Chapter 3- Carbohydrates and Lipids

monomer

A single molecule that can join together with other molecules to form a polymer.

polymer

A large molecule composed of many repeated subunits (monomers).

carbohydrate

Organic compounds made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, typically with a hydrogen to oxygen ratio of 2:1.

monosaccharide

The simplest form of carbohydrates, consisting of a single sugar molecule.

disaccharide

A carbohydrate composed of two monosaccharides linked together.

polysaccharide

A carbohydrate that consists of a long chain of monosaccharide units.

isomer

Compounds with the same molecular formula but different structural arrangements.

glycosidic linkage

A type of covalent bond that joins a carbohydrate molecule to another group.

Starch

A storage polysaccharide in plants consisting entirely of glucose.

Chitin

A structural polysaccharide, consisting of amino sugar monomers, found in many fungal cell walls and in the exoskeletons of all arthropods.

Cellulose

Carbohydrate component of plant cell walls.

Glycogen

An extensively branched glucose storage polysaccharide found in the liver and muscle of animals; the animal equivalent of starch.

peptidoglycan

A protein-carbohydrate compound that makes the cell walls of bacteria rigid

glucose

A simple sugar that is an important energy source in living organisms.

lipid

A group of organic compounds that are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents.

fatty acid

A carboxylic acid with a long aliphatic chain, which can be saturated or unsaturated.

essential fatty acids

Fatty acids that cannot be synthesized by the body and must be obtained through diet.

amphipathic

Molecules that have both hydrophilic (water-attracting) and hydrophobic (water-repelling) parts.

steroid

A type of lipid characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four fused rings.

cholesterol

A type of steroid that is an essential component of cell membranes and a precursor for steroid hormones.

ester bond

A bond formed between a fatty acid and a glycerol molecule in lipids.

carboxyl group

A functional group consisting of a carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygen atom and also bonded to a hydroxyl group.

partial dehydrogenation

A chemical reaction that involves the removal of hydrogen atoms from a molecule.

saturated fats

Fats that contain no double bonds between carbon atoms, typically solid at room temperature.

unsaturated fats

Fats that contain one or more double bonds between carbon atoms, typically liquid at room temperature.

cis fatty acids

Unsaturated fatty acids where the hydrogen atoms are on the same side of the double bond.

trans fatty acids

Unsaturated fatty acids where the hydrogen atoms are on opposite sides of the double bond.

Purine pyrimidine dna pairs

A-T G-C