Biochemistry: Inorganic and Organic Compounds

Vocabulary flashcards covering key concepts from lecture notes on inorganic compounds, pH, buffers, synthesis/hydrolysis reactions, and carbohydrates.

Organic compounds

Complex, carbon-containing chemical compounds that contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Inorganic compounds

Simpler chemical compounds that do not contain carbon in their molecular formula, such as water.

Glucose

An organic compound and simple hexose sugar with the molecular formula $C_6H_{12}O_6$, referred to as blood sugar in AMP.

Universal solvent

A designation for water due to its polarity and high chemical reactivity, allowing it to readily form bonds with and dissolve solutes.

Solvent

A liquid substance in which a solute (molecule, salt, or ion) dissolves into solution.

Polar molecule

A molecule containing two poles or regions with opposite charges, such as water's net negative oxygen region and net positive hydrogen regions.

Ions

Charged particles produced when inorganic salts disassociate or break apart in water.

Cations

Positively charged ions, such as sodium, potassium, and calcium ions.

Anions

Negatively charged ions, such as chloride ion.

Electrolytes

The collective term used in physiology for cations and anions.

Acids

Chemical compounds defined as proton, electron, or hydrogen donors that give up hydrogen ions in solution.

Bases

Chemical compounds defined as proton, electron, or hydrogen acceptors.

Neutralization reactions

Reactions in the body that rearrange strong acids and bases into harmless substances like table salt ($NaCl$) and water ($H_2O$).

pH

A quantitative measure of hydrogen ion concentration, abbreviated as $[H^+]$.

Acidic solution

A fluid with a pH less than 7 ($pH < 7$), characterized by a higher hydrogen ion concentration.

Basic (Alkaline) solution

A fluid with a pH greater than 7 ($pH > 7$), characterized by a lower hydrogen ion concentration.

Carbonic acid

A main natural fluid buffer in the body used to transport metabolic carbon dioxide waste safely back to the lungs.

Polymers (Macromolecules)

Large complex molecules composed of many repeating building blocks called monomers.

Monomers

Single individual chemical building blocks that join together to synthesize polymers.

Dehydration synthesis reactions

Chemical reactions that build polymers from monomers by covalently bonding them together while releasing a molecule of water.

Hydrolysis

A chemical reaction that uses water to lyse or break covalent bonds in polymers to break them down into monomers.

Monosaccharides

Single simple sugars that serve as the monomer building blocks for carbohydrates, such as glucose, galactose, and fructose.

Isomers

Molecules that have the exact same molecular formula (such as $C_6H_{12}O_6$) but different structural molecular arrangements.

Disaccharides

Double sugars formed by linking two monosaccharides together through dehydration synthesis.

Polysaccharides

Complex carbohydrates composed of long branched chains consisting of three or more sugar units.