Plant Chemistry Flashcards
Plant Makeup (basic)
Cuticle -Regulates exchange, has stomatas
Upper epidermis
Lower epidermis
Cuticle
Bonding
Covalent: e- sharing, strong bonds
Noncovalent: includes ionic and H (between water molecules)
- weak bonds
- electrostatic
- mainly in plant
Water
O : highly e-neg
H : low e- neg
Cohesion v Adhesion (water)
Cohesion: Attraction of molecules of the same kind
Adhesion: Attraction of molecules of one kind to another of a different kind (i.e water + charged molecule) [glass, soil particles]
Capillary Action
Ability of liquid to flow upward through narrow spaces (force opposes gravity)
Hydrocarbons
molecules that contain C-H only
Hydrophobic
Molecules in a cell
- Protein
- Carb
- Lipid
- Nucleic acids
Macromolecule
made of monomers [sugar, amino acid, nucleotide] = polymer [carb, protein, nucleic acid]
Form/breakdown a macromolecule
Form - Dehydration and condensation rxn (rqrs ATP)
Breakdown - Hydrolysis rxn (releases ATP)
Carbohydrates
Monosaccharides - sugar (one subunit)
glucose, ribose, ribulose, fructose, glyceraldehyde
Disaccharides - two subunit
Polysaccharide - many- thousands
alpha v. beta glucose
Enzyme recognizes alpha glucose
- polysaccharides STARCH (beta) and CELLULOSE (alpha)
- beta glucoses bound too tightly (helical - starch)
Function of glucose
Main form of energy in plants and animals - through respiration
Sucrose function
Transported energy (throughout plant) (photosynthesis creates sucrose from glucose from CO2)
Starch function
Storage form of glucose (interconvertible depending on excess glucose v. depleted glucose)
Starch and Cellulose in humans
Starch: polymer of alpha glucose, digested by amylase (saliva and pancreas)
Cellulose: polymer of beta glucose
not digested by humans, most abundant compound on earth
part of insoluble fiber
Protein
Polymer of amino acids
Protein folding via ionic and H bonds
Membrane Bound- inserted into plasma or organelle membrane
Soluble - in cytosol or in lumen of organelle (can float in water)
Nucleotides
DNA and RNA
vary in sugar type (2) and base (5)
- deoxyribose v ribose
- DNA: adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine
-RNA: adenine, guanine, cytosine, uracil
Lipids
Main groups: Fats (energy storage), phospholipids (membrane structure), waxes
Hydrophobic, structurally distinct, not polymers
Fatty acid structure
Carboxyl group (hydrophilic) + hydrocarbon tail (hydrophobic)
Fat structure
3 fatty acid + glycerol
Phospholipid structure
2 fatty acid + glycerol + polar head group
Saturated v Unsaturated
Sat:
no double bonds (contains all H groups) - can
pack tightly
solid at lower temp
can lay on top of each other
exception: palm
Unsaturated:
missing H via double bond
liquid at room temp
Hydrogenation
adding H to (saturating) to break double bond = can pack tightly and be solid at lower temp
