Cell as a Factory, Carbohydrates, Lipids, and ATP

Flashcards about cell as a factory, carbohydrates, lipids, and ATP.

Carbohydrates

molecules that are a good source of stored energy, readily transported, and whose carbon skeletons can act as substrates for other reactions.

Monosaccharides

Simple sugars; glucose is an example.

Disaccharides

Two simple sugars linked by covalent bonds.

Oligosaccharides

Intermediate sized sugar of three to 20 monosaccharides roughly.

Polysaccharides

Bigger versions of oligosaccharides, lots and lots of individual sugar molecules being linked together.

Alpha or Beta Glucose Forms

Structural isomers of a glucose molecule that can interconvert between each other.

Hexoses

Monosaccharides such as glucose, often used as fuel sources.

Pentoses

Five carbon sugars found in DNA nucleotides (deoxyribose and ribose).

Glycosidic Linkage

A covalent bond between two monosaccharides, such as in sucrose.

Starch

A highly branched carbohydrate structure used by plants to store glucose.

Glycogen

The form in which humans store glucose, primarily in muscle tissue and the liver. It is a more branched structure than starch.

Cellulose

A polysaccharide that forms plant cell walls, providing structural stability.

Lipids

Hydrocarbons that are a good fuel source and can pack a lot of energy into a small amount of space.

Triglycerides

Most fats and oils, consisting of three fatty acid chains linked to a glycerol molecule.

Saturated Fatty Acids

Fatty acids with no double bonds, resulting in a linear structure that is solid at room temperature.

Unsaturated Fatty Acids

Fatty acids with one or more double bonds, causing them to be twisted and liquid at room temperature (oils).

Amphipathic

Having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties, as seen in fatty acids and phospholipids.

Phospholipids

Lipid molecules with a hydrophilic phosphate group head and hydrophobic fatty acid tails, forming cell membranes.

ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate)

A nucleotide that acts as a store and enables the cell to capture free energy.

Luciferase

An enzyme that catalyzes bioluminescence, converting luciferin to oxyluciferin and light in the presence of oxygen and ATP.

Redox Reactions

Reactions involving the transfer of electrons from one molecule to another, with oxidation being the loss of electrons and reduction being the gain of electrons.

NAD (Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide)

A coenzyme and electron carrier that captures electrons and passes them on to other processes in the cell.

Glycolysis

The process of converting glucose into pyruvate.

Cellular Respiration

The set of metabolic reactions and processes that take place in the cells to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate (ATP), and then release waste products.