L34 - Organic Compounds and Polymers

Flashcards on organic compounds, polymers, amino acids, hydrogen bonding, and related vocabulary.

Polymers

Long chains of repeating units.

Peptides

Short chains of amino acids.

Proteins

Long, naturally produced chains of amino acids.

Amino Acids

Molecules produced in all living organisms with an amine group, a carboxylic acid group, and a functional group.

Intermolecular interactions

An attraction between positive and negative parts of different molecules.

Hydrogen Bonding

A strong type of intermolecular interaction important for peptide and protein arrangement.

Hydrogen atom

Small atom with a single positive charge on it.

Repeating Unit

The minimal repeating unit of a polymer.

Polymerization reactions

Reactions that add repeating units to create polymers.

Polymer

High molecular weight molecule consisting of repeating subunits covalently bound.

Oligomer

A molecule smaller than a polymer, consisting of a few subunits stuck together.

Monomer

The subunits in a polymer that join to make the polymer.

Polymerization

The process of making polymers from monomers.

Degree of Polymerization

The number of subunits joined together in a polymer.

Homopolymers

Polymers with just one type of subunit.

Heteropolymers

Polymers with more than one type of subunit.

Copolymer

A polymer with more than one type of subunit.

Block Copolymers

Polymers with subunits in separate blocks.

Random Copolymer

Polymers with different monomers randomly arranged along the chain.

Gradient Copolymer

Polymers with a gradient in the arrangement of subunits.

Graph Copolymers

Polymers with branches.

Addition Polymers

Polymers made by joining molecules with a carbon-carbon double bond.

Initiator

A molecule used to initiate addition polymerization by breaking to form free radicals.

Condensation Polymers

Polymers formed by reactions that join molecules together with functional groups, not carbon-carbon single bonds.

Amide linkages

The repeating unit in nylon.

Kevlar

A strong polymer used to make bulletproof vests.

Conjugated Polymers

Polymers with alternating single and double bonds along the backbone, allowing pi electrons to be delocalized.

Alpha Carbon

The carbon atom in between the amine and carboxylic acid groups of an amino acid.

Peptide Bond

An amide linkage between amino acids.

Polypeptides

Peptide chains with more than 20 amino acids are called.

Ribosomes

Ribosomes catalyze peptide formations.

Isoelectric Point

The pH at which the average charge on the amino acid is zero.

Zwitterion

A molecule with both a positive and a negative charge.