Biology Notes - Chemistry of Life: Vocabulary Flashcards

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from these lecture notes.

Adhesion

Water's affinity to bond with other polar or charged molecules.

Example: the curve formed by water in a glass test tube

Antiparallel

Running in opposite directions.

Example: the directionality of a DNA molecule

ATP

The primary energy molecule used in cellular functions

Example: adenosine triphosphate

Calorie

Measurement of energy required to increase the temperature of 1g of water by 1 degree

Example: 1/1000 of a kilocalorie

Cellulose

Glucose polymer found in plant cell walls.

Cohesion

Water's affinity to bond with itself.

Example: surface tension of a body of water

Compound

Two or more atoms of different elements bonded together.

Example: H2O

Covalent bond

Chemical bond where electrons are shared between atoms.

Example: bonds that join monomers together

Dehydration synthesis

Reaction that joins monomers together to form large organic polymers.

Example: glucose + glucose --> maltose + water

Denaturation

The breaking of bonds between amino acids and resulting unraveling of a protein chain.

Electronegativity

The strength of an atom's pull for electrons.

Example: Oxygen only needs two more valence electrons

Functional group

The section

of a molecule that gives it unique properties and interacts with other molecules.

Example: aldehyde

Glycogen

A glucose polymer found in animals that is used to store energy.

Hydrocarbons

Molecules made of only hydrogen and carbon.

Example: found in oil and natural gas (ex: butane)

Hydrogen bond

Interaction between electropositive hydrogen and an electronegative atom like oxygen or nitrogen.

Example: bonds between water molecules

Hydrolysis

The addition of a water molecule breaks bonds between monomers.

Example: maltose + water --> glucose + glucose

Hydrophilic

A molecule that has a high affinity or attraction to water.

Hydrophobic

A molecule that does not bond with water or repels water. Example: w.

Ionic bond

A chemical bond where two oppositely charged ions bond and exchange electrons.

Example: bond between sodium and chlorine to form sodium chloride

Isomer

A molecule that has the same chemical formula as another molecule but a different chemical arrangement.

Isotope

An atom that has the appropriate number of protons but a different number of neutrons.

Example: Carbon-14

Macromolecule

Large organic compounds that make up cellular structures.

Example: protein, nucleic acid, carbohydrate, or lipid

Molarity

Concentration of a solute within a solution.

Molecule

Two or more atoms of any type, bonded together.

Monomer

Small subunit that is joined with many others to form large, complex molecules.

Example: nucleotide, monosaccharide, etc

Organic compounds

Compounds consisting mostly of carbon atoms, always bonded to hydrogen and oxygen.

Example: C6H12O6

pH

Measure of free hydrogen and hydroxyl ions in a solution, tells us how acidic or basic something is.

Example: water is neutral

Phospholipid

Unique molecule consisting of a polar head and nonpolar tails.

Polar molecule

Molecule with an uneven distribution of electrons, resulting in one side being positive, and the other is negative.

Example: H2O

Polymer

A large molecule made of many repeating subunits.

Example: polypeptide, trigliceride, etc

Polysaccharide

A glucose-based polymer made of many sugars bonded together.

Example: cellulose

Potential energy

Energy stored in the bonds of molecules that can be released when that bond is broken.

Specific heat

The amount of thermal energy needed to increase the temperature of a specific substance by one degree C.

Thermal energy

Energy associated with random movement of atoms and molecules.

Example: 100 degrees C

Valence electrons

The number of electrons in the outer shell of an atom.

Example: carbon has four