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Biology (Mrs Quinn) > Molecules > Flashcards

Molecules Flashcards

1
Q

Proteins are important biological molecules due to their…

A

Ability to be formed in a specific three-dimensional shapes.

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2
Q

What pH do most proteins operate at most effectively?

A

pH 7.

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3
Q

What are buffers?

A

Chemicals or substance that resist changes to pH and ensure that a particular environment maintains a particular pH.

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4
Q

What are ions?

A

Atoms or a group of atoms that have an electrical charge due to the number of protons and electrons not balancing.

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5
Q

What are organic molecules?

A

Complex carbon-containing molecules. E.g: Carbohydrates, proteins and lipids.

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6
Q

What are many organic molecules formed from?

A

Sub-units called monomers, which join together to form larger polymers through polymerisation.

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7
Q

What do carbohydrates contain?

A

Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen ONLY.

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8
Q

What are the three main types of carbohydrates?

A

Monosaccharides, Disaccharides and Polysaccharides.

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9
Q

What are Monosaccharides?

A

Basic carbohydrate monomers.

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10
Q

How many carbon atoms can Monosaccharides contain?

A

Biologically important Monosaccharides contain three (trioses), five (pentoses) or six (hexoses) carbon atoms.

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11
Q

What are Disaccharides?

A

Double sugars formed from two monosaccharide monomers.

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12
Q

What are Polysaccharides?

A

Complex molecules usually consisting of many monosaccharide monomers.

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13
Q

What type of carbohydrate is glucose?

A

Monosaccharide.

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14
Q

What is the formula for glucose?

A

C6 H12 O6

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15
Q

What is alpha glucose?

A

The basic sub-unit of complex polysaccharides such as starch and glycogen.

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16
Q

What is beta glucose?

A

The constituent monomer of cellulose.

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17
Q

What is the difference between alpha and beta glucose?

A

Alpha glucose structures are found in complex polysaccharides such as starch, whereas beta glucose structures are found in constituent monomer of cellulose.

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18
Q

How are Disaccharides formed?

A

Two monosaccharides, usually hexose react together in a condensation reaction.

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19
Q

How can the condensation reaction in Disaccharides be reversed?

A

Hydrolysis reaction.

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20
Q

What is the name of the bond formed to make Disaccharides?

A

Glycosidic bond.

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21
Q

What is the glycosidic bond described as being?

A

An alpha glucose 1,4 glycosidic bond.

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22
Q

What is the general formula of a disaccharide?

A

C12 H22 O11

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23
Q

Name two types of Disaccharides.

A

Maltose and sucrose.

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24
Q

How is maltose formed?

A

When two alpha glucose molecules are linked through a condensation reaction.

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25
How is sucrose formed?
When an alpha glucose molecule condenses with a fructose molecule.
26
What are polysaccharides?
Complex carbohydrates which often form long chains and are formed through condensation reactions joining monomers to make complex polymers. They are also insoluble in water.
27
What is the general formula for Polysaccharide?
(C6 H10 O5)n where n is a large number that can vary.
28
Name 3 types of Polysaccharides.
Starch, glycogen and cellulose.
29
What is starch?
A polymer of alpha glucose, consists of a mixture of two chains; Amylose and Amylopectin.
30
How are Amylose chains linked? And what shape do they form?
Alpha 1,4 glycosidic bond. The chains are coiled to form a spiral, and long unbranched chains.
31
How are Amylopectin chains formed? And what shape do they form?
Alpha 1,4 glycosidic bond, in addition alpha 1,6 glycosidic bonds branch from side branches to produce a branched molecule.
32
Why is starch a good storage molecule?
1. Amylose and Amylopectin are very compact, therefore they contain a rich store of glucose in a small space. 2. Insoluble, it will not affect the water relations of the cell. 3. It's a large molecule meaning it will not easily pass through the cell membrane. 4. The branching nature creates many terminal ends that are easily hydrolysed.
33
What is glycogen?
The storage carbohydrate found in animals and fungal cells.
34
What is the difference between Glycogen and Amylopectin?
The chains are more branched and shorter in Glycogen than Amylopectin.
35
Where is Glycogen stored?
In liver and muscle cells in mammals.
36
What is the role of Cellulose?
Structure.
37
What is Cellulose made up of?
Monomers of beta glucose. (beta 1,4 glycosidic bonds)
38
What do Lipids contain?
Carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
39
Where are Lipids soluble?
NOT IN WATER, but in organic solutions such as ethanol.
40
What are the main types of lipids?
Triglycerides, phospholipids, waxes and steroids.
41
How are Triglycerides formed?
A combination of glycerol and fatty acid molecules.
42
What reaction occurs to form Triglycerides?
Condensation reaction.
43
What bond is present in Triglycerides?
Ester bonds.
44
What reverse reaction occurs in Triglycerides?
Hydrolysis.
45
How are carbon atoms linked together in Saturated fatty acids?
Single carbon bonds (c-c).
46
How are carbon atoms linked together in Unsaturated fatty acids?
At least on double carbon bond (c=c).
47
Why are triglycerides an excellent energy store?
They release more energy per unit mass than carbohydrate.
48
What elements can Protein contain?
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and usually sulfur.
49
What are proteins formed from?
Amino acids.
50
Hoe do Amino acids differ?
Different R-groups.
51
How are Amino acids linked?
Peptide bonds.
52
What reaction occurs to form Amino acids?
Condensation.
53
How is the Primary structure of Protein usually formed?
Hundreds of Amino acids linked together by peptide bonds.
54
What are Prions?
A particular type of protein found in the nervous system in mammals and other animal groups.
55
What are ions involved in?
Synaptic transmission.
56
What happens overtime if a mammal has a harmful Prion?
The number of harmful prion proteins with tightly packed beta sheets increases to reach a threshold that causes neurodegenerative disorders in the brain and other nervous tissue and eventually death.
57
How long is the incubation period for harmful prions?
5 to 20 years.
58
Prion diseases can include...
Scrapie (affects sheep), BSE (mad cow disease) and variant Cruetzfeldt-Jakob disease (human version of BSE)
59
What is the sub-unit of nucleic acids?
Nucleotide.
60
Each nucleotide consists of three components...
Pentose (5 carbon) sugars, Phosphate group and nitrogenous base.
61
What reaction occurs to form the nucleotide?
Condensation.
62
What bond links pentose sugar to phosphate in a nucleotide?
Phosphodiester.
63
What are the two types of nucleic acid?
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA).
64
What are the base pairings in DNA and which bases bonds to which?
Adenine (a) bonds to Thymine (t) by two hydrogen bonds. Guanine (g) bonds to Cytosine (c) by three hydrogen bonds.
65
What shape is the DNA molecule organised as?
A double helix.
66
How is DNA held together?
The bases.
67
What the difference between DNA and RNA?
DNA is double stranded whereas RNA is single stranded. RNA is much shorter than DNA. Also in RNA bases Uracil (u) replaces Thymine (t) and links to (a).
68
What are the three types of RNA?
Messenger RNA (mRNA) Transfer RNA (tRNA) Ribosomal RNA (rRNA)
69
What is the function of DNA?
The genetic code of living organisms, controls protein synthesis therefore regulates the development of living organisms. It also determines the amino acid sequence of polypeptides.
70
What is the role of messenger RNA in protein synthesis?
Carries the code from DNA in the nucleus to a ribosome in cytoplasm where protein synthesis takes place.
71
What is the role of Transfer RNA in protein synthesis?
Carries the amino acids to the mRNA/ribosome where protein synthesis occurs.
72
What is the role of Ribosomal RNA in protein synthesis?
Is made in the nucleolus and forms over half the mass of each ribosome.
73
What happens during DNA replication?
The enzyme DNA helicase 'unzips' the two strands of DNA by breaking the hydrogen bonds between bases. This allows each of the original strands to become a template for the formation of two DNA molecules. Free nucleotides link to the template strand and are joined together by then enzyme DNA polymerase which forms phosphodiester bonds between the phosphate and the deoxyribose sugar.
74
Why are the bases (a) to (t) easier to break up than (g) to (c)?
(a) to (t) is joined together by only two hydrogen bonds, whereas (g) to (c) is joined together by three hydrogen bonds.
75

Biology (Mrs Quinn) (6 decks)

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