Chemical Reactions, Metabolism, and Organic Compounds

Vocabulary flashcards covering chemical reaction types, reaction rate factors, metabolism divisions, organic carbon backbones, functional groups, and polymer synthesis/breakdown.

Chemical reaction

A process in which a covalent or ionic bond is formed or broken.

Chemical equation

A symbolic representation of the course of a chemical reaction, written with reactants on the left and products on the right ($\text{Reactants} \rightarrow \text{products}$).

Decomposition reaction

A reaction in which a large molecule breaks down into two or more smaller ones ($AB \rightarrow A + B$).

Synthesis reaction

A reaction in which two or more small molecules combine to form a larger one ($A + B \rightarrow AB$).

Exchange reaction

A reaction in which two molecules exchange atoms or groups of atoms ($AB + CD \rightarrow AC + BD$), such as stomach acid ($HCl$) and sodium bicarbonate ($NaHCO_3$) forming $NaCl$ and $H_2CO_3$.

Reversible reaction

A reaction that can proceed in either direction under different circumstances, symbolized with a double-headed arrow (e.g., $CO_2 + H_2O \rightleftharpoons H_2CO_3 \rightleftharpoons HCO_3^- + H^+$).

Catalyst

A substance that increases reaction rates by holding reactants in orientations that facilitate the reaction, remaining unchanged and able to repeat the process frequently.

Metabolism

All chemical reactions of the body, consisting of two main divisions: catabolism and anabolism.

Catabolism

Energy-releasing (exergonic) decomposition reactions that break covalent bonds and produce smaller molecules.

Anabolism

Energy-storing (endergonic) synthesis reactions that require energy input (such as the production of protein or fat) and are driven by energy released by catabolism.

Organic chemistry

The study of compounds containing carbon.

Carbon backbones

Long chains, branched molecules, or rings formed by carbon atoms readily binding with each other.

Functional groups

Small clusters of atoms attached to a carbon backbone that determine many of the properties of organic molecules, such as hydroxyl, methyl, carboxyl, amino, and phosphate groups.

Macromolecules

Large organic molecules with high molecular weights.

Polymers

Molecules made of a repetitive series of identical or similar subunits called monomers.

Monomers

Identical or similar subunits that join together to form polymers.

Polymerization

The process of joining monomers together to form a polymer.

Dehydration synthesis (condensation) reaction

A reaction that covalently links monomers together by removing a hydroxyl ($-OH$) group from one monomer and a hydrogen ($-H$) group from another, producing water as a by-product.

Hydrolysis

The opposite of dehydration synthesis; a process that splits a polymer into monomers by adding water, where water ionizes into $OH^-$ and $H^+$, attaching $OH^-$ to one monomer and $H^+$ to the other.