Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules Flashcards
4 macromolecule classes
- Lipids (only one that is not a polymer)
- Carbohydrates
- Nucleic acids
- Proteins
Polymer
Long molecule made of repeating similar subunits
Monomer
Individual building block
How are polymers made and degraded?
By enzymes through dehydration and hydrolysis reactions
General overview of lipids
- Hydrophobic
- Not polymers
- Functions in cell structure, energy storage and cell signalling
Fat biological makeup
Fatty acids bonded to a glycerol
Saturated fats
- Have single bonds
- Solid at room temperature
Unsaturated fats
- Have double and single bonds
- Liquid at room temperature
Phospholipids
Amphipathic molecule that form the basis of cell membranes
Phospholipids biological makeup
2 fatty acids and a phosphate group covalently bonded to a glycerol
Steroids biological makeup
Consist of four fused rings
Carbohydrates functions
- Energy generation and storage
- Raw material for biological molecules
- Cell and organism structure
Carbohydrates simple definition
Monomers and polymers of sugars
Monosaccharide
- Simple sugar monomer
- 3 to 8 carbon atoms
- Chemical formula that is a multiple of CH2O
Disaccharide
- Two monosaccharides connected via covalent glycosidic linkages
Polysaccharide
Polymer of ten to thousands of monosaccharides joined by glycosidic linkages
Nucleic acids
- Polymers of nucleotides
- Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA)
- Genetic material of all life on Earth
Nucleotide
Has a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar and a phosphate molecule
What is the sugar in RNA?
Ribose
What is the sugar in DNA?
Deoxyribose
Pyrimidines
Nitrogenous base that consists of one ring
Purines
Nitrogenous base that consists of 2 fused rings
How are nucleotides connected?
via phosphodiester linkages in nucleic acid
What is the function of nucleic acids?
Storage and transmission of hereditary information