Topic 1 - Biological Molecules Flashcards
What are biological molecules?
Particular groups of chemicals that are found in living organisms.
What are all molecules made up of?
Atoms
what is Covalent bonding?
Atoms share a pair of electrons in their outer shells. As a result the outer shell of both atoms is filled and a more stable compound, called a molecule, is formed.
What is Ionic bonding?
Ions with opposite charges attract one another. This electrostatic attraction is known as an ionic bond. For example, the positively charged sodium ion Na+ and negatively charged chloride ion CI- form an ionic bond ro make sodium chloride. Ionic bonds are weaker than covalent bonds.
What is Hydrogen bonding?
The electrons within a molecule arc not evenly distributed but tend to spend more time at one position.
This region is more negatively charged than the rest of the molecule.
A molecule with an uneven distribution of charge is said to be polarised, in other words it is a polar molecule. The negative region of one polarised molecule and the positively charged region of another attract each other.
A weak electrostatic bond is formed between the two. Although each bond is individually weak, they can collectively form important forces that alter the physical properties of molecules.
This is especially true for water.
What are monomers?
Monomers are the smaller units from which larger molecules are made. These can be linked together to form long chains.
Name 3 examples of monomers :
Monosaccharides, Amino acids, Nucleotides.
What are Monomers of a polymer usually based on?
Carbon
What are polymers?
Polymers are molecules made from a large number of monomers joined together.
These are formed by polymerisation
Monosaccharides, amino acids and nucleotides are examples of monomers.
What are polynucleotides formed from?
From mononucleotide sub-units.
What are polypeptides formed by?
Polypeptides are formed by linking together peptides that have amino acids as their basic sub-unit.
What are Condensation reactions?
Reactions that produce water.
(Each time a new sub-unit is attached a molecule of water is formed).
How can polymers be broken down?
Through the addition of water.
What is a Hydrolysis reaction?
When water molecules are used when breaking the bonds that link the sub-units of a polymer (splitting the molecule into its constituent parts).
2 examples of a hydrolysis reaction :
Polypeptides can be hydrolysed into amino acids
Starch can be hydrolysed into glucose
What is metabolism?
All the chemical processes that take place in living organisms.
What is a molar solution?
A solution that contains one mole of solute in each litre of solution. A mole is the molecular mass (molecular weight) expressed as grams (=one gram molecular mass).
What are Carbohydrates?
Carbohydrates are carbon molecules (carbo) combined with water (hydrate). Some carbohydrate molecules are small while others are large.
What are carbon-containing molecules know as?
Organic molecules.
What is the chemical formula glucose?
C6H12O6
What is Alpha Glucose?
Alpha glucose is a cyclic hemiacetal form of glucose where at anomeric carbon, the position of hydroxyl group is in downward direction.
What is Beta Glucose?
Beta glucose is a cyclic hemiacetal form of glucose where at anomeric carbon the position of hydroxyl group is in upward direction.
In carbohydrates. the basic monomer unit is a sugar, otherwise known as a …
… saccharide.
What is a single monomer called?
A monosaccharide.
What is a pair of monosaccharides that are combined called?
A disaccharide.
Monosaccharides can also be combined in much larger numbers to form …
… polysaccharides.
What are monosaccharides?
Sweet-tasting, soluble substances.
What are some examples of monosaccharides?
Glucose, galactose and fructose.
Glucose is a hexose (6-carbon) sugar and has the formula C6H120 6. However, the acorns of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen can be arranged in many different ways. For example, glucose has two isomers a-glucose and J3-glucose.
What sugars are reducing sugars?
All monosaccharides and all disaccharides except SUCROSE are reducing sugars.
What is reduction?
Reduction is a chemical reaction involving the gain of electrons or hydrogen.
What is a reducing sugar?
A reducing sugar is a sugar that can donate electrons to (or reduce) another chemical.
What is the test for a reducing sugar?
The test for a reducing sugar is known as the Benedict’s test.
What is Benedict’s reagent?
Benedict’s reagent is an alkaline solution of copper(D) sulfate.
What happens when a reducing sugar is heated with Benedict’s reagent?
When a reducing sugar is heated with Benedict’s reagent it forms an insoluble red precipitate of copper(I) oxide.
What two monosaccharides are combined together to form maltose?
Glucose & glucose
What two monosaccharides are combined together to form sucrose?
Glucose & fructose
What two monosaccharides are combined together to form lactose?
Glucose & Galactose
What bonds are formed during a Condensation reaction to form disaccharides?
Glycosidic bonds are formed when the monosaccharides join, a molecule of water is removed and the reaction is therefore called a condensation reaction.
When are glycosidic bonds broken?
When water is added to a disaccharide under suitable conditions, it breaks the glycosidic bond releasing the constirnenr monosaccharides. This is called hydrolysis (addition or water that causes breakdown).
What is a Hydrolysis reaction?
When water is added to a disaccharide under the suitable conditions, the glycosidic bond is broken and the monosaccharides are released. It is a Hydrolysis reaction because water is added in order to break down the disaccharide.
Before testing a non-reducing sugar, what must be done?
In order to detect a non-reducing sugar it must first be hydrolysed into its monosaccharide components by hydrolysis.
What is process of testing for NON-REDUCING SUGARS?
- Test the Sucrose with the Benedict’s solution to ensure that it is negative.
- Using a clean syringe, add 1cm° of Sucrose in a boiling tube.
- Add 1cm° of the 1M Hydrochloric Acid into the tube and swirl to mix.
- Place the tube into the water bath to heat up for 5 minutes and remove the tube using tongs. Allow to cool.
- Apply to spatulas of the Sodium Hydrogen Carbonate to the tube and wait until the fizzing stops.
- Add 1cm? of the Benedict’s solution and heat it in the water bath for 5 minutes.
- Check for any colour change and record the results and observations.
What are Polysaccharides? How are they formed?
Polysaccharides are polymers, formed by the condensation of many glucose units.
What are Glycogen, Starch and Cellulose formed by?
Glycogen & Starch - the condensation of alpha glucose.
Cellulose - the condensation of beta glucose.
Are polysaccharides insoluble?
Yes as they are very large molecules.
If polysaccharides are insoluble, why is it good?
This feature makes them suitable for storage.
When they are hydrolysed, polysaccharides break down into disaccharides or monosaccharides. Some polysaccharides, such as cellulose, are not used for storage but give structural support to plant cells.
Starch is a polysaccharide found in plants, what is it in the form of?
Small granules or grains.
What is the test for STARCH?
Starch is easily detected by its ability to change the colour of the iodine in potassium iodide solution from yellow to blue-black.
- Place 2 cm3 of tbe sample being tested into a test tube (or add two drops of the sample into a depression on a spotting tile).
- Add two drops of iodine solution and shake or stir.
- The presence of starch is indicated by a blue-black coloration.
What are 3 important Polysaccharides?
Starch, Glycogen, Cellulose
What is Starch?
A polysaccharide that is found in many parts of a plant in the form of small grains.
What is the main function of Starch?
Major energy source in most diets & stores glucose for respiration.
What monomer is Starch made from?
ALPHA GLUCOSE monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bonds that are formed by condensation reactions.
How is the structure of Starch related to its function?
– Large molecules SO insoluble SO does not affect water potential. Also water is not drawn into cells by osmosis.
– It is branched SO lots of ‘ends’ SO glucose is easily released for respiration.
– Coiled SO compact SO more can be stored in a small space.
– When hydrolysed it forms a-glucose, which is both easily transported and readily used in respiration.
Where is Glycogen found?
Animals and bacteria (never in plants).
Does Glycogen have shorter chains than Starch and is highly branched?
Yes.
What is Glycogen?
It is the major carbohydrate storage product of animals.
What is Glycogen stored as?
In animals it is stored as small granules mainly in the muscles and the Liver for respiration. The mass of carbohydrate that is stored is relatively small because fat is the main storage molecule in animals.
How is the structure of Glycogen related to its function?
– Highly branched meaning more ‘ends’ SO glucose can be released quickly for respiration.
– Compact SO a lot can be stored in a small space.
– Large SO insoluble SO does not affect water potential. Also does not tend to draw water into the cells by osmosis.
– It is more highly branched than starch and so has more ends that can be acted on simultaneously by enzymes. It is therefore more rapidly broken down to form glucose monomers, which are used in respiration. This is important to animals which have a higher metabolic rate and therefore respiratory rate than plants because they are more active.
What monomers is Cellulose made of?
Beta glucose.
What is the function of Cellulose?
Strengthens the plant cell wall.
Structure of Cellulose:
Cellulose has straight, unbranched chains.
These run parallel to one another, allowing hydrogen bonds to form cross-linkages between adjacent chains.
While each individual hydrogen bond adds very little to the strength of the molecule, the sheer overall number of them makes a considerable contribution to strengthening cellulose, making it the valuable structural material that it is.
What are Microfibrils?
Bundles of long chains of cellulose molecules. These are arranged in parcel groups called fibres.