Unit 1.1 - inorganic ions and carbohydrates Flashcards
Which four inorganic ions are in living organisms? (include their symbols please lol)
Magnesium, Iron, Phosphate and Calcium
Mg2+ Fe2+ PO42- Ca2+
Which molecule is magnesium an essential component for?
Chlorophyll
What does clorophyll do?
Is a key part of photosynthesis by trapping lights energy
Where is iron found within the body?
The haemoglobin in the blood
Why do we need enough iron in our diets? Give two reasons.
1 - to replace red blood cells as their life spans are temporary
2 - To avoid Anemia
How do we give plants their phosphate?
Compost
Where are phosphates found?
In the plasma membrane (as part of the phospholipid molecule), in nucleic acids and in ATP
Where do plants and humans get their inorganic ions?
Plants - soil
Humans - food
Why is calcium an important inorganic ion?
Gives strength to teeth and bones, as well as plant cell walls
What can Carbon be described as?
The foundation of biological molecules
What is Carbons valeance? What does this mean for it?
4, meaning it can form covalent bonds with up to 4 other atoms
What kind of structures can carbon form and what bigger thing does this form?
Straight, branched or closed chains, forming the skeleton of many biological molecules
What do all carbohydrates contain?
Oxygen, Carbon and Hydrogen
What do you call a basic unit of carbohydrates?
Monosaccharide
What’s the phrase for two monosaccherides?
Disaccheride
What’s the phrase for multiple monosaccherides?
Polysaccheride
What are polysaccherides a type of?
Polymer
What’s so special about monosaccherides and why is this the case?
They’re the building blocks for other larger carbohydrates, as they’re sweet and soluble
What’s the general formula of monosaccherides?
CH20
How can monosaccherides be grouped?
Based off of how many Carbon atoms they contain
How do we work out the formula for any type of monosaccheride?
Multiply everything inside the bracket by whatever the number is (the number of carbon atoms in it)
What are three types of monosaccheride sugars and how many carbon atoms are present in these?
Triose —–> 3
Pentose —-> 5
Hexose —–> 6
Give an example of a triose, pentose and a hexose monosaccheride
triose —-> pyruvate
pentose –> ribose
hexose —-> glucose
What do carbon atoms of monosaccherides do when dissolved in water?
Form a ring
They can alter their bindings to make straight chains with ring chains in equilibrum
What are glucoses isomers?
alffa (a-) and beta (B-)
What’s the difference between alpha and beta glucose monosaccharides?
The positioning of the OH (hydroxide) and H (hydrogen)
On the alpha molecule, the H is on top and vice versa
How does numbering the carbons on a monosaccheride work?
Carbon 1 is the one connected to the oxygen, then work clockwise from there
What does the tiny difference between the alffa and beta glucose molecules mean for them?
they act differently when making new substances
What is the triose monosaccheride important for?
Metabolism, respiration and photosynthesis
What is the pentose monosaccheride important for?
Parts of neuclotides ( eg - deoxyribose in DNA, ribose in RNA, ATP and ADP)
What are hexose monosaccherides important for?
A key example is glucose, which is a source of energy in respiration.
C-C and C-H bonds are broken to release this energy, which is tranferred to create adenosine triphophate (ATP)
What’s the key function of ALL of the monosaccherides?
They’re the building blocks for larger molecules
Which polysaccherides does the hexose monosaccheride glucose make?
Starch, glycogen, cellulose and chitin
How do disaccharides form?
Two monosaccherides react, forming a glycosidic bond through the elimination of water in a condensation reaction
What’s the type of bond in a dissacharide?
glycosidic bond
What type of reaction is required for a disaccharide to form?
Condensation reaction (to remove water)
Three examples of disaccharides involving glucose and their formations
glucose + glucose –> maltose
glucose + fructose –> sucrose
glucose + galactose –> lactose
Where does nature get its maltose?
Germinating seeds
Where does nature get its lactose?
Milk
Where does nature get its sucrose?
Sugar and fruits
What’s the opposite reaction of a condensation reaction? How does this work?
Hydrolysis is where water is added. As it’s a metabolite, it can take part in metabolic reactions, like breaking glycosidic bonds in disaccharides
What’s important to remember when writing the equations of disaccharides formed from monosaccharides? Why?
To write the water molecule separately, taking 2 H’s and a single 0 from the expected formula, as a condensation reaction was required for it to form in the first place
What type of reaction is condensation?
Polymerisation, where monomers and joined to create a polymer
What does hydrolysis do in terms of polymerisation?
Breaks polymer bonds to release monomers
What do carbohydrates and proteins form polymers from?
Repeating monomer units
Name four polysaccherides and the molecule/monosaccheride which makes them up
Starch
Glycogen
Cellulose
Chitin
What’s starch’s main purpose?
Allows plants to store glucose
What is starch made up of?
Glucose monomers
What are the benefits of starch polysaccherides?
Easily be added or removed
Compact
No osmotic effect on the cell
Which polysaccheride has two types? What are they?
Starch. They are…..
amylose
amylopectin
Describe amylose
Unbranched and coils
What type of glucose monomers are in amylose and what do they do?
Alpha glucose monomers
Each one added forms a C1-C4 glycoacidic bond with the adjacent glucose molecule
Describe amylopectin
Branched
What type of bonds does amylopectin form?
C1-C4 and C1-C6 glycosidic bonds
What makes starch a good storage polysaccheride?
Insoluble (no osmotic effect on the cell)
Easily hydrolysed to release glucose
What is the polysaccheride glycogens purpose?
Main storage product in animals
What can glycogen be compared to? What’s the same and what’s the main difference?
Amylopectin (type of starch polysaccharide)
Similar structure (glucose molecules held by glycoacidic bonds between C1-C4 and C1-C6)
Glycogen has shorter C1-C4 and more C1-C6 branch points (more branched)
What’s are the benefits that both starch and glycogen share?
Easily hydrolysed to a glucose, which is soluble
Can be transported wherever energy is needed
Which polysaccheride can be found in plant cell walls?
Cellulose
Where can the cellulose polysaccheride be found?
In plant cell walls
What is cellulose made up of?
Many long beta glucose units, joined by C1-C4 glycoacidic bonds
B bond rotates adjacent glucose molecules by 180 degrees, allowing hydrogen bonds to form between OH groups of adjacent cellulose chains
What do adjacent cellulose chains form?
Crossbridges
How many cellulose molecules are tightly cross linked?
60-70
What do crosslinking cellulose molecules create?
Microfibrils
What are microfibrils?
They’re bunched together in bundles to form fibres
What do microfibrils in cellulose give it? What’s this ideal for?
A high tensile strength, making it an ideal structural polysaccharide
Which polysaccaride is found in insect exo-skeletons and cell walls of fungi?
Chitin
Where is the polysaccharide Chitin found?
In insect exo-skeletons and cell walls of fungi
What’s the polysaccharide chitin made up of?
Beta glucose molecules and some hydroxide groups replaced with nitrogen - containing acetylamine groups
What type of groups does chitin contain due to the nitrogen replacing some hydroxide groups?
Acetylamine groups
What’s the benefit of the polysaccheride chitin? Which other polysaccharide is this similar to?
The cross bonds (microfibrils) formed between polysaccharide chains give it structural stability, like cellulose
Where do all biochemical reactions take place?
In an aqueous solution
What sort of reactions all happen in an aqueous solution?
Biochemical reactions
Inorganic meaning
Not consisting or deriving from living matter
Name 4 phosphate containing atoms
ATP
Nucleic acid
Amino acids/Proteins
Chlorophyll
What are the most common lipids?
Triglycerides
What are triglycerides?
Fats and oils
What do lipids contain?
Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen (low contents of oxygen)
Which element in lipids is low in content?
Oxygen
What have the same contents as lipids?
Carbohydrates
What happens to triglycerides in water? Why?
Insoluble as they’re non-polar
What are triglycerides soluble in?
Ethanol, Cloroform, Ether
How are triglycerides formed?
A condensation reaction between glycerol and fatty acids
What’s glycerol?
A type of alcohol (part of the condensation reaction to form triglycerides)
What are the fatty acids required to make triglycerides?
Organic molecules which have a -COOH group attached to a long hydrocarbon tail
What is the name of the bond formed in the condensation reaction to form triglycerides?
Ester bond
How can ester bonds be broken?
Through hydrolysis
How many ester bonds are in triglycerides?
3
How many water molecules are removed in a condensation reaction to form triglycerides?
3
What are the types of fatty acids?
Saturated and unsaturated
What are the characteristics of saturated fatty acids?
-No double bonds between neighbouring carbon atoms in the hydrocarbon tail
-Carries the maximum possible number of hydrogen atoms
-Solid (saturated)
Which lipids tend to be saturated?
Animal lipids
What are the characteristics of unsaturated fatty acids?
-Double bond between carbon atoms in neighbouring hydrocarbon chains (=melt more easily- most oils are unsaturated)
-Don’t carry the maximum number of hydrogen atoms
What makes fatty acids and lipids melt more easily? What are most oils therefore?
Double bonds, so most oils are unsaturated as these have double bonds
What do you call an unsaturated fat molecule with one double bond between carbon atoms?
monounsaturated
What do you call an unsaturated fat molecule with more than two double bonds between carbon atoms?
Polyunsaturated
Describe animal fats
-High proportion of saturated fatty acids
-Solid at room temperature
Describe plant lipids
-Unsaturated fatty acids
-Liquid at room temperature (oils)
Triglycerides uses
-Protect internal organs from physical damage
-Insulate the body from heat loss
-Long-term energy store
What are the effects of a high fat diet on our health?
Stroke, high blood pressure, kidney failure, being overweight, heart attacks+disease
Where are the coronary arteries?
In the heart
What’s the name of the arteries in the heart?
Coronary arteries
What are LDL and HDL?
Cholesterol
What does LDL do in the coronary arteries?
Stick to the artery walls, forming plaque
What does HDL do in the coronary arteries?
Carries LDL away from the artery walls
What are phospholipids?
A special type of lipid
What is special about phospholipids?
One of the three fatty acid chains is replaced by a phosphate group, which is polar, making it soluble in water
What’s special about phosphate groups?
They’re polar, making them soluble in water
What features does a phospholipid have?
-Hydrophilic head
-2 Hydrophobic fatty tails
Describe the structure of a phospholipid
Glycerol
2 fatty acids
Phosphate group
What are the functions of phospholipids?
-Component of cell membranes
-Lipid transport as part of lipoproteins
Name two important structures that phospholipids make up
-Phospholipid bilayer
-Plasma membrane
Food sources of phospholipids
Egg yolks, liver, soybeans and peanuts
What do proteins contain?
The usual carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
PLUS (making them different to carbohydrates and lipids)
nitrogen
possibly - phosphorus and sulphur
What are proteins?
Polymers made from the monomers, amino acids
What do you call a chain of amino acids?
Polypeptide
How many different amino acids are there?
20
What determines a proteins function?
Its shape
How many different proteins are there?
Thousands, with its shape determined by a specific sequence of amino acids in the chain
What do amino acids in the chain determine in a protein?
Its shape
What type of carbon is in the center of an amino acid?
Alpha carbon
What makes up the amino group in an amino acid (formula) ?
NH2-
Describe the amino group in an amino acid
Can be basic or alkaline
What’s the carboxyl group made up of in an amino acid?
COOH