Chapter 4 and 5 Biology - Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life and The Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules

Unit 1

Carbon - Ch 4

Main component of organic molecules (carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids)

Organic Molecules - Ch 4

Any molecules with covalently linked carbon and hydrogen atoms

Hydrocarbons - Ch 4

Organic molecules made up of only carbon and hydrogen atoms

Functional Group - Ch 4

Groups of atoms that are reactive/functional and commonly found together

Functional Groups: - Ch 4

Methyl

Hydroxyl

Carbonyl

Carboxyl

Amino

Phosphate

Sulfhydryl

Biomolecules

Organic molecules that are essential to living organisms

Monomers

Single, individual building blocks that can be repetitively linked together to form polymers

Polymer

Long chains of many monomers linked together

Dehydration Synthesis

Forms covalent bonds to link individual monomers and build a polymer

Hydrolysis

Cleaves covalent bonds to break down a polymer

Breaks down polysaccharides into individual monosaccharides

Carbohydrates

Carbon-based molecules hydrated with many hydroxyl groups

Simple Carbohydrates

Fits C_n(H₂O)_n formula exactly

Complex Carbohydrates

Can slightly differ from C_n(H₂O)_n and can also have P, N, or S atoms too

Monosaccharide

A single carbohydrate unit or monomer

Oligosaccharide

2 to ~20 covalently linked monosaccharides

Polysaccharide

20+ covalently linked monosaccharides

Glycosidic Bonds

Covalent bonds that link monosaccharides together

Proteins

A class of biomolecule polymers made of amino acid monomers

Peptide Bonds

Covalent bonds linking adjacent amino acids together

Amino Acids

Monomers of proteins

Amino Acid Components

Central carbon atom

Central hydrogen atom

Amino group

Carboxyl group

Unique R group

Primary of Protein Structure

Types, quantity, and order of amino acids

Determines all other levels of structure

Secondary of Protein Structure

Formation of either alpha-helices or beta-sheets in the protein backbone

Tertiary of Protein Structure

Overall 3-D shape of a polypeptide chain

Quaternary of Protein Structure

Multiple polypeptide chains associate to form a single, functional protein

Denatured Protein

A non-functional protein that has altered its shape

Chaperone Proteins

Proteins that help other proteins reform their shape

Nucleic Acids

A class of biomolecule polymers that store/encode genetic information

Nucleotides

Monomers of “building blocks” of nucleic acid polymers

Pyrimidines

Single-ringed molecules

Cytosine, Thymine, Uracil

Purines

Double-ringed molecules

Adenine, Guanine

Phosphodiester Bonds

The covalent bonds that link nucleotides together

Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA)

Stores genetic/hereditary information in the cell

Ribonucleic Acid (RNA)

Variety of functions, including acting as a template for synthesizing proteins