Unit 2 Molecular Biology Flashcards
Define Carbohydrates
molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen which serve as immediate energy.
Define Lipid
molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and in a lesser amount oxygen. They serve as an energy storage molecule and form the cell membrane and also act as hormones. Insoluble in water
Define Protein
macromolecules formed from chains of amino acids. They contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. They can also contain sulfur.
Define Nucleic Acids
such as DNA and RNA, are molecules in charge of the genetic information in cells. They are composed of a nitrogenous base joined to a sugar and a phosphate group
all living organisms are created from…
carbon compounds such as Carbs, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids
Metabolism is the
synthesis of complex molecules from simpler molecules
anabolism is
the synthesis of complex molecules from simpler molecules
catabolism is
the breakdown of complex molecules into simple molecules
Heat capacity
the energy required to raise the temperature of 1g of substance by 1 Degress C
Heat vaporization
the energy required to change 1 g of liquid to vapor
Heat of Fusion
is the energy required to change 1 g of solid to liquid
Water
H20. 1 oxygen and 2 hydrogen joined by covalent bonds. Oxygen is electronegative and hydrogen is electroposotive. The negative part is attracted to the positive forming hydrogen bonds
Monosaccharides
simple sugars and are the basic building blocks of carbohydrates
Disaccharides
2 monosaccharides joined together formed by glycosidic bonds (formed by condensation)
polysaccharides
polymers of monosaccharides
How are disaccharides and polysaccharides formed
monosaccharides monomers are joined by condensation reactions
Triglycerides are formed by…
condensation from three fatty acids and one glycerol
Lactose is found in…
the sugar found in Milk. formed by glucose and galactose
Maltose is
composed of two glucose and is produced by the hydrolysis of starch. the sugar found in seeds
Fatty acids
are formed by long chains of carbons with hydrogen’s attached and an acid group at one end
Unsaturated fatty acids
double or triple bonds between two or more carbons
saturated fatty acids
no double or triple bonds
Cis fatty acids
have the 2 hydrogen atoms adjacent to the double bond located on the same side of the chain
Trans fatty acids
have the two hydrogen atoms adjacent to the double bond located on opposite sides of the chain
triglycerides
condensation from 3 fatty acids and 1 glycerol
Rubisco
the enzyme involved in photosynthesis that takes part in carbon dioxide fixation
Insulin
a hormone that promotes the absorption of glucose by the liver
Immunoglobulins
globular proteins that function as antibodies. They have a number of roles in the body’s immune defence
Rhodopsin
a pigment involved in light detection
Collagen
fibrous protein found in connective tissues
spider silk
fibrous protein made by spiders to spin their web
proteome
is all of the proteins produced by a cell, a tissue or an organism
Gel electrophoresis
a method used to separate proteins according to their size
Amino Acids
the building blocks of proteins. Joined together by condensation in ribosomes to form polypeptides
Explain how heat can denature a protein
Can modify the three dimensional structure of a protein, thereby affecting its function. In the case of an enzyme such as rubisco, it would cease to catalyse the reaction. When temperature is increased, the increased vibrations within the molecule can cause the interactions between the R groups of different amino acids to be broken, changing the structure of the protein
An enzyme…
is a globular protein that acts as a biological catalyst
A substrate
the molecule changed by the enzyme
The Active site
is the part of the enzyme that binds to the substrate
Denaturation
the loss of the tertiary structure of the enzyme
Optimum
describes the ideal conditions required for an enzyme to work
DNA
a polymer of nucleotide’s containing the genetic instructions responsible for inheritance. The segments carrying the information are called genes.
RNA
Is a polymer of nucleotides containing the genetic instructions for protein synthesis
Nucleotide
is a molecule containing a phosphate, a sugar and a nitrogenous base
Nitrogenous bases
A - adenine
G- guanine
C- cytosine
T- thymine
In RNA U-uracil replaces thymine
Replication
the semi-conservative synthesis of DNA
Transcription
is the synthesis of mRNA copied from the DNA base sequences by RNA polymerase
Translation
is the synthesis of polypeptides on ribosomes
Helicase
unwinds the double helix and separates the two stands by breaking hydrogen bonds
Anaerobic respiration
is the catabolic process through which small amounts of energy in the form of ATP are produced from glucose without the use of oxygen
Aerobic respiration
the catabolic process involving the use of oxygen through which glucose is broken down to carbon dioxide, water and large amounts of energy in the form of ATP
ATP
a molecule that is used as a fast source of energy. It is formed by a ribose that has a nitrogenous based joined to carbon 1 and three phosphate groups joined to carbon 5
Photosynthesis
is the process by which green plants use sunlight to synthesize nutrients from carbon dioxide and water. Light is absorbed by pigments and generates oxygen as a by-product
Chlorophyll
is a green pigment that absorbs light in most plants
Action spectrum
a graph of the rate of photosynthesis performed by an organism at different light wavelengths
absorption spectrum
a graph of the amount of light absorbed by each pigment at different light wavelengths
