Module 1: Biological Molecules, Nucleic Acids, DNA Flashcards

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1
Q

What are biological molecules

A

Molecules made and used by living organisms
eg. carbs, proteins, lipids, DNA, ATP, Water, Inorganic Ions

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2
Q

What are the functions of carbohydrates?

A

-Energy source (glucose in respiration)
-energy store (starch in plants, glycogen in animals)
-structure (cellulose in cell wall of plants)

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3
Q

What are the building blocks for carbohydrates called?

A

Monosaccharides

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4
Q

Example of monosaccharides?

A

Glucose (alpha), Galactose, Fructose

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5
Q

Formula for monosaccharides?

A

C6H12O6 (isomers = same formula but different arrangement)

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6
Q

Difference between alpha and beta glucose?

A

on Carbon 1, alpha glucose has a OH group on the bottom and beta glucose has a OH group on the top

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7
Q

How are monosaccharides joined together?

A

condensation reaction (removing water) – between 2 OH groups

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8
Q

Bond in carbohydrate?

A

glycosidic bond (1,4 – between carbon 1 and carbon 4)

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9
Q

Example of disaccharides?

A

-glucose + glucose = maltose
-glucose + galactose = lactose
-glucose + fructose = sucrose

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10
Q

Formula for disaccharides?

A

C12H22O11

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11
Q

How are polymers separated?

A

hydrolysis (add water)

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12
Q

What is a polysaccharide?

A

many monosacharrides joined by condensation reaction
held together by glycosidic bonds

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13
Q

Example of polysaccharides?
3

A

 Starch (long chain of alpha glucose) which is energy store in plants
 Glycogen (long chain of alpha glucose) which is energy store in animals
 Cellulose (long chain of beta glucose) which makes cell wall in plants

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14
Q

What are Polysaccharides?
5

A

 carbohydrates
 made of a long chain of monosaccharides joined by condensation reaction/glycosidic bonds
 3 examples: Starch, Glycogen, Cellulose
 Starch & Glycogen used as Energy Stores (starch in plants, glycogen in animals), they are made out of many alpha glucose which are used for respiration
 Cellulose used to form Cell Wall in Plants, made out of many beta glucose

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15
Q

Structure of Starch?
3

A

 made from Amylose and Amylopectin
 Amylose = long straight chain of alpha-glucose which is coiled
 Amylopectin = straight chain of alpha-glucose with side branches (1,6-glycosidic bond)

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16
Q

Structure of Glycogen?

A

straight chain of alpha-glucose (1,4-glycosidic bond) with side branches (1,6-glycosidic bond)

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17
Q

Properties of Starch and Glycogen as energy stores?
3

A

 Insoluble = do not affect water potential of the cell, do not diffuse out of the cell
 Coiled/Branched = compact, more can fit into a cell
 Branched/Chained = glucose removed from the end

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18
Q

Structure of Cellulose?
5

A

 β-glucose arranged in a straight chain (each alternative β-glucose is rotated 180 degrees) = cellulose straight chain
 many cellulose chains are cross linked by hydrogen bonds to form microfibrils
 many microfibrils are cross linked to form marcrofibrils
 forms structure of cell wall
 strong material (prevents plant cell from bursting or shrinking)

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19
Q

Test for starch?

A

add iodine, turns blue/black

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20
Q

Test for reducing sugar?

A

heat with benedicts, turns brick red

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21
Q

Test for non-reducing sugar? 4

A

heat with benedicts – no change
 therefore, add dilute hydrochloric acid (hydrolyses glycosidic bond)
 then add sodium hydrogencarbonate (neutralises solution)
 heat with benedict - turns brick red

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22
Q

What are 2 types of proteins?

A

Globular and Fibrous

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23
Q

What are globular proteins?

A

soluble proteins with a specific 3D shape
e.g. enzymes, hormones,
antibodies, haemoglobin

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24
Q

What are fibrous proteins?

A

strong/insoluble/inflexible material e.g. collagen and keratin

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25
Q

What are the building blocks for proteins?

A

amino acids

26
Q

Structure of amino acid? 5

A

central carbon, carboxyl group to the right (COOH), amine group to
the left (NH2), hydrogen above and R group below

27
Q

How do amino acids differ?

A

have different R groups
e.g. glycine has a hydrogen in its R group –
simplest amino acid

28
Q

How are amino acids joined together?

A

by condensation reaction between the carboxyl group of one and amine group of another, leaves a bond between carbon & nitrogen (called a peptide bond) forming a dipeptide

29
Q

Define primary, secondary, tertiary, quaternary structure?

A

Primary = sequence of AA, polypeptide chain (held by peptide bonds) 
Secondary = the primary structure (polypeptide chain) coils to form a helix, held by
hydrogen bonds 
Tertiary = secondary structure folds again to form final 3d shape, held together by
hydrogen/ionic/disulfide bonds 
Quaternary = made of more then one polypeptide chain

30
Q

Examples of quaternary structure proteins?

A

collagen (3 chains), antibodies (3 chains),
haemoglobin (4 chains)

31
Q

Structure of collagen? Prim-quat

A

strong material, used to build tendons/ligaments/connective tissues
 primary structure mainly made up of glycine (simplest amino acid)
 secondary structure forms a tight coil (not much branching due to glycine)
 tertiary structure coils again
 quaternary structure made from 3 tertiary structures wrapped around each other like rope
 = a collagen molecule  many of these collagen molecules make the tendons/ligaments/connective tissues

32
Q

Test for protein?

A

add biuret, turns purple

33
Q

What is an enzyme?

A

a biological catalyst (substance that speeds up the rate of reaction without being used up – lowers activation energy)

34
Q

What makes an enzyme specific?

A

-has a specific active site shape
-only complementary substrates can bind to the active site to form enzyme-substrate complexes

35
Q

Lock and Key Model vs Induced Fit Model?

A

-LK = active site shape is rigid, only exactly complementary substrates can bind to form
ES complexes
-IF = active site changes shape, the substrate binds to the active site – the active site
changes shape so the substrate fits exactly forming an ES complex

36
Q

Affect of substrate concentration on enzyme activity?
5

A

increase substrate concentration,
increases chance of successful collisions, increase chance of forming an ES complex, increase rate of reaction 
this continues until all the enzyme’s active sites are full/saturated = maximum rate of
reaction

37
Q

Affect of enzyme concentration on enzyme activity?
5

A

increase enzyme concentration,
increases chance of successful collisions,
increase chance of forming an ES complex,
increase rate of reaction 
this continues until all the substrates are used up = maximum rate of reaction

38
Q

Affect of temperature on enzyme activity?

A

as temperature increases  the kinetic energy increases  the molecules move faster  increase chance of successful collisions  increase chance of forming ES complex  increase rate of reaction  carries on till optimum  after optimum  bonds in tertiary structure break (hydrogen and ionic bonds)  lose active site shape  substrate no longer complementary  cant form ES complexes  enzyme denatured

39
Q

Affect of pH on enzyme activity? 4

A

if change pH away from optimum,
bonds in tertiary structure break,
lose active site shape,
no longer form ES complex,
enzyme denatured

40
Q

Competitive vs Non-Competitive Inhibitors?

A

Competitive = a substance with a similar shape to the substrate and a complementary
shape to the enzyme’s active site, binds to the active site, blocking it, preventing ES
complexes from forming

Non-Competitive = a substance that binds to another site on the enzyme other then the
active site, causes the active site to change shape, so less ES complexes can form

41
Q

What are the 3 types of Lipids?

A

Triglycerides (fat for energy store, insulation, protection of organs) 
Phopholipids (to make membranes)  Cholesterol (for membrane stability and make hormones)

42
Q

Structure of triglyceride?

A

made of 1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids  joined by condensation reaction, ester bonds  bond is COOC  there are 2 types of triglycerides: saturated fat and unsaturated fat

43
Q

Saturated vs Unsaturated Fat?

A

Saturated = has no carbon double bonds in the R group of the fatty acid 
Unsaturated = has carbon double bonds in the R group of the fatty acid

44
Q

Structure of phospholipid?

A

made of 1 glycerol, 2 fatty acids and 1 phosphate
phosphate forms a hydrophillic head, fatty acids form hydrophobic tails
forms a phospholipid bilayer, basic structure of membranes

45
Q

What are Nucleic Acids?

A

Polymers made from Nucleotides (2 types = DNA and RNA)

46
Q

What is DNA? 4

A

DeoxyriboNucleic Acid
found in all organisms (animals, plants, microorganisms)
carries genes
genes = section of DNA that codes for a protein all organisms are built of proteins

47
Q

Building block of DNA?

A

DNA nucleotide (made of phosphate, deoxyribose sugar, nitrogenous base)  4 types of nucleotides (each has a different base, either
Adenine/Thymine/Cytosine/Guanine)

48
Q

DNA structure?

A

DNA Double Helix
join nucleotides by condensation reaction between sugar and phosphate to form a
polynucleotide
join 2 polynucleotides by hydrogen bond between the bases
A joins with T, C joins with G (complementary base pairing)
produces double strand [anti-parallel]
then coil double strand into Double Helix

49
Q

Properties of DNA Structure? 5

A

Double Stranded = makes DNA more stable & 2 strands act as templates in semi-
conservative replication 
Coil into Helix = more compact 
Sugar-phosphate backbone = protects bases (bases code for protein) 
Hydrogen bonds between bases = weak, so double strand separates more easily for semi-
conservative replication 
Complementary Base Pairing = ensures identical copies of DNA made by semi-
conservative replication

50
Q

DNA Replication?

A

occurs in interphase before mitosis & meiosis occurs by semi-conservative replication

51
Q

Describe Semi-Conservative Replication?

A

DNA double strand separate and act as templates, producing 2 identical copies of the DNA, each has half the original strand and half the new strand process:
 DNA Helicase breaks hydrogen bonds between the complementary bases
 double strand separates, leaves 2 template stands
 free complementary nucleotides bind to exposed bases on template strands (A to T, C to G)
 DNA Polymerase joins the sugar-phosphate backbone of the new strand

52
Q

Evidence for SCR? Isotopes

A

Replicating Bacterial DNA in 2 types of Nitrogen Isotopes, 15N and 14N  15N = heavy isotope  14N = light isotope  Nitrogen found in nitrogenous bases of DNA  Bacterial DNA made from 15N will have a Heavy Density  Bacterial DNA made from 14N will have a Light Density  Experiment = Bacterial DNA made of 15N is replicated in an environment of 14N –
produces DNA molecules with half 15/half 14 (semi-conservative replication, original
strand = 15N & new strand = 14N), therefore, DNA molecule has medium density

53
Q

What is RNA?

A

RiboNucleic Acid
2 types (mRNA and tRNA)
mRNA = messenger RNA
tRNA = transfer RNA
both single stranded
both made of RNA Nucleotides (phosphate, ribose sugar, nitrogenous bases - AUCG)

54
Q

What is ATP?

A

Adenosine Triphosphate (Energy Carrier Molecule – delivers energy for life processes)

55
Q

Structure of ATP?

A

Adenosine Triphosphate  made from 1 adenosine and 3 phosphates  formation: ADP + Pi (+ energy used) = ATP  condensation reaction using ATP Synthase  carries energy in its bonds  breakdown: ATP = ADP + Pi (+ energy released)  hydrolysis reaction using ATP Hydrolase  releases energy from its bonds

56
Q

What makes ATP a good deliverer of energy?

A

immediate source = need to only break one bond (plus bond is weak)  manageable source = releases small amount of energy

57
Q

Uses of ATP (releases energy) in organisms?

A

protein synthesis  organelle synthesis  DNA replication  cell division (mitosis)  active transport  metabolic reactions  movement  maintaining body temperature

58
Q

Role of Water in Biology?

A

found in living organisms = cytoplasm (all organisms), xylem/phloem (in plants), tissue
fluid and blood (in animals)  also acts as habitats for living organisms

59
Q

Properties of Water?

A

Water Molecules (H20) are dipolar  Hydrogen has slightly +ve charge and Oxygen has slightly -ve charge  therefore H20 molecules can form hydrogen bonds with each other

60
Q

Role of Water in Living Organisms?

A

(I) Habitat (e.g. sea): Water has high specific heat capacity meaning that a lot of heat needs to be applied before it evaporates due to the presence of the hydrogen bonds between the water molecules. Also when water freezes it becomes Ice, which is less dense then liquid water – so it floats on the surface insulating the water beneath it, preventing it from freezing. In both cases the water remains liquid to provide an habitat for organisms.
(II) Solvent: Because H20 molecules are dipolar they can separate out solutes based on their charge, +ve Hydrogen side mixes with -ve solute and -ve Oxygen side mixes with +ve solute, so solute mixes with water and becomes dissolved. This is useful in cytoplasm of all cells and supports the reaction of these solutes, it is also useful in the processes of diffusion/active transport, and is also useful in transport such as blood and phloem.
(III) Hydrostatic Pressure: Water when pressurised can provide a strong physical pushing force. Used particularly in Mass Flow (where mass of water carries large amounts of substances e.g. tissue fluid in capillaries and phloem in plants). Also helps to support turgidity in plants.
(IV) Homeostasis: Mammals and Humans control body temperature by sweating. Sweat on the skin uses heat from the blood to evaporate, hence, cooling the individual. Because sweat/water is made up of hydrogen bonds, it has a stable structure, so requires a large amount of heat for it to evaporate. This is called Latent Heat of Vaporisation.

61
Q

What are Inorganic Ions?

A

Salts/Minerals  Inorganic = do not contain carbon, Ion = charged (+ve/-ve)  e.g. Sodium Ions (Na+), Chloride Ions (Cl-)