Chemical Basis of Life - Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering the chemical basis of life, including inorganic compounds, organic macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids), their structures, and functions.

Organic Substances

Chemical substances that contain both carbon and hydrogen atoms, including carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Inorganic Substances

Chemical substances that do not include both carbon and hydrogen atoms, such as water, oxygen, carbon dioxide, and inorganic salts.

Water ($H_2O$)

The most abundant inorganic compound in living material, accounting for two-thirds of the weight of an adult human.

Water is medium for most metabolic reactions due to

polar water molecules

Important role in transporting chemicals in the

body

True

blood is mostly water, containing

(92%) of water

Water absorbs and transfers heat (sweat)

true

Oxygen ($O_2$)

An inorganic gas used by organelles to release energy from nutrients in order to drive cellular metabolic activities.

Carbon Dioxide ($CO_2$)

An inorganic waste product released during metabolic reactions that is removed from the body through exhaling.

Nitric Oxide ($NO$)

An inorganic gas found in smog, acid rain, and cigarette smoke that plays functional roles in immunity, vasodilation, and respiration.

Carbon Monoxide ($CO$)

A deadly, colorless, and odorless inorganic gas that functions in the spleen during the recycling of old red blood cells.

Inorganic Salts

Substances abundant in body fluids that supply ions (such as $Na^+$, $Cl^-$, $K^+$, $Ca^{2+}$, $Mg^{2+}$, $PO_4^{2-}$, $CO_3^{2-}$, $HCO_3^-$, and $SO_4^{2-}$) required for maintaining homeostasis, pH, bone development, blood clotting, and nerve/muscle functions.

Carbohydrates

Water-soluble organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (typically with twice as many hydrogen as oxygen atoms) that supply energy and cell structures.

Carbohydrates is classified by

Size, simple or complex

Monosaccharide

A simple sugar unit in straight chain or ring configuration containing 6 carbons, such as glucose ($C_6H_{12}O_6$).

Disaccharide

A double sugar unit composed of two 6-carbon sugar building blocks, such as sucrose ($C_{12}H_{22}O_{11}$) or lactose.

Polysaccharide

A complex carbohydrate consisting of more than two sugar building blocks, such as starch or glycogen.

Glycogen is stored in

liver and skeletal muscles

Lipids

Organic substances insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents (such as ether and acetone), including fats, phospholipids, and steroids.

Triglycerides

The most common lipids in the body, composed of one glycerol portion bound to three fatty acids, which store more energy gram for gram than carbohydrates.

Saturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid containing only single carbon-carbon bonds with maximum bound hydrogen atoms, typically solid at room temperature and primarily of animal origin.

Unsaturated Fatty Acid

A fatty acid containing one or more carbon-carbon double bonds, usually liquid at room temperature and primarily of plant origin.

Phospholipid

A lipid containing a glycerol backbone, two fatty acid tails, and a portion containing a phosphate group, creating a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tail.

-Their structure allows them to be a membrane for cells

Hydrophilic

(soluble in water) phosphate containing head

Hydrophobic

(Insoluble in water) fatty acid tail

Steroids

Complex structures that include 4 connected rings of carbon atoms, including cholesterol, sex hormones, and adrenal gland hormones.

Protein

An organic compound composed of amino acids (20 types) , hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and sometimes sulfur, which functions as enzymes, structural components, energy sources, antibodies, or receptors.

Amino Acid

The monomeric building block of proteins (20 types), containing an amino group ($-NH_2$), a carboxyl group ($-COOH$), and a unique side chain (R group).

Peptide Bond

The covalent bond formed between adjacent amino acids to construct a polypeptide chain.

Conformation

3D structure of a protein, determined by its amino acid sequence &

attractions and repulsion between amino acids in different parts of the

molecule.

-Conformation defines function

How many levels for conformation

4

Primary Structure

The linear sequence of amino acids linked together in a polypeptide chain.

Secondary Structure

The local folding of a polypeptide chain into structures like an alpha helix or beta-pleated sheet, stabilized by hydrogen bonds.

Tertiary Structure

The complete three-dimensional folding pattern of a single polypeptide chain maintained by covalent and hydrogen bonds between distant amino acids.

Quaternary Structure

The functional protein complex formed when two or more distinct polypeptide chains combine, such as hemoglobin.

Denaturation

The unfolding or alteration of a protein's secondary and tertiary structure caused by heat, radiation, pH changes, or chemicals.

Nucleic Acids

Organic substance

-include carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorous nucleotides

Nucleotide

The building block of nucleic acids, consisting of a 5-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

Nitrogenous bases

• Adenine

• Thymine

• Guanine

• Cytosine

• Uracil

Two major types of nucleic acids:

DNA and RNA

RNA (Ribonucleic Acid)

•Ribonucleic acid

•Nucleotides with ribose sugar (5 carbon sugar)

•Single stranded polynucleotide chains

•Uses information from DNA to construct specific protein molecules

Ribose

A 5-carbon pentose sugar present in the nucleotides of RNA molecules.

DNA (Deoxyribonucleic Acid)

A double-stranded polynucleotide double helix containing deoxyribose sugar that stores genetic code in genes for protein synthesis and replicates.

Deoxyribose

The 5-carbon sugar found in DNA nucleotides that lacks one oxygen atom present in ribose.