Biochemistry and Carbon Chemistry Flashcards

Vocabulary flashcards covering organic chemistry concepts, carbon bonding, macromolecules, and carbohydrate structures based on the lecture transcript.

Organic Compound

Any compound that contains the element carbon and is found in any organism that is living or was once living.

Inorganic Compound

A compound derived from substances that were never living.

Carbon

The second most abundant element in living organisms that can share four electrons to bond with four additional atoms through stable, high-energy covalent bonds.

Other Elements of Life

Elements that regularly combine with carbon to form organic molecules, specifically Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorus, and Sulfur.

Valence of Primary Elements

The bonding capacity of key biological elements: Hydrogen (valence = $1$), Oxygen (valence = $2$), Nitrogen (valence = $3$), and Carbon (valence = $4$).

Macromolecules

Giant molecules formed by polymerization, which include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.

Monomer

A smaller molecular unit that joins together with other units to form a polymer.

Polymer

A large molecule created by the joining together of smaller monomer units.

Polymerization

The process of joining monomers together to form polymers.

Carbohydrates

Biological macromolecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a $1:2:1$ ratio, used by living things as quick energy.

Monosaccharides

Simple sugars with the chemical formula $\text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6$ and a $1:2:1$ C:H:O ratio, including glucose, galactose, and fructose.

Isomers

Molecules that share the same chemical formula (such as $\text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6$) but have different structural arrangements.

Disaccharides

Carbohydrate molecules formed when two monosaccharides are combined through a dehydration synthesis reaction.

Dehydration Synthesis Reaction

A chemical process that combines two monosaccharides to form a disaccharide and water ($\text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 + \text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 \rightarrow \text{C}_{12}\text{H}_{22}\text{O}_{11} + \text{H}_2\text{O}$).

Sucrose

Table sugar; a disaccharide formed from glucose + fructose.

Maltose

Malt sugar; a disaccharide formed from glucose + glucose.

Lactose

Milk sugar; a disaccharide formed from glucose + galactose.

Polysaccharides

Complex carbohydrates made of three or more monosaccharides linked together into rigid long chains of glucose (starches).

Glycogen

A polysaccharide used for energy storage in animals.

Chitin

A structural polysaccharide found in insects, crustaceans, and fungi.

Starch

A polysaccharide used for energy storage in plants, consisting of linked glucose units.

Cellulose

A structural polysaccharide in plants that provides strength and rigidity in the cell wall.