question 31

Where would you find alpha-helix and pleated sheet structures?

Answer 31

Proteins.

Question 32

Who is Linus Pauling?

Answer 32

1954 he won the Nobel Peace prize in Chemistry. He identified alpha helix and pleated sheet of secondary structure.

Question 33

True or False: Nucleic acids are information-rich polymers of nucleotides?

Answer 33

True.

Question 34

True or False: RNA usually consists of a single polynucleotide strand, but DNA is a double helix in which two polynucleotides wrap around each other?

Answer 34

True.

Question 35

What are nucleotides?

Answer 35

The monomers of nucleic acids that are made up of sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous base.