Bio - Organic and Inorganic Compounds

Organic Compound

A compound produced by plants and animals that contains carbon with at least one carbon atom bound to hydrogen

Inorganic Compound

A compound comprised of materials that are not carbon-based e.g. water minerals

Monomer

The single unit or "building block" of a compound

Dimer

Two monomers that are chemically bonded together

Polymer

A large molecule formed by joining more than two monomers together

Carbohydrates

Organic compounds made of Carbon (C) Hydrogen (H) and Oxygen (O) joined by glycosidic bonds

Monosaccharide

The most basic unit and simplest form of sugar e.g. glucose fructose galactose - usually colorless and water-soluble

Disaccharide

A carbohydrate formed when two monosaccharides join together e.g. maltose lactose sucrose

Polysaccharide

Long chains of monosaccharides ranging from linear to highly branched

Starch

A storage polysaccharide found in plant seeds

Glycogen

A storage polysaccharide used by animals to store energy

Cellulose

A structural polysaccharide that makes up plant cell walls

Chitin

A structural polysaccharide that forms the exoskeleton of insects

Lipid

An organic compound (fat or oil) made of C H and O with an H:O ratio greater than 2:1

Triglyceride

The basic unit of a lipid consisting of one glycerol molecule and three fatty acids

Saturated Fat

A fat (chiefly animal) with no double bonds between carbon atoms - solid at room temperature

Unsaturated Fat

A fat (chiefly plant) containing at least one double bond which creates a "kink" in the chain - liquid at room temperature

Protein

A large macromolecule made of C H O and Nitrogen (N) consisting of one or more amino acid chains

Amino Acid

The monomer (building block) of a protein

Peptide Bond

The chemical bond that joins amino acids together

Polypeptide

A chain of between 2 and 50 amino acids

Enzyme

A specialized protein that acts as a biological catalyst to speed up reactions

Catalyst

A substance that increases the speed of a chemical reaction without being used up

Activation Energy

The minimum amount of energy required for a chemical reaction to take place

Catabolic Enzyme

An enzyme that breaks down complex substances into simpler ones

Anabolic Enzyme

An enzyme that builds up complex substances from simpler units

Active Site

The specific part of an enzyme where the substrate molecule fits

Substrate

The specific molecule upon which an enzyme acts

Denature

The process where an enzyme changes shape and loses its function due to extreme temperature or pH

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

The nucleic acid found in the nucleus that contains hereditary material and instruction codes

RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)

The nucleic acid involved in protein synthesis that carries codes from DNA to ribosomes