Organic Molecules and pH

Vocabulary flashcards based on lecture notes about organic molecules, macromolecules, and pH.

Organic molecules

Molecules that contain carbon covalently bound to hydrogen.

Carbon Bonding

Carbon has 4 electrons in its outer shell and bonds covalently to fill its outer shell with 8 electrons.

Functional Groups

Carbonyl, hydroxyl, carboxyl

Carbohydrates

Organic molecules containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a ratio described by their name.

Monosaccharides

Simple sugars like glucose, galactose, and fructose.

Disaccharide

Formed when two monosaccharides are joined covalently.

Polysaccharides

Chains of repeating glucose subunits, like starch and glycogen.

Lipids

Molecules insoluble in polar solvents like water; consists primarily of hydrocarbon chains and rings.

Triglycerides

Formed by dehydration synthesis of 1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids.

Saturated Fatty Acids

Hydrocarbon chains of fatty acids joined by single covalent bonds.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Hydrocarbon chains with double bonds; more liquid form like oil.

Phospholipids

Lipids containing a phosphate group; phosphate part is polar and hydrophilic, lipid part is nonpolar and hydrophobic.

Micelles

Aggregate of phospholipids in water where polar parts interact with water and nonpolar parts are hidden in the middle.

Surfactant

Reduces surface tension

Steroids

Nonpolar and insoluble in water; have three 6-carbon rings joined to a 5-carbon ring.

Cholesterol

Precursor for steroid hormones and a component of cell membranes.

Prostaglandins

Fatty acids with a cyclic hydrocarbon group, produced and active in most tissues, serve many regulatory functions.

Proteins

Long chains of amino acids (20 different types).

Peptide bond

Covalent bond that links two amino acids together.

Primary structure

a sequence of amino acids

Secondary structure

caused by weak H bonding of amino acids results in alpha helix or beta pleated sheet shapes

Tertiary structure

caused by bending and folding of polypeptide chains to produce 3-dimentional shape

Quaternary structure

forms when a number of polypeptide chains are covalently joined

Nucleic acid

DNA and RNA- long chains of nucleotides which consists of 5-carbon sugar, phosphate group and a nitrogenous base

Purines

guanine or adenine

Pyrimidines

cytosine or thymine

RNA

sugar Ribose is bonded to 1 of 4 bases

Dehydration synthesis

Bonding together of subunits to form a longer molecule, in a reaction that also results in the production of a molecule of water

Hydrolysis

The splitting of a larger molecule into its subunits, in a reaction that also results in the breaking of a water molecule

Acid

releases protons (H+) in a solution

Base

lower H+ levels of a solution

Buffer

a system of molecules and ions that acts to prevent changes in H+ concentration and thus serves to stabilize the pH of a solution.

Acidosis

pH <7.35

Alkalosis

pH > 7.45

pH equation

pH = log 1/[H+]

pH >7 (7-14)

basic number

pH <7 (0-7)

acidic number

peptide bond

covalent bond that links two amino acids together in a protein or peptide chain

nucleotide

basic building block of nucleic acids—DNA and RNA

complementary base pairing

in double-stranded DNA, each nitrogenous base on one strand pairs with a specific, complementary base on the opposite strand