The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules Flashcards
What are the 4 large molecules
Lipids, proteins, carbohydrates, nucleic acids
Why do they have unique properties
Due to the orderly arrangement of their atoms
Polymers are made of _______
Monomers
Polymer to Monomers
Hydrolysis
Monomers to Polymer
Dehydration
Monosaccharides form
Polysaccharides
Monosaccharides are
simple sugars
Monosaccharides form _____ in aqueous solutions
Rings
Monosaccharides are used…….
major fuel for cellular work, carbon skeleton serve as raw materials
Monosaccharide carbon skeleton used to synthesis
amino acids, fatty acids
dehydration of 2 monosaccharides forms
Disaccharide
The link between two monosaccharides is called
glycosidic linkage
polysaccharides serve as
storage material, building material for structures that protect the cell or whole organism
polysaccharides are hydrolized to form
sugars for cells
the architecture of polysaccharides is determined by
sugar monomers, the position of the glycosidic link
plants store starch as
granules within plastids
humans store polysaccharides as
glycogen
glycogen is stored in
liver and muscle cells
glycogen is extensively branched
more free ends for hydrolysis
classify sugars based on
location of carbonyl, size of carbon skeleton, arrangement around asymmetric carbon
lactose is….
glucose——galactose
lactose is digested by
lactase
lactose-intolerant people
eat food treated with lactase, taking the enzyme lactase
glucose is split into two groups
alpha, beta
starch contains ______ glucose
alpha
what is the shape of starch molecules
helical
starch molecules are helical to
efficiently store glucose units
cellulose molecules contain _______ glucose
beta
what is the shape of cellulose molecules
straight molecules
parallel cellulose molecules that hydrogen bond together are called
microfibrils
microfibrils are important because
for the production of paper and only component of cotton
enzymes that digest alpha linkages
do not have the ability to digest beta linkages
cellulose eliminated in humans as
feces
why is cellulose important in the diet
abrades the wall of the digestive tract and stimulates the lining to produce mucus which aids in the smooth passage of food
cows and termites for symbiotic relationships with
prokaryotes and protists in their gut
prokaryotes and protists digest
cellulose
The polysaccharide _____ is used by arthropods
chitin
chitin is used to build
exoskeleton of arthropods
fungi use chitin as
building material for their cell walls
glucose monomer in chitin contains
nitrogen attachment
lipids mix poorly with ______
water
most important lipids
fats, phospholipids, steroids
fats are made from
glycerols and 3 fatty acids
glycerol and fatty acids are joined by
esters
fats separate from water because
water forms hydrogen bonds with itself and exclude fats
saturated fats are _____ at room temperature
solids
unsaturated fats are _____ at room temperature
liquids
unsaturated fats contain
kinks
hydrogenating fats produce
saturated and trans fats
fats are stored in
adipose cells
adipose function as
cushion for vital organs, insulation
what are major constituents of cell
membranes
phospholipids
phospholipids are a glycerol, 2 fatty acids and
phosphate group
phosphate groups are _____charged
negatively
what allows the formation of a variety of phospholipids
that differ from each other is
small charged or polar molecules linked to the phosphate group
The hydrocarbon tails are hydro-
phobic
The phosphate group and its attachments are hydro-
philic
when phospholipids are added to water they form
a bilayer that shields the tail from water
steroids are characterized by having
four fused rings
cholesterol is a type of steroid (T/F)
true
cholesterol is synthesized in the
liver
enzymes regulate metabolism by acting as
catalysts
the funtion of catalysts is to
selectively speed up chemical reactions without being consumed
All proteins are constructed from the same
20 amino acids
proteins are branched (T/F)
False
The bond between amino acids is called
peptide link
polymers of amino acids are called
polypeptides
A protein is made from
one or more polypeptides, each folded and coiled into a specific three-dimensional structure
The asymetric carbon in an amino acid is bonded to
an amino acid, carboxyl group, hydrogen and a variable group ‘R’
cabonyl ends are reffered to as
C-terminus
amino ends are reffered to as
N-terminus
the specific activites of proteins result from their
3-D structure
the sequence of amino acids determines the proteins
3-D structure
A proteins ______ determines how it works
structure
The functions of a proteins depends on its ability to _____ and _____ to other molecules
recognise and bind
