Polymers Flashcards
What are inorganic molecules?
Constitute non-living matter
What do organic molecules always contain?
Carbon and hydrogen
What is a functional group?
a particular cluster of atoms that always behave in a certain way
What can attach to carbon chains?
functional groups
What kind of hydrocarbon chain is hydrophobic and hydrophilic
Hydrophobic: regular hydrocarbon chain (its non polar)
Hydrophilic: one with an attached ionized group (is polar)
What are the molecules of life?
Carbohydrates
lipids
proteins
nucleic acids
What are many molecules of life?
Macromolecules
What are the molecules of life that are polymers
polysaccharide
protein
nucleic acid
What are the molecules of life that are monomers?
monosaccharide
amino acids
nucleotide
What kind of molecule is glucose?
carbohydrate
monosaccharide
What does glucose have?
H,C,O
What is starch?
Carbohydrate polymer that is made up of many glucose monomers
What does starch have?
H,C,O
What do amino acids have?
H,N,C,O, R group
What are polypeptides also known as
proteins
How are proteins structured?
polymers of many amino acids and monomers linked together
What are proteins made of?
R group, C,H,O,N
How are fats structured?
polymers of glycerol and fatty acids
What elements are fats made of?
C,H,O
How are nucleic acids structured?
polymers of nucleotides
What elements are nucleic acids made of
P,O,H,C,N
How are organic polymers built in cells?
By dehydration or condensation synthesis
What is released when two monomers bond together?
water
What does hydrolysis involve?
Breaking of bonds between monomers to release water
What do carbohydrates function as?
Quick and short term energy storage
What are carbohydrates characterized by?
presence of the atomic growing H-C-OH
What is the ratio of oxygen to hydrogen in a carbohydrate?
1:2
What makes a simple sugar a simple sugar?
Low number of carbon molecules (3-7)
How many carbon sugar’s does pentose have?
5
How many carbon sugar’s does hexose have?
6
What are the 3 main hexoses and what are they associated with?
Fructose (fruit)
Galactose (constituent of milk)
Glucose (blood sugar)
What structure do the main hexoses occur in?
ring structures with molecular formula C6H12O6
What is glucose for our bodies?
Immediate source of energy
What is glucose a monomer for?
Larger carbohydrates
What is condensation synthesis?
chemical process in which 2 molecules are joined together to make a polymer
loss of water
What is hydrolysis?
Polymer is broken down into monomers by adding water to it
What is maltose?
Disaccharide formed by 2 molecules of glucose and bound by a glycoside bond
What type of molecule of life is maltose?
Carbohydrate
Where is maltose mainly formed?
Digestion of starch
What is starch?
storage form of glucose in plant cells
What is glycogen?
Storage form of glucose in animal cells
What are the 3 main types of carbohydrates?
Monosaccharides
Disaccharides
Polysaccarides
What are disaccharide?
2 single sugars joined together
What is the main kind of carbohydrate used by the cell to produce energy?
Monosaccharides
What is a polysaccharide?
Polymers assembled from many glucose monomers
What are the three types of polysaccharides?
starch, glycogen, cellulose
What organ converts glucose into glycogen
liver
What glucose gets stored as glycogen?
excess
What helps identify glycogen from starch?
Large numbers of side chains
What kind of bonds link glucose molecules together in glycogen?
Ester bonds
What is cellulose’s main function?
To act as a structural component of plant cell
What kind of polymer is cellulose?
glucose polymer
Why is cellulose difficult to digest?
linkages between sugars alternate in a way that makes it hard to digest.
What are the main functions of carbohydrates?
Fuel for bodies
help cell to cell recognition
How do carbohydrates help with cell to cell recognition?
Since carbohydrate molecules (glycolipids and glycoproteins) are embedded in surface of cell membrane
What are neutral fats?
fats and oils
triglycerides
Why are neutral fats neutral?
they are non-polar molecules
don’t dissolve in water
What are neutral fats composed of?
Glycerol molecule that are attached to 3 fatty acids that are attached by dehydration synthesis
What biological molecule contains the most energy per gram?
neutral fats
What are neutral fat’s function?
Long term storage of energy
insulation
protection
How to phospholipids differ from neutral fats?
Third fatty acid is replaced by with a phosphate group
What is a major component of cell membranes?
phospholipids
How does the phosphate group effect phospholipids?
they are negatively charged so they change their behaviour in water
What part if of the phospholipid forms the head and tail?
Phosphate group makes hydrophilic head
Fatty acids make hydrophobic tail
What is the basis for the formation of cell membranes?
phospholipid bilayer formation
What is the phospholipid bilayer formation?
heads face outwards
tails face inwards, towards each other
What kind of molecule is a steroid?
lipid
What is the skeleton of a steroid composed of?
carbon rings
How does one steroid differ from another?
arrangement of atoms in these rings and the groups attached to the skeleton
What produce many steroids?
cholesterol precursor in cells
Why can steroid hormones move easily?
because they are soluble in the phospholipid bilayer they can come and go when they please.
What are the building blocks of protein polymers?
amino acids
How many amino acids are used to create proteins?
20
What are the 4 types of protein structure?
Primary structure
secondary structure
Tertiary structure
quaternary structure
What is the structure of primary structure?
Linear sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain
What is the structure of secondary structure?
Twisting of the polypeptide chain as a result of hydrogen bonds forming between main-chain peptide groups
What is the tertiary structure?
Special arrangements of secondary structure proteins
Involves folding of helix back on itself
What is quaternary structure?
When 2 or more join to form a protein complex
What protein structure is hemoglobin an example of?
quaternary
What are the functions of proteins?
enzymes structural pores, channels, pumps in plasma membrane hormones plasma proteins
What are the different plasma proteins and what do they do?
Albumin: maintains blood volume and pressure
globulins: help fight infection
What is the makeup of protein?
macromolecules with amino acid monomers
What is a peptide bond?
A bond that joins two amino acids together
What is denaturation?
Irreversible change in shape that happens when a protein is exposed to extremes in heat or pH
What is the difference between a nucleotide and a nucleic acid?
Nucleic acid is a polymer of a nucleotides
Nucleotide is a monomer of a nucleic acid
What is a nucleotide a complex of?
phosphate
pentose sugar
nitrogen containing base
What are the 4 different kinds of bases?
Adenine nucleotide
guanine nucleotide
thymine nucleotide
cytosin nucletide
What two bases are nucleotides with purine bases?
Adenine
Guanine
What two bases are nucleotides with pyrimidine bases?
thymine
cytosine
What is ATP composed of?
adenine, a ribosome, 5-sided sugar, and three phosphate sugars
