Unit 2: Chemistry Of Life Flashcards
Amino acid
The 20 amino acids make up proteins
Active site
the part of an enzyme that interacts with the substrate during catalysis.
Carbohydrate
Supplies energy
Cellulose
What wood is made from
Compound
The act of combing parts or elements to form a whole
Covalent bond
Bond formed by the sharing a pair of electrons by two atoms
Element
Class of substances that cannot be separated in to simpler substances by chemical means
Enzyme
Any of various proteins originating from living cells and capable of producing certain changes in organic substances by catalytic action
Glucose
a sugar, C 6 H 12 O 6 , having several optically different forms, the common dextrorotatory form (dextroglucose, or -glucose) occurring in many fruits, animal tissues and fluids, etc., and having a sweetness about one half that of ordinary sugar, and the rare levorotatory form (levoglucose, or -glucose) not naturally occurring.
Glycogen
a white, tasteless polysaccharide, (C 6 H 10 O 5 ) n , molecularly similar to starch, constituting the principal carbohydrate storage material in animals and occurring chiefly in the liver, in muscle, and in fungi and yeasts.
Hemoglobin
the oxygen-carrying pigment of red blood cells that gives them their red color and serves to convey oxygen to the tissues: occurs in reduced form (deoxyhemoglobin) in venous blood and in combination with oxygen (oxyhemoglobin) in arterial blood. Symbol: Hb
Hydrogen bond
a type of chemical bond in which a hydrogen atom that has a covalent link with one of the electronegative atoms (F, N, O) forms an electrostatic link with another electronegative atom in the same or another molecule.
Hydrophilic
having a strong affinity for water.
-attracted to water
Hydrophobic
having little or no affinity for water.
- “afraid of water” : think ‘phobia’
Ion
an electrically charged atom or group of atoms formed by the loss or gain of one or more electrons, as a cation (positive ion) which is created by electron loss and is attracted to the cathode in electrolysis, or as an anion (negative ion) which is created by an electron gain and is attracted to the anode. The valence of an ion is equal to the number of electrons lost or gained and is indicated by a plus sign for cations and a minus sign for anions, thus: Na + , Cl−, Ca ++ , S = .
Ionic bond
the electrostatic bond between two ions formed through the transfer of one or more electrons.
Lipid
any of a group of organic compounds that are greasy to the touch, insoluble in water, and soluble in alcohol and ether: lipids comprise the fats and other esters with analogous properties and constitute, with proteins and carbohydrates, the chief structural components of living cells.
Molecule
the smallest physical unit of an element or compound, consisting of one or more like atoms in an element and two or more different atoms in a compound.
Monomer
a molecule of low molecular weight capable of reacting with identical or different molecules of low molecular weight to form a polymer.
Nucleic acid
any of a group of long, linear macromolecules, either DNA or various types of RNA, that carry genetic information directing all cellular functions: composed of linked nucleotides.
Organic
noting or pertaining to a class of chemical compounds that formerly comprised only those existing in or derived from plants or animals, but that now includes all other compounds of carbon.
Peptide
a compound containing two or more amino acids in which the carboxyl group of one acid is linked to the amino group of the other.
Phospholipid
any of a group of fatty compounds, as lecithin, composed of phosphoric esters, and occurring in living cells.
Polymer
a compound of high molecular weight derived either by the addition of many smaller molecules, as polyethylene, or by the condensation of many smaller molecules with the elimination of water, alcohol, or the like, as nylon.