BIOL 1406 Chapter 5 Vocabulary Flashcards

Dehydration vs. Hydrolysis

  • Dehydration Reaction:

    • Joins monomers together to form polymers.
    • Water is removed during this process.

  • Hydrolysis Reaction:

    • Breaks polymers apart into individual monomers.
    • Water is added during this process.

  • Role of Water:

    • Water serves a specific, required role as either a product (removed) or a reactant (added) in both processes.

  • Memory Trick:

    • Dehydration = BUILD, water OUT.
    • Hydrolysis = BREAK, water IN.

Carbohydrates

  • Sugar Classifications:

    • Monosaccharide = 11 sugar.
    • Disaccharide = 22 sugars.
    • Polysaccharide = many sugars.

  • Structural Distinctions:

    • Differentiate between aldose and ketose sugars.

  • Monomer vs. Polymer Identification:

    • Glucose is classified as a monomer, not a polymer.
    • Starch and cellulose are classified as polysaccharides.

  • Insoluble Fiber:

    • Refers to specific structural carbohydrates that do not dissolve in water.

  • Memory Trick:

    • Mono = 11, Di = 22, Poly = many.

Lipids

  • Chemical Nature and Bonds:

    • Lipids are hydrophobic due to their reliance on nonpolar C-H bonds.

  • Saturated vs. Unsaturated Fatty Acids:

    • Saturated fatty acids contain straight carbon chains without double bonds.
    • Unsaturated fatty acids contain cis double bonds, which create distinct structural kinks.
    • Cis double-bond kinks affect how fatty acid molecules pack together, directly influencing their membrane or molecular fluidity.
    • Fluidity caused by cis double bonds explains why oils tend to be liquid at room temperature.

  • Amphipathic Molecules:

    • Amphipathic describes a molecule that possesses both hydrophilic (water-attracting) and hydrophobic (water-repelling) regions.

  • Memory Trick:

    • Saturated = straighter.
    • Unsaturated = cis double-bond kink.

Proteins

  • Four Levels of Protein Structure:

    • Primary structure
    • Secondary structure
    • Tertiary structure
    • Quaternary structure

  • Denaturation:

    • Denaturation alters higher-level protein structures while leaving specific core aspects (such as the primary peptide backbone sequence) usually intact.

  • Amino Acid Structure:

    • Individual amino acids differ from one another in their variable R groups (side chains).

  • Bonding and Synthesis:

    • Peptide-bond formation is directly connected to dehydration reactions.

  • Structure-Function Relationship:

    • A protein's specific amino-acid sequence dictates and relates directly to its overall three-dimensional structure.

  • Memory Trick:

    • 11 = primary, 22 = secondary, 33 = tertiary, 44 = quaternary.

Nucleic Acids

  • Nucleotide Structure:

    • A nucleotide consists of 33 essential components:
    • Nitrogenous base
    • Pentose sugar
    • Phosphate group

  • Comparing DNA and RNA:

    • DNA and RNA are distinguished primarily by their pentose sugars (deoxyribose vs. ribose).

  • Function of RNA:

    • RNA plays a major functional role in protein synthesis.

  • Central Flow of Genetic Information:

    • DNA→RNA→protein\text{DNA} \rightarrow \text{RNA} \rightarrow \text{protein}

  • Memory Trick:

    • Nucleotide = Base + Sugar + Phosphate.

Fast Memorization Topics

  • Dehydration:

    • BUILD - water removed

  • Hydrolysis:

    • BREAK - water added

  • Carbohydrates:

    • Mono / Di / Poly

  • Lipids:

    • Hydrophobic; saturated vs. unsaturated

  • Proteins:

    • 44 structure levels; R groups; peptide bonds

  • Nucleic Acids:

    • Nucleotide; DNA→RNA→protein\text{DNA} \rightarrow \text{RNA} \rightarrow \text{protein}