Structure and Function of Biological Molecules

Question 1

What are polymers?

Answer 1

Large molecules found in chain structures made up of smaller sub units bonded by covalent bonds

Question 2

What are monomers?

Answer 2

Monomers refer to the sub units which make up polymers

Question 3

What type of reaction joins monomers to make up polymers and how does it work?

Answer 3

The reaction which adds monomers together is known as a “condensation reaction”.

A condensation reaction covalently bonds two monomers along with the loss of a smaller molecule

Question 4

What is a dehydration reaction? Which macromolecules undergo dehydration reactions?

Answer 4

A dehydration reaction, like condensation reactions add monomers to a polymer through enzymes which facilitate the monomers to covalently bond and in specific remove a water molecule.

The removed water molecule is made up of an -OH on one from one monomer and a H+ from the other.

Some macromolecules which undergo dehydration reactions in the synthesis of their polymers include proteins and carbohydrates.

Question 5

How are polymers broken down into monomers and how does this work?

Answer 5

Polymers are broken down into monomers through hydrolysis reactions.

hydrolysis reactions uses water molecules to separate those monomers joined by dehydration reactions in a reverse process. The
-OH from one monomer will join with H+ from the introduced water molecule and the H+ from the other monomer will join to the -OH of the introduced water molecule.

Question 6

What are Carbohydrate polymers made up of and what are the different types?

Answer 6

Carbohydrate are made up of polymers of sugars.

The different types of carbohydrate polymers include monosaccharides which include a single sugar, disaccharides which consist of two monosaccharides joined by a covalent bond and polysaccharides which consist of more than 2 polysaccharides joined together.

Question 7

What are some classifying factors of sugars?

Answer 7

• The location of the carbonyl group in a sugar defines whether the sugar is either ketone or aldehyde. Those in which the carbonyl group is found at the end of the molecules carbon skeleton, it is classified as aldoses, when the carbonyl group is found within the carbon skeleton, it’s known as ketoses.
• The length of the molecules carbon skeleton may range from 3 - 7 carbons long
• The arrangement of atoms around a sugars asymmetrical carbon

Question 8

What types of sugar may be found in ring structures? Why and when does this happen?

Answer 8

Sugars including glucose and 5 and 6 carbon sugars form abbreviated ring structure when in aqueous solutions. This happens for monosaccharides to maintain stability

Question 9

What is the main significance of carbohydrates, and glucose?

Answer 9

Glucose plays a large role in cellular respiration, a process in which organisms extract energy from sugars by breaking them down.

Question 10

What are “insoluble fibres”? Why are they “insoluble”?

Answer 10

Insoluble fibres found on nutrition labels usually refer to “cellulose”. Cellulose a carbohydrate which make up the rigid cell walls of plants are indigestible in humans as for we lack the specific enzymes to do so. Some organisms which are able to digest cellulose include cows and some fungi.

Question 11

What are some significant traits of lipids?

Answer 11

• Lipids are not large enough to be considered macromolecules
• Lipids are hydrophobic as for their non-polar C-H bonds
• Lipids are made up of smaller subunits though they are not considered true polymers

Question 12

What molecules make up fat molecules?

Answer 12

A fat is made up of a glycerol molecule attached to 3 fatty acids

Question 13

What are fatty acids? What are they made up of?

Answer 13

Fatty acids are the building blocks of most carbohydrates such as fats, phospholipids and steroids.

Fatty acids are made up of a chain of carbon atoms, a carbon skeleton made up of about 16-17 carbons, attached to a carboxyl group.

Question 14

What are the two types of fatty acids? What is the difference between the two?

Answer 14

1) unsaturated fatty acids - those which contain one or more double bonds within their carbon skeleton

2) saturated fatty acids - those which consist of no double bonds within their carbon skeleton

saturated fatty acids are known to create kinks in the hydrocarbon chain

Question 15

How are transfats and staurated fats atificially produced?

Answer 15

Saturated fats may be synthetically converted through hydrogenation (adding hydrogen.

Hydrogenation may also produce transfats (unsaturated fats with trans double bonds)

Question 16

What is the major function of fats and why is this so important to humans?

Answer 16

The major function of fats is to store energy. Fats are known to store large amounts of energy, which is very beneficial to humans as mobile organisms compared to plants.

Question 17

What are the components of phospholipids?

Answer 17

Phospholipids are made up of similar components to glycerol, two fatty acids attached to a glycerol molecule

Question 18

Describe the properties of phospholipids

Answer 18

Phospholipids consist of two ends in which they form a bilayer. Hydrophilic heads face the extracellular fluids and hydrophobic tails face the inner part of the bilayer.

Significant role in a cells existence, make up the cell membrane

Question 19

Describe the makeup of steroids and how different steroids differ from one another

Answer 19

Steroids are made up of a carbon skeleton which consists of 4 fused rings and a certain attached functional group. The difference in attached function groups is what makes each steroid different in its functions.

Question 20

What are the building blocks of proteins?

Answer 20

The building blocks of all proteins consist of a variety of 20 amino acids

Question 21

What is a protein polymer called?

Answer 21

A polypeptide chain

Question 22

What component of amino acids differentiates their functions

Answer 22

amino acids are made up of an amino group, a carboxyl group and a side chain (R group). This

Question 23

What are the properties by which amino acids are grouped?

Answer 23

Amino acids are groups depending on the properties of their side chains. They’re grouped depending on whether their side chains are hydrophobic (non-polar), hydrophilic (polar) or hydrophobic with a charge (acidic –> negative charge)
(basic –> positive charge)

Question 24

What are some of the different functions of proteins?

Answer 24

• Transport across the membrane
• enzymatic activity
• cell-cell identification
• Structural support
• motor proteins in charge of the movement of cilia
• storage
• defense system

Question 25

What are the bonds between polypeptides and polysaccharides creating chains?

Answer 25

• Polysaccharides are joined by glycosidic linkages
• polypeptides are joined by peptide bonds

Question 26

What are the four levels of protein structures?

Answer 26

1) Primary - Long singular chain
2) Secondary - Hydrogen bonding of the polypeptide backbone causes a helix structure
3) Tertiary - side chain of polypeptides causes interactions in which influence the structure of the polypeptide after folding into it’s functional shape
4) Quaternary (two or more polypeptide chains)

Question 27

What is the denaturation and renaturation of a protein?

Answer 27

Denaturation of a protein means the loss of a protein’s original structure due to unfit surrounding conditions. Proteins may unravel or be destroyed.

Renaturation is when the surrounding environmental conditions are restored chemically and physically allowing the protein to recoil and maintain its original properties.

Question 29

What are the polymers of nucleic acids called?

Answer 29

polynucleotides

Question 30

What are the subunits of nucleic acids?

Answer 30

The subunits of nucleic acids consist of nucleotides

Question 31

What is the difference in function between RNA and DNA

Answer 31

While DNA stores genetic information, RNA has a few different roles in gene expression including delivering messages, translation and transcription

Question 32

What are purines and pyrimidines?

Answer 32

Purines and pyrimidines are the two types of nucleotides complementary to one another.

Prynamdines: Cytosine, Thymine, Uracil

Purines: Adenine, Guanine