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84 Cards in this Set

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a very large molecule, for instance a protein, formed of thousands of atoms
a large molecule made of many building blocks that are similar or identical and linked by covalent bonds. This is similar to a train of cars.
What three classes of organic compounds are polymers?
Carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids
small molecules that are the building blocks (train cars) in a polymers. Sometimes they have their own functions.
Condensation reaction
a chemical reaction where 2 molecules bond or unbond using a water molecule
Dehydration reaction
a specific form of condensation reaction because a water molecule is lost. Each cells supplies part of the water molecule
Why are enzymes needed for dehydration?
dehydration reactions require energy from the cell and enzymes are special proteins that chemical reactions faster
a kind of condensation reaction, the reverse of dehydration where in polymers are disassembled by adding water molecules.
How is hydrolysis useful in our bodies?
most organic food enter the body as polymers that cannot fit into cells enzymes attack them, speed hydrolysis and the monomers that are released are let into the blood to go to all other cells where they will be reassembled into different polymers by dehydration.
How many common monomers are all polymers made out of?
50 monomers
Why can hundreds of thousands of polymers be made out of a relatively small number of monomers?
they are arranged in unique ways
What is the elegance of molecular logic?
small molecules are arranged into unique macromolecules
fuel and building material, including sugar and their polymers.
monomer of carbohydrates. single sugar or simple sugars.
What is cellular respiration?
the process where cells extract energy from glucose molecules.
two monosaccharides connected by a glycosidic linkage
Glycosidic linkage
a covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction
What are the 2 roles of polysaccharides
1. storage material to provide sugar cells 2. building material for structures that protect cells or organisms
a polysaccharide made out of glucose that provides storage in plants.
simple starch stored in animal cells and drawn upon when sugar is needed. Lasts a short time.
helps to make the strong plant walls in cells. Made of glucose in the beta form
Why is cellulose important to a healthful diet?
cellulose it isn’t important nutritionally but stimulates mucus by abrading fibrils in the digestive tract
forms the exoskeletons of animals, walls in fungi instead of cellulose
compounds with no affinity for water because they are made mostly of hydrocarbons
made of glycerol and fatty acids, not polymers but are made by dehydration reactions from smaller molecules
Fatty acid
long carbon skeleton (16 or 18 atoms) with a carboxyl group and attached hydrocarbon chains
Ester linkage
a bond between a hydroxyl and carboxyl group
a fat consisting of three fatty acids (tails) linked to one glycerol molecule (the head). Aka: triacylglyceride
how is a Saturated fatty acid organized?
because there are no double bonds between the carbon atoms as many hydrogen atoms as possible are bonded to the carbon skeleton
Unsaturated fatty acid
has one or more double bonds formed by the removal of hydrogen atoms from the carbon skeleton.
a protein unraveling and loosing its native conformation because the pH, salt concentration, temperature or other aspects of chemical and physical conditions
Why are denaturated proteins inactive?
they are misshapen
What are 3 denaturation agents?
1)transferring from an aqueous environment to an organic solvent because they turn inside out 2) chemicals that disrupt bonds that maintain shape 3) heat that agitates the polypeptide chain and hurts weak bonds that stabilize conformation
X-ray crystallography
the method dependent upon delection of an X-ray bean by atoms in the crystal of a protein to find the spatial coordinates atoms.
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
genetic material that organisms inherit from their parents. DNA direction RNA synthesis and protein synthesis
Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
used to send messages
monomers that make up nucleic acids
nitrogenous base, six-membered ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms
bigger than pyrimidine, six membered ring stuck to a five membered ring
a nucleic acid polymer made of nucleotides joined by covalent bonds called phosphodiester linkages between
Double helix
the 3D structure of DNA
are like fats with only 2 fatty acid tails
phospholipid droplet with the heads on the outside protecting the tails from water
Phospholid bilayer
head on the outside facing away from each other and the tails on the inside
lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four fused rings
steroid often found in animal cells, other steroids are built upon it
Water are the 7 functions of proteins?
1. structural support 2. storage 3. transport 4. signaling 5. movement 6. defense 7. regulate metabolism
polymers made of many amino acids
What is a protein made of?
one or more polypeptides folded and coiled into specific conformations
Amino acid
organic molecules with carboxyl and amino groups
Peptide bond
when 2 amino acids are joined through dehydration between a carboxyl group and amino group
What does the function of a protein depend on?
its ability to recognize and bind to some other molecule
Primary structure
the unique sequence of amino acids in a protein
Frederic Sanger
worked out the amino acid sequence in insulin
Secondary structure
coil and folds in patters that contribute to the proteins conformation. Results of hydrogen bonds.
Alpha helix
a delicate coil hold together by hydrogen bonding between every 4th amino acid
Beta pleated sheet
two or more regions of polypeptide chain lie parallel to each other. There are hydrogen bonds between hydrogen bonds and parts of the backbone to hold it together.
Tertiary structure
consists of irregular contortions from interactions between side chains
Hydrophobic interaction
amino acids with hydrophobic side chains end up at the middle when a polypeptide folds into the function formation. Happens because water molecules and exclude the hydrophobic molecules
What 3 things help hold tertiary bond together?
1. van der Waals interactions 2. hydrogen bonds 3. ionic bonds (all are weak)
Disulfide bridges
enforce protein. Form when amino acids with sulfhydryl groups (-SH) are brought together by folding
Quatrency structure
the overall protein structure that results from the aggregation of polypeptide submits
Why are denaturated proteins inactive?
they are misshapen
How do chaperonins help the folding of polypeptides?
they keep the new polypeptide separated by bad things while it fold on its own.
How can we summarize the flow of genetic information?
the places where proteins are synthesized
What does mRNA do?
moves the protein building instructions from the nucleus to the cytoplasm (where the ribosomes are in eukaryotic cells) and to send messages between ribosomes and translating equipment in prokaryotic cells
What are the three components of nucleotides?
1) nitrogenous base (organic molecule) 2) pentose (5-carbon sugar) 3) phosphate group
nitrogen base in the nucleotides of RNA
nitrogen base in the nucleotides of DNA, same as ribose except one of its carbons is missing an oxygen
What are the 3 pyrimidines?
Cytosine (C), Thymine (T) only DNA, Uracil (U) only RNA
What are the 2 Purines?
Adenine (A), Guanine (G)
The two strands of the double helix are _________
complimentary, you can tell one if you know the other
What are the base pairs?
Adenine (A) and Thymine (T) – Guanine (G) and Cytosine (C)
Proteins are the products of what?
genes (DNA)
What is the function and examples of structural proteins?
support- spiders use silk to make webs, collagen and elastin are in animal tissues and keratin is in hair, horns, etc.
What is the function and examples of storage proteins?
storage of amino acids, obalbumin is in egg white and is an amino acid source for the embryo. Casein give amino acids to baby cows. Seeds store proteins in plants
What is the function and examples of transport proteins?
transport of other substances, hemoglobin moves oxygen out from the lungs, some proteins move molecules through cell membranes
What is the function and examples of hormonal proteins?
coordination of organism’s activities, insulin regulated blood sugar in vertebrates
What is the function and examples of receptor proteins?
response of cell to chemical stimuli, receptors in membrane of a nerve cell determine chemical signals from other nerve cells
What is the function and examples of contractile proteins?
movement, acting and myosin move muscles, other proteins move cilia and flagella
What is the function and examples of defensive proteins?
protection against disease, antibodies combat bacteria and viruses
What is the function and examples of enzymatic proteins?
selective acceleration of chemical reaction, digestive enzymes catalyze the hydrolysis of polymer in food