Unit 2 Lesson 2: The building Blocks of Life Flashcards
What is Carbon?
nonmetallic chemical element with an atomic number of 6 that bonds with many other elements
What is carbon’s atomic number? How many protons and electrons does it have?
Carbon has an atomic number of six, which means it has six protons in its nucleus. It also has six electrons (two in its inner shell and four in its outer shell).
What do all living things have in common?
Carbon makes up all living things
How does are body get carbon and what does carbon do?
The plants and animals we eat contain carbon molecules that our bodies use in order to produce energy and to build and repair body structures.
When does a covalent bond occur?
A covalent bond occurs when electrons are shared between atoms (think of atoms being co-owners of electrons).
How many electrons can carbon hold in its shell?
Its outer electron shell can hold a maximum of eight electrons. Therefore, carbon’s outer shell can hold four more electrons.
Where are carbons electrons located?
Carbon was 2 elections in its inner chell and four and its outer shell
What is a covalent bond?
the connection between two atoms when they share a pair of electrons
Carbon tends to form covalent bonds with …
other non-metals, such as oxygen and hydrogen.
b
How does carbon and hydrogen form a covalent bond?
Hydrogen only has one electron and can hold a maximum of two electrons in its outer shell. Therefore, carbon can form a single covalent bond with hydrogen.
How does oxygen and carbon form a covalent bond?
Oxygen has six electrons in its outer shell. Since oxygen has room for two more electrons in its shell, it can form a double covalent bond with carbon in which two pairs of electrons are shared.
Can a carbon atom bond covalently to another carbon bond?
yes, A carbon atom can also bond covalently to another carbon atom.
What does hydrocarbon mean?
a compound made of hydrogen and carbon atoms
What is a hydrocarbon?
A hydrocarbon is a long chain of carbons bonded together covalently, sharing electrons.
Carbon chains are the backbones of..
biomolecules
What is a biomolecule?
a molecule that is produced by a living thing
What are some examples of biomolecules?
Biomolecules are molecules, such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, that are produced by living things.
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids are not only biomolecules, they are also…?
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids are also macromolecules,
What is a macromolecule?
a large molecule that contains many proteins
they are large molecules that contain many different atoms.
What are carbohydrates?
a biomolecule made of simple sugars/ biomolecules whose building blocks are simple sugars
What are some examples of carbohyfrates?
glucose and fructose.
What is Sucrose?
Sucrose, or table sugar, is a carbohydrate made of glucose and fructose bonded together.
What do Carbohydrates do?
Carbohydrates are used to store energy for the body.
What are Lipids
a biomolecule made of fatty acids
What do lipids do?
store energy
What is cholesterol?
Cholesterol is a type of lipid found in cell membranes, that can be used to create hormones.
What is a protein?
a biomolecule made of amino acids
How do we get amino acids?
Your body can produce some amino acids, and some amino acids must come from your diet.
What do proteins do for the body?
Proteins perform many functions in the body, such as building and repairing structures, catalyzing chemical reactions, and producing hormones.
What are Nucleic acids?
a biomolecule made of nucleotides
What do nucleric acids do?
Nucleic acids store genetic material
What are some examples of nucleic acids?
DNA and RNA are examples of nucleic acids.
What do all four biomolecles have in common?
All four biomolecules have a backbone of carbon bonded to hydrogen and oxygen.
Some biomolecules also contain …
nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.
What do organisms use biomoleclues for?
Organisms use the biomolecules to produce substances needed for their body.
What is ATP
an energy-carrying molecule that is used by the cells of all living things
Whagt happnes when an animal eats a plant?
When an animal eats a plant, the animal’s body digests the biomolecules from the plant.
Plants can use some of the glucose to produce what?
Plants use some of this glucose to produce ATP, a usable form of energy by the cell.
What can plants make through photosynthesis?
plants can make their own glucose through photosynthesis.
How do plants use starch?
Starch is used to store energy in plants.
How do plants produce amino acids?
Plants can also use glucose to produce amino acids. In order to do this, glucose needs to chemically react with nitrogen compounds that the plant absorbs from the soil. The plant will use these amino acids to make the proteins it needs to perform cellular functions.
Plants can also use glucose to produce what?
Plants can also use glucose to produce amino acids.
What is starch
a carbohydrate that is made of long glucose chains
Some of the glucose that plants produce is transformed into what?
Some glucose is transformed into starch, a carbohydrate that is made up of long glucose chains.
How do humans use glucose?
Your body will use some of this glucose during cellular respiration to make ATP, an energy molecule that is usable by cells.
Have you ever chewed on a cracker long enough that it tasted sweet? Why is that so?
The cracker contains starch made from plants. The cracker tastes sweet after a period of time because the amylase enzyme in your saliva breaks down the starch in the cracker into glucose.
Why is ATP so important?
ATP is needed to turn the food you eat into the molecules your body needs to survive. Your body uses the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and other elements in your food to produce the biomolecules your body needs for growth, repair, and other life functions.
Glycogen is a carbohydrate that is made up of glucose molecules. Glycogen is the main storage form of glucose in the human body. Explain the relationship between the elements in the food humans eat and the elements in glycogen.
Humans consume biomolecules in the food they eat. For example, when humans eat plants, they consume some of the glucose the plants made during photosynthesis. Glucose contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen elements. These elements also make up glycogen. When the body breaks down glycogen into glucose the elements in glucose can be used to make other biomolecules the body needs.
All organisms on Earth are classified as “carbon-based organisms.” What does this term mean?
All organisms on Earth are made up of biomolecules. These biomolecules have a carbon backbone. Therefore, all organisms on Earth are carbon-based.
What is Leucine
- building block for protein
- contains nitrogen
what is glucose made out of
a simple 6-carbon sugar
Which of the following statements are true for all biomolecules?
* They have a carbon backbone.
- They have hydrogen elements.
- They have covalent bonds.
- They have nitrogen elements.
- All biomolecules have a carbon backbone.
- All biomolecules have covalent bonds. Covalent bonds occur when electrons are shared.
- All biomolecules have carbon bonded to hydrogen.
What do we use the gloucose from plants/fruit for>\?
. Glucose can also be stored by plants in fruits, which are then eaten by animals and humans, which use cellular respiration to convert the glucose into fatty acids, nucleic acids, and amino acids
What do Leicone and Glucose have in common?
contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
building blocks for biomolecules
What is Glucose
- a simple sugar
- building block of carbohydrates
What is Cellulose
glucose molecules can then be transformed into different molecules like cellulose which actually creates support for the plant.
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins such as…
leucine
What is leucine made out of
Ycan see that because the leucine is made from the glucose, it too is still made out of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. This is also the case with fatty acids, cholesterol and nucleotides, which are the building blocks for nucleic acids and D N A.
Why does the formation of cellulose in plants require sunlight?
Plants need light to perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis allows the plant to make glucose from carbon dioxide and water. This glucose is used by the plant to make cellulose (which gives structure to the cell).
Do animals require the sun’s energy to get the biomolecules they need to survive? Why or why not?
Yes, animals indirectly need the sun’s energy to get some of the biomolecules they need to survive. Plants use energy from the sun to produce the biomolecule glucose through photosynthesis. Animals consume these plants, or the animals that consumed these plants, and then obtain some of the biomolecules they need to survive.
Explain why organisms need the elements in the food they eat to create DNA.
DNA is a nucleic acid made up of nucleotides. Nucleotides contain a sugar, a nitrogen base, and a phosphorous group. The food that humans eat contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus elements. These elements are used to create other biomolecules, including nucleic acids.
Elephants are herbivores, which means they eat plants. During pregnancy, a mother elephant’s body supplies the baby elephant with all the food it needs to grow and develop. Explain how the mother elephant’s diet provides the elements that the baby elephant needs to grow.
The mother elephant eats plants, and the plants produce glucose through photosynthesis. The plants use glucose to produce other biomolecules. When the mother elephant eats plants, she consumes the biomolecules within the plants and breaks down these molecules. Some of these molecules are delivered to the baby. The baby elephant uses the elements in these molecules to make new molecules, which allows it to build new structures for its body.
