Macromolecules - cellular building blocks

Question 1

What are cells made out of?

Answer 1

macromolecules

Question 2

List the macromolecules and their subunits

Answer 2

(1) carbohydrates - monosaccharides
(2) proteins - amino acids
(3) nucleic acids - nucleotides
(4) lipids - no common subunit

Question 3

Glycosidic bond

Answer 3

special linkage found in sugars; high energy bond and has a lot of potential energy stored in it

Question 4

To make a reaction continue/proceed, do you ______ (add/drop) energy?

Answer 4

Add energy to make the reaction proceed

Question 5

Examples of disaccharides

Answer 5

Sucrose, lactose, and maltose

Question 6

Sucrose

Answer 6

Sucrose = fructose + glucose
plants: energy storage
animals: animals don’t make sucrose; energy source

Question 7

Lactose

Answer 7

Lactose = galactose + glucose
plants don’t make lactose

Question 8

Maltose

Answer 8

Maltose = glucose + glucose

Question 9

Oligosaccharides

Answer 9

10 or so monosaccharides
plants: cellulose + starch
animals: glycogen

Question 10

Polysaccharides

Answer 10

50 or more monosaccharides
plants: cellulose used in the cell wall
starch: plants store energy in starch

Question 11

Lipid

Answer 11

heterogeneous group of molecules

Question 12

Structure of a fatty acid

Answer 12

hydrophobic fatty tale & hydrophilic carboxyl group

Question 13

Properties of saturated fatty acids

Answer 13

solid at room temperature; animal fat tends to be enriched in saturated fat

Question 14

Properties of unsaturated fatty acids

Answer 14

liquid at room temperature; plant fats are enriched in unsaturated fat

Question 15

Monounsaturated

Answer 15

if theres just one C=C

Question 16

Polyunsaturated

Answer 16

if there are 2 or more C=C

Question 17

Saturated

Answer 17

No C=C

Question 18

Triglyceride

Answer 18

animal cells use triglyceride as an energy source; 3 fatty acid chains

Question 19

Phospholipids

Answer 19

only two fatty acid chains & also has a phosphate cap; hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tale; cell makes a membrane out of these

Question 20

Where does one find membranes?

Answer 20

• cell/plasma membrane
• there are organelles in eukaryotic cells that are surrounded by phospholipid bilayers

Question 21

What kind of fats do we find in hormones?

Answer 21

Cholesterol etc

Question 22

Cholesterol

Answer 22

a lipid made by animals in the livers & then are transported around and cells grab it; used natively or make other chemicals (hormones) from it

Question 23

Hormones that are made from cholesterol

Answer 23

(1) testosterone - made in testis
(2) progesterone - made in the uterus
(3) cortisone - made in adrenal gland
(4) aldosterone - made in adrenal gland
(5) estradiol - made in ovaries

Question 24

What is a nucleotide made up of?

Answer 24

phosphate group, sugar, and base

Question 25

5 possible bases in the cell

Answer 25

(1) thymine
(2) guanine
(3) uracil
(4) adenine
(5) cytosine

Question 26

You can link up nucleotides using a ________________ bond

Answer 26

phosphodiester bond

Question 27

Differences between DNA & RNA

Answer 27

(1) DNA - mostly double stranded
RNA - mostly single stranded
(2) DNA is very chemically stable, RNA is much less stable
(3) DNA’s primary function is to store genetic information
RNA has a lot of functions

Question 28

What is an amino acid made of?

Answer 28

Amino group, R side chain, and a carboxyl group

Question 29

Dehydration synthesis

Answer 29

H2O leaves so peptide bonds form

Question 30

Hydrolysis

Answer 30

adding H2O breaks peptide bonds

Question 31

Termini

Answer 31

N terminus and C terminus; N terminus is the first one on the chain

Question 32

Where are proteins made?

Answer 32

Ribosome

Question 33

Where can one find ribosomes? & why?

Answer 33

(1) in cytoplasms near the nucleus (makes protein for inside the cell)
(2) attached to the endoplasmic reticulum (make proteins that get shipped off for cell signaling, digesting etc)

Question 34

Primary structure of a protein

Answer 34

sequence of amino acids

Question 35

Secondary structure of a protein

Answer 35

refers to local finding; happens courtesy of H-bonds that form between N–C–C (backbone); doesn’t include side chains

Question 36

Tertiary structure of a protein

Answer 36

refers to the three dimensional structure of the folded protein; involved H-bonding between N–C–C backbone but also H-bonds between the side chains

Question 37

When proteins fold in the cell, how do they arrange themselves?

Answer 37

Water soluble side chains –> face out
nonpolar side chains –> face in

Question 38

Disulfide bridges

Answer 38

helps prevent the protein from unraveling & misfolding; proteins that get kicked out of the cell have disulfide bridges where the sulfides are attracted to each other

Question 39

Quaternary structure of a protein

Answer 39

sometimes 2 folded proteins will associate with one another

Question 40

Homodimer

Answer 40

2 same proteins hanging out in a complex

Question 41

Heterodimer

Answer 41

2 different proteins hanging out in a complex

Question 42

Dimers

Answer 42

2 proteins

Question 43

Tetramers

Answer 43

4 proteins

Question 44

Octamers

Answer 44

8 proteins

Question 45

Protein domains

Answer 45

there are interesting regions in the tertiary structure; lots of different kinds of domains; used for function of protein
ex: active site