Characteristics of Life, Biomolecules, and Cell Energy

By Brayana Rogers

What are the 4 biomolecules of life?

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids,

What can happen during a chemical reaction?

Broken bonds, released/absorbed energy, and changes in molecular structures.

Synthesis means to…

Create or in this case build large(r) molecules

“-Lysis” means..

To break/cut or in this case larger molecules being broken into smaller ones.

What are the essential elements of life?

Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur

What elements are needed to make a substance a hydrocarbon?

Carbon and hydrogen

What is a hydrocarbon, and what kind of backbone do they form?

A hydrocarbon is the primary component of things like fossil fuels, and they form a structural backbone.

What elements are needed for a substance to be organic?

Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

What is a covalent bond?

A chemical link between atoms that shares the same electron pair.

What makes up carbohydrates?

Sugar units

What are examples of carbohydrates?

Glucose, fructose, starch, and cellulose

What is a cellulose?

A complex carbohydrate that forms the main part in cell walls.

Is cellulose a monomer, polymer, or disaccharide?

Polymer

What does cellulose give plants?

Shape and strength

What is a non-polar molecule?

A chemical structure with an even distribution of electric charge

What are examples of non-polar molecules?

Fats, oils, and waxes

What are examples of Lipids?

Triglycerides, Phospholipids, and Sterols

What are Triglycerides?

The most common type of fat found in your blood.

What happens to unused calories/extra sugars and carbohydrates in your body from the food you eat?

Your body converts it to triglycerides and it’s stores them in fat cells for energy.

What are phospholipids?

Fat molecules that form the main building blocks of cell membrances.

What are sterols?

A subgroup of steroid Lipids in eukaryotic cells.

What defines sterols?

Four ring carbon structure and hydroxyl group.

What can sterols do?

Maintain cell membrane fluidity and act as building blocks for essential hormones and vitamins.

What is cell membrane fluidity?

The cell membrances ability to adapt its shape and movement based on conditions.

What is a nucleic acid?

Chains of nucleic acids that create, hold, and carry genetic material

What are nucleotide units?

Monomers of nucleic acids.

What are the 3 parts of a nucleotide unit?

A five-carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen base.

What are the different nitrogenous bases?

Adenine, guanine, cytosine, thymine, and uracil.

What are two examples of a nucleic acids?

DNA and RNA

What is DNA?

The part in cells that contains genetic information.

What are the partner rules with the base pairs?

Adenine goes with Thymine and Cytosine goes with Guanine

What is RNA?

An essential molecule that copies genetic instructions from DNA and carriers them to other vital proteins running your body.

What are proteins made up of?

Amino acid units

What are amino acid units?

The monomers of proteins that link through peptide bonds to build proteins.

What is in a standard amino acid units?

A central carbon atom bonded to an amino group, a carboxyl group, a hydrogen atom, and a R-group.

What does an R-group do in an amino acid units?

Dictate chemical behavior

What is an amino group?

The connector of the central carbon atom and amino acid in an amino acid unit. It acts as a base by taking in protons.

What is a carboxyl group?

An acid molecule that gives off a hydrogen molecule in water and joins with the next amino group to build proteins.

What is a proton?

A tiny, positive particle inside the center of an atom

What is a polysaccharide?

A carbohydrate made of repeating glucose units that is used for energy storage.

What is a polypeptide?

A protein made of linked amino acids

What linked amino acids make up polypeptides?

Proline, Valine, Glycine, and Serine

What other name(s) are carbohydrates known by?

Carbs, saccharides, or sugars

What are saccharides?

The basic unit that makes up sweet, energy giving material.

What is the meaning of the prefix “mono-“?

One

What is the meaning of the prefix “di-“?

Two

What is the meaning of the prefix “-poly“?

Many

What are enzymes?

Natural catalyst that speed up chemica reactions by lowering activation energy.

What is a catalyst?

A substance that can speed up chemical reactions without being used up/changed

What is activation energy?

Energy needed for a process to happen

What is a substrate?

The target molecule that an enzyme attached to and changes.

What is an active site?

Where the substrate and enzyme meet

What environmental conditions affect an enzyme the most?

Temperature, pH, or substrate

What happens to a substrate if it’s not in an optimal environment?

It gets denatured

What are hormones?

Chemical messengers that are transported throughout the body to instruct cells and organs on what to do

What are proteins?

Major molecules in your body that build, fix, send signals, etc

What are anti-bodies?

Protective proteins created by your immune system to fight off viruses and bacteria

What biomolecule has such structuring?

Carbohydrate

What biomolecule has such structuring?

Nucleic acid

What biomolecule has such structuring?

Protein

What biomolecule has such structuring?

Lipid

What do carbohydrate names end with?

“-ose”

What is the monomer of carbohydrates?

Monosaccharides

What is the polymer of carbohydrates?

Polysaccharide

What is a monomer?

The building blocks of a molecule

What is a polymer?

Many monomers linked together

What is the function of a carbohydrate?

Primary energy source, makes up the cell wall, communication, and identification

How do carbohydrates contribute to structural support?

Cellulose, a carbohydrate, makes up the cell wall.

With carbohydrates what’s a bond typically formed?

Glycosydic

What is the structure of a lipid?

1 hydrolic head (polar) connected to hydrophobic tai(s) (non-polar)

What is a hydraulic head?

The water loving part of a lipid molecule.

What does it mean if a head is polar?

It has an electric charge that attracts water

What is the phospholipid bilayer?

A double-layer of fat based molecules that make up the core of every cell membrane.

What is the structure of the bilayer?

The double layer, phosphate heads, fatty acid tails, and amphiphatic nature.

What are fatty acid tails?

The hydrophobic pieces of the bilayer that hide inner parts from water, maintaining a dry core

What is amphiphatic nature?

Each molecule has both a water loving side and a water fearing side

What is cholesterol?

A waxy, fat like substance that your body needs to build cells, make vitamins, and produce hormones

What are the monomers of Lipids?

Fatty acid tail(s) and Glycerol head

What is a glycerol head?

A 3-carbon backbone that acts as an anchor holding the parts of the cell membrane together.

What are functions of Lipids?

Act as an alternate energy source, makes up the cell membrane, and insulation/shock absoption

How do Lipids contribute to structural support?

Phospholipid bilayer makes up the cell membrane

What bond is usually formed from Lipids?

Ester, which is a double bond

What elements do proteins contain?

Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen

What is the structure of a protein?

1 central carbon connected to an amino group, carboxyl acid group, hydrogen, and on R-group

What are examples of proteins?

Meat, muscles, carriage, beans, liver, enzymes, hormones, and antibodies

What are the polymers of proteins?

Polypeptides

Protein names end in…

“-in”

Enzyme names end in…

“-ase”

How do proteins contribute to structural support?

Cartilage, tubes, shells, (chitin, exoskeleton), cytoskeleton.

What functions can proteins carry out?

Create tissues and build organisms

What breaks down starch?

Amylase, which is found in saliva

Where is pepsin found?

In your stomach

What does optimal temperature ensure in an enzyme?

It ensure chem rxns receive proper activation energy

What do optimal pH levels ensure?

It ensures the shape of the enzyme active site.

What do optimal amounts of substrate ensure?

They ensure consistent rxn acceleration and more enzyme contact

What is DNA sugar?

Deoxyribose

What is RNA sugar?

Ribose

What are the polymers of nucleic acids?

Genes and chromosomes

Where does RNA send genetic information?

To the ribosomes to make protein

What is Tri-phosphate?

A chemical group or molecule that contains 3 phosphate groups linked in a chain