Biology 161 - Exam 2 Vocabulary - Lipids and Nucleic Acids

Nucleotide

monomers of nucleic acids, with a phosphate group, 5-carbon sugar, and nitrogenous base

Nucleic Acid

macromolecule that stores, encodes and transmits hereditary info and direct protein synthesis

Ribose

5 carbon sugar in RNA

Deoxyribose

5-carbon sugar in DNA

Phosphate

group found at the 5’ carbon of the sugar

Purine

Double ring-shaped bases like A and G

Pyrimidine

Ring-shaped bases like C, T, and U

5’ Phosphate

The 5’ end has a free PO4 group on the 5’ carbon of the sugar

3’ Hydroxyl

The 3’ end has a free OH group on the 3’ carbon of the sugar

Nitrogenous Base

nitrogen-containing organic molecule that acts as a base in DNA and RNA (A,C,G,T, and U)

Phosphodiester Bond

covalent bonds that link the monomers into the polymers

Complementary Base Pairing

The H-Bonding of G to C and A to T (or A to U)

Anti-Parallel

when the 5’ end of one strand is matched to the 3’ end of another strand

Fats

fatty acids, mono, di, and tyriglycerides

Steroids

include four fused hydrocarbon rings

Fatty Acids

lipids with a hydrocarbon chain and a terminal carboxyl group

Carboxyl Group

tends to lose a proton and act as an acid

Triglyceride

glycerol + 3 fatty acids

Ester Linkage

covalent bond that holds fatty acids together

Phospholipid

glycerol + 2 fatty acids + polar group

Amphipathic

hydrophilic at one end and hydrophobic at the other