Macromolecules and Special Properties of Water

Practice question-and-answer flashcards covering key definitions of macromolecules and the special properties of water based on lecture study guides.

What are amino acids?

Molecules that are the building blocks (monomers) of proteins.

What is a carbohydrate?

A compound containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in the approximate ratio of $C:2H:O$ (e.g., sugars, starches, and cellulose).

What is a chemical compound?

A substance made up of atoms of two or more different elements joined by chemical bonds.

What are glycerol and fatty acids?

Simple units, building blocks, or monomers of fats.

What defines an inorganic substance?

A substance that does not contain carbon, and is not formed from living things or the remains of living things.

What are lipids?

Energy-rich organic compounds, such as fats, oils, and waxes, that are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

What is a macromolecule?

A very large organic molecule composed of many smaller molecules.

What is a monomer?

A simple compound whose molecules can join together to form polymers.

What is a monosaccharide?

A simple sugar that is the basic subunit, or monomer, of a carbohydrate.

What is a Nucelotide?

A monomer of a nucleic acid.

What is a nucleic acid?

A biological macromolecule (DNA or RNA) composed of the elements C, H, N, O, and P that carries genetic information.

What defines an organic chemical?

A carbon-containing chemical.

What is a polymer?

A long molecule consisting of many similar or identical monomers linked together.

What is polymerization?

A chemical process that combines several monomers to form a polymer or polymeric compound.

What is a Polypetide?

A polymer of many amino acids linked together by peptide bonds.

What is a polysaccharide?

Carbohydrate polymers that are made up of more than two monosaccharides.

What is a protein?

A macromolecule that contains the principal components of organisms: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen; performs a variety of structural and regulatory functions for cells.

What is a suspension?

A mixture in which particles can be seen and easily separated by settling or filtration.

What is a Trigylceride?

A lipid polymer that acts as an effective energy-storage molecule stored mostly in adipose (fat) tissue.

What is adhesion?

An attraction between molecules of different substances.

What is cohesion?

Attraction between molecules of the same substance.

What is a hydrogen bond?

A type of weak chemical bond formed when the slightly positive hydrogen atom of a polar covalent bond in one molecule is attracted to the slightly negative atom of a polar covalent bond in another molecule.

What is polarity in molecules?

Molecules having uneven distribution of charges, a lack of electrical symmetry, and charge differences on opposite ends of a structure.

What is a solute?

A substance that is dissolved in a solution.

What is a solvent?

A liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances.

What is specific heat capacity?

The amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of substance by one degree Celsius.

What is surface tension?

A measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid.

What is the chemical formula for water?

$$H_2O$$