Macromolecules Flashcards
What are polypeptides?
It is several peptides joined together with peptide bonds, but is not a protein yet. It is an unfolded protein.
What are peptides?
They are several amino acids bonded together (which are the smallest parts of proteins (the building blocks of protein). There are 22 different types of amino acids in living organisms. (20 in most - 9 which humans can not synthesis))
What are proteins?
They are folded polypeptides. Depending on if the amino acids are hydrophobic or hydrophilic, the polypeptide will be folded in different ways.
What types of proteins are there?
Enzymes
Vitamins
Hormones
In muscles
What are enzymes?
They are active proteins that act as catalysts in the chemical reactions inside a cell. They can be builders or breakers and have an active site where chemical reactions take place.
What types of sugars are there?
Monosaccharides
Disaccharides
What are monosaccharides?
They are simple sugars such as fructose, glucose and galactose. They can be shaped as pentagons or hexagons.
What are disaccharides?
They are two monosaccharides bonded together. For example sucrose, lactose and maltose.
What are polysaccharides?
They are many monosaccharides joined together such as stach, glycogen and cellulose.
What is starch?
It is the chemical energy reserve in plants. It consists of two chains of glucose and has many breaches which allows humans to break them down. (Enzymes can land there)
What is cellulose?
They consist of many long fibrous glucose chains sitting very tightly together (this is what makes it impossible for humans to break down because the enzymes has no where to sit - it requires a special bacteria in the stomach that cows have). Cellulose makes up the cell wall in plant cells.
What is glycogen?
It is the chemical energy reserve in animals. It consists of a branched chain of glucose.
What are phospholipids?
They are the building blocks of the cell membrane. They have a head which is a phosphate group with two starches attached to it. It is a polar molecule (head is hydrophilic, tail is hydrophobic)
What are triglycerides?
They are fats with one glycerol (an alcohol)and three fatty acids attached to it. Different types of fatty acids can be attached to the glycerol. There are saturated and unsaturated fatty acids ( unsaturated are healthier because they take longer for the body to break down because they have double or triple bonds while saturated fatty acids have single bonds).
What are steroids?
They are a type of lipid which consist of four hexagon subunits. All steroids have the same structure. Examples of steroids are: sex hormones, vitamin D, neurons, cholesterol ( hormones and vitamins)
What are lipids?
They are a group of hydrophobic, insoluble molecules.
What types of nucleic acids are there?
DNA
RNA
What are nucleic acids made up of?
Nucleotides
What are nucleotides?
They are one nitrogen base, attached to a carbohydrate (deoxyribose or ribose) and a phosphoric acid molecule - H3PO4 (forming the backbone of the molecule). The bases bond with hydrogen bonds (three between C and G, two between A and T (U)). Each DNA is about five centimeters long.
What are carbohydrates?
They consist of carbon, oxygen and hydrogen and is a great source of energy for humans. There are three forms of carbohydrates: monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.
What are hormones?
They are chemical messengers controlling the metabolism, digestion, mood control, reproduction and growth of a human. Their job is to activate something in the DNA. Steroid hormones can fuse into a cell while protein hormones has to pass through a protein port or attach to a duck. Protein hormones are long chains of amino acids while steroid hormones derive from lipid cholesterol.
What are vitamins?
They are antioxidants or co-enzymes. They are classified as hydrophobic (dissolves In fat) or hydrophilic (dissolves in water). It is dangerous to over consume hydrophobic vitamins (stayed in the fat very long) but not hydrophilic vitamins.
