Macromolecules

Question 1

What are the 4 classes of macromolecules

Answer 1

carbohydrates
lipids
proteins
nucleic acids

Question 2

What is a carbohydrate

Answer 2

saccharides (sugars) and their polymers

molecular compounds made from C, O, H

Question 3

What is a monosaccharide and what is the most common example

Answer 3

simplest carbohydrates (simple sugars)

example: glucose

Question 4

What is a disaccharide and what is a common example

Answer 4

double sugars which consists of two monosaccharides

example: tw molecules of glucose

Question 5

What are the two main monosaccharides

Answer 5

Glucose

Fructose

Question 6

What are the main disaccharides and their composition?

Answer 6

sucrose: glucose and fructose

lactose: two beta glucose molecules

maltose: one beta and one alpha glucose molecules

Question 7

What are oligosaccharides

Answer 7

carbohydrates containing usually 3-10 monosaccharides

Question 8

What are polysaccharides and what are the most common examples?

Answer 8

polysaccharides are multiple monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds

examples: starch, cellulose and chitin

Question 9

What is starch and its composition?

Answer 9

polysaccharides of plants which store energy

polymer of alpha-glucose

Question 10

What is cellulose and its composition?

Answer 10

structural polysaccharide found in plant cell walls

polymer of beta-glucose

Question 11

What are nucleic acids

Answer 11

long polymers of repeating subunits (nucleotides)

Question 12

What is a nucleotide consist of?

Answer 12

pentose sugar
phosphate group
organic nitrogenous base

Question 13

What are the two classes of nitrogenous bases

Answer 13

purines:
- adenine
- guanine

Pyrimidines:
- thymine
-cytosine
- uracil

Question 14

What is the difference between purines and pyrimidines?

Answer 14

purines:
double bonded rings

pyrimidines:
single ring structure

Question 15

How are nucleotides linked together

Answer 15

linked by phosphodiester bonds between the phosphate group and sugar group of two nucleotides

Question 16

base pairs in DNA run ___ and are joined by ____

Answer 16

antiparallel

hydrogen bonds

Question 17

How is RNA different to DNA

Answer 17

single stranded

carbon 2 (C2’) in the RNA ring is oxygenated

RNA contains uracil

Question 18

What are the types of RNA and what are their roles?

Answer 18

mRNA (messenger): delivers the DNA to cytosol to manufacture the proteins

rRNA (ribosomal): forms ribosomes by combining proteins

tRNA (transfer): brings amino acids to the ribosome based on the decoding of the mRNA strand

Question 19

What are proteins

Answer 19

polymers of amino acids

Question 20

What is the role of chaperone proteins

Answer 20

to help other proteins fold correctly

Question 21

What is denaturation

Answer 21

the changing of the shape of a protein which can alter its function due to environmental changes like temp, pH, ion concentration

Denatured proteins have altered functions or are completely inactive due to these structural changes

Question 22

What are the common properties of all lipids

Answer 22

insoluble in water

high portion of non-polar C-H bonds

Question 23

What is the difference between a saturated lipid, a non saturated lipid and a polyunsaturated lipid

Answer 23

saturated:
chain made up of single bonds

unsaturated:
double or triple bonds present in the lipid chain

polyunsaturated:
multiple double/triple bonds

Question 24

What is the composition of a phospholipid and why are they important

Answer 24

form the core of all cell membranes

hydrophilic head:
- glycerol and phosphate group

hydrophobic tails:
- one saturated and one unsaturated fatty acid (joined to glycerol)

Question 25

What is the structure of glycerol

Answer 25

3 carbon alcohol with each carbon containing a hydroxyl group

CH2(OH)CH(OH)CH2(OH)