Macromolecules Lecture Notes

Flashcards based on the lecture notes about macromolecules, focusing on carbon bonding, macromolecule construction/deconstruction, carbohydrates, fatty acids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

What does it mean for something to be organic?

All living things are made up of cells and are composed of carbon and hydrogen.

Describe the structure of a carbon atom.

Carbon has six protons, six neutrons, and six electrons, with four valence electrons in its outer energy level.

How many covalent bonds can carbon form?

Carbon can share its electrons with other atoms, forming up to four covalent bonds.

What types of structures can carbon form?

Carbon's versatility allows it to form straight chains, double bonds, branched structures, and rings.

What is a hydrocarbon?

A hydrocarbon is a molecule consisting of only hydrogen and carbon atoms.

Are hydrocarbons polar or nonpolar?

Hydrocarbons are nonpolar and not soluble in water (hydrophobic).

Give examples of hydrocarbons.

Gasoline and triglycerides are examples of hydrocarbons.

What are functional groups?

Functional groups are atoms attached to the carbon skeleton that determine the unique properties of organic compounds.

What are the four main macromolecules?

Carbs, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids are macromolecules.

How are macromolecules built?

Macromolecules are built by linking monomers to form polymers through covalent bonds.

What are monomers?

Monomers are the smaller units that make up polymers.

What is a dehydration reaction?

A dehydration reaction links two monomers together by removing water.

What is hydrolysis?

Hydrolysis breaks the bonds between monomers by adding water.

What are carbohydrates composed of?

Carbohydrates are sugars or sugar polymers composed of carbons, hydrogens, and oxygens in a 1:2:1 ratio.

What are the functions of carbohydrates?

Quick energy, raw materials, and energy storage.

What is the monomer of a carbohydrate?

The saccharide is the monomer of a carbohydrate.

What are the three types of carbohydrates?

Monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

What is a monosaccharide?

Single monomers, simple sugars such as glucose and fructose.

What are isomers?

Isomers are molecules with the same molecular formula but different structures.

What is a disaccharide?

Two monomers are linked together, such as sucrose.

What is a polysaccharide?

Larger polymers such as starch.

What is the function of monosaccharides?

Main fuel for cellular work; glucose in sports drinks and fructose in fruits.

What is a disaccharide's structure?

Double sugar constructed from two monosaccharides formed by a dehydration reaction.

Provide Examples of disaccharides:

Lactose in milk, maltose in beer, and sucrose in table sugar.

What makes up a polysaccharide?

Complex carbs made of long chains of monosaccharides.

List three examples of polysaccharides.

Starch (energy storage in plants), glycogen (energy storage in animals), and cellulose (plant cell walls).

What are lipids made of, and what is their relationship to water?

They are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and are hydrophobic.

What are the three types of lipids?

Fats, steroids, and phospholipids.

What is a fat(triglyceride)?

A typical fat comprised of a glycerol molecule with three long fatty acid chains attached.

What is the function of fats?

Energy storage, cushioning organs and insulation.

Are fats polar or nonpolar?

Nonpolar and hydrophobic.

What is the structure of triglycerides?

Three fatty acid chains linked to a single glycerol molecule through an ester linkage.

What are the two types of fatty acids?

Saturated and unsaturated.

What is saturated?

Every place is full with hydrogen, forming a straight line.

What is unsaturated?

Not saturated with hydrogen due to double bonds, causing kinks in the chain.

What is the consistency of saturated fats at room temperature?

Solid at room temperature.

What is the consistency of saturated fats at room temperature?

Liquid at room temperature.

Which fatty acid is better to eat?

Generally, eating unsaturated fat is healthier because it doesn't stick to the sides of blood vessels, unlike saturated fatty acids.

What is hydrogenation?

Adding hydrogens to fatty acids, converting unsaturated to saturated, and increasing shelf life.

What is a steroid?

They have four fused carbon rings and varying functional groups.

What is cholesterol?

Steroids serves as a precursos for all other hormones

How do hormones affect us physically and mentally?

The function can be completely changed just by Oxygen and hydrogen due to functional groups

What is the structure of a phospholipid?

One glycerol, a phosphate group, and two fatty acid chains.

What is the polar relationship with water in phospholipids?

The phosphate is hydrophilic, and the fatty acids are hydrophobic, giving it a dual personality.

What function is the phospholipid's polar relationship with water in phospholipids essential?

Essential component of cell membranes creates a barrier between the inside and outside of cells.

What are protiens?

Polymers constructed from amino acid monomers.

Give example of proteins.

Enzymes, structural proteins (e.g., hair), storage proteins, contractile proteins (muscles), and transport proteins (red blood cells).

What characteristic of a protein determines whether or not its functional?

The three-dimensional shape of the protein determines if it is functional.

What is the monomer of a protein?

The amino acid.

What are the three similar components of every amino acid?

A central carbon, an amino group (nitrogen with two hydrogens), and a carboxyl group (carbon double-bonded to oxygen and a hydroxide).

What is the variable component of an amino acid?

A side group called the R group, which confers unique chemical properties.

Examples of amino acids.

Nonpolar hydrophobic leucine and polar hydrophilic serine.

How are polymers built using a dehydration reaction?

Through a dehydration reaction, the carboxyl and amino groups of two adjacent amino acids form a peptide bond.

Can you describe the four structures of an amino acids?

Primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary (optional).

What is a primary amino acid(non-functional)?

A long chain of amino acids held together by peptide bonds, but nonfunctional.

What is an amino acid's secondary structure?

It consist of Alpha helixes and Beta pleated sheets forming within the chain, depending on the R side chains.

What is a tertiary amino acid structure?

All the pleated sheets and alpha helixes fold upon themselves; at this structure, the protein is fully functional if it doesn't have any other polypeptides that need to be attached to it.

What is a quaternary amino acid structure?

It is a bunch of proteins that come together (optional).

Why is the primary sequence important?

Change in one of these amino acids can have a detrimental affect

How may proteins lose their shape?

Very High fever, high salt concentrations, and or changes in pH.

What is denaturation?

Denaturation is when a protein can unravel, causing it to lose its shape which leads that certain protein to not function properly.

What it the function of Nucleic Acids?

Store and transmit genetic information.

What are the two types of nucleic acids?

RNA and DNA.

What is the function of DNA?

Genetic blueprint of life.

What is the monomer of nucleic acids?

Monomer of nucleic acid is the nucleotide.

What bases does RNA contain? and is it single or double stranded?

RNA is a single strand with cytosine, guanine, adenine, and uracil.

What bases does DNA contain? and is it single or double stranded?

DNA is a double helix with cytosine, guanine, adenine, and thymine.

What is the central dogma?

DNA -> RNA -> Protein.

What are the three components of a nucleotide?

A five-carbon sugar (pentose), a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base.

What are nucleotide's five carbon sugars?

Ribose in RNA (ribonucleic acid) and deoxyribose in DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).

What are the four nucleic bases that make up DNA?

Adenine, guanine, thymine, and cytosine.

How do polymers link in the nucleotides?

A dehydration reaction links nucleotides together to form a polynucleotide strand.

What are the alternating names for the DNA strand?

The sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA.

What holds together DNA, and what two elements are included?

Held together by a hydrogen bonds and made up of sugar and a phosphate.

What is the two strands of DNA doing?

Replicating DNA

What dose complementary mean in DNA?

Anywhere there is a C, there is a G (Vise Versa) and Anywhere there is a T, there is an A (Vise Versa).

What is the end result of DNA replication?

Parent DNA -> Two New Strands of DNA.

What stands RNA apart from DNA?

Consist of a Single RNA strand.

What sugars and bases are used in RNA?

RNA has a ribose as its sugar instead of deoxyribose, and consists of uracil instead of thymine.

What are two examples of nucleotides that have double ring forms?

Double-ring structures called purines and consist of both adenine and guanine.

What are three examples of nucleotides that have single ring forms?

Single-ring structures called pyrimidines, and contain both the thymine/uracil and cytosine.

What are the key differences between DNA and RNA?

DNA has deoxyribose sugar, whereas RNA has a ribose sugar. DNA is a double strand but with its RNA as a single.

What is Hydrolysis and Dehydration reaction?

Building polymers

What should we know regarding our proteins?

Structure and function of nucleic acids particularly, the structure of the nucleotide.

In our Macromolecules what should we be able to show the differences is?

You should be able to show what the polymer or monomer is

Where is our A and T bound? and what reaction occurs?

Our two strans are held together by Hydrogen bonds and a condensation reaction.

What should we remember about the best reaction of a hydroysis?

The best example here is. If you should go through the other reactions though, right? And be like, oh, no, that's not that's not right. Right. This isn't right because it's not a synthesis if it's hydrolysis. This one too, we're not forming bonds in a hydrolysis, right? We're breaking them through a lysis. Number four is not right. The breakdown of a fat because fats don't form glycerol and amino acids, it would form glycerol in fatty acid chains. Right? And then again, this isn't right because it's you're again, you're building a polymer and hydrolysis, you're breaking it down. So I just wanted to review there. So again, as you're studying, know the right answer, but you should be able to tell me why these answers are incorrect. That's a great way to study, and that's a great method I use for making test questions.

What are proteins made up of?

Proteins made up of lots of amino acids.

What is special about hydrocarbons with water?

Hydrocarbons chains do not disolve in water

What 3 main things consist of a triglyceride?

Triglycerides consist of three fatty acid chains and are linked to glycerol through an ester linkage.

What do the structure of cellulose usually indicate?

Cellulose cell structures for plant cell walls which is not broken down easily.

Explain the names of monomers diesccharides and polysaccroides

Monomers - one unit. Diesccharides - two units and polysaccarides - two or more

How can building proteins be compared to legos?

Building proteins is much like building with legos

How can we make changes to carbon?

By attaching functional group