BIOL 1406 Chapter 5 Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing key concepts, definitions, and memory tricks from BIOL 1406 Chapter 5 study notes.

Dehydration reaction

A chemical reaction that joins monomers to form polymers by removing water.

Hydrolysis

A chemical reaction that breaks polymers into monomers by adding water.

Monosaccharide

A carbohydrate consisting of one sugar.

Disaccharide

A carbohydrate consisting of two sugars.

Polysaccharide

A carbohydrate consisting of many sugars, such as starch and cellulose.

Glucose

A carbohydrate monomer.

Lipids

Hydrophobic molecules characterized by their nonpolar C-H bonds.

Cis double bonds

Bonds in unsaturated fatty acids that create kinks, which affect how fatty acids pack and their fluidity.

Amphipathic

Describing a molecule that has both hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts.

Denaturation

A process that alters protein structure while usually leaving the amino-acid sequence intact.

R groups

The variable groups by which individual amino acids differ from one another.

Peptide bond

A bond connecting amino acids whose formation is connected to dehydration reactions.

Nucleotide

A nucleic acid subunit composed of three components: a nitrogenous base, a pentose sugar, and a phosphate group.

Central flow of genetic information

The sequence of genetic information transfer from DNA to RNA to protein.