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Bio vocab Ch.3
Chemical Context of Life
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Organic compounds | A chemical compound containing the element carbon and usually synthesized by cells. |
| Hydrocarbons | A chemical compound compsed only of the elements carbon and hydrogen |
| carbon skeleton | The chain of carbon atoms that forms the structural backbone of an organic molecule |
| isomers | Oraganic compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and, therefor, different properties. |
| functional groups | An assemblage of atoms commonly attached to the carbon skeletons of organic molecules and unsually involved in chemical reactions. |
| hydrophylic | "water loving",; pertaining to polar, or charged, molecules (or parts of molecules ) that are soluble in water. |
| hydroxyl group | In an organic molecule, a functioanl group consisting of a hydrogen atom bonded to an oxygen atom. |
| carbonyl group | In an organic molecule, a functional group consisting of a carbon atom linked by double bond to an oxygen atom |
| carboxylic acids | An organic compound containing a caboxyl group. |
| amino group | In an organic molecule, a functional group consisting of a nitrogn atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms. |
| amines | An organic compound with one or more amino groups |
| phosphate group | A functioanl group consisting of a phosphorus atom covalently bonded to four oxygen atoms. |
| methyl group | In an organic molecule, a carbon bonded to three hydrogens. |
| macromolecules | A giant molecule in a living organism formed by the joining of smaller molecules: a protein, carbohydrate, or nucleic acid. |
| polymers | A large molecule consisting of many identical or similar molecular units, called monomers, covalently joined together in a chain. |
| monomers | A chemical subunit that serves as a building block of a polymer. |
| dehydration reaction | A chemical process in which two molecules become covalently bonded to each other with the removal of a water molecule. Also called condensation. |
| hydrolysis | A chemical process in which polymers are broken down by the chemical addition of water molecules to the bonds linking their monomers; an essential part of digestion. |
| enzymes | A protein (or RNA molecule) that serves as a biological catalyst, changing the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed into a different molecule in the process |
| carbohydrate | Member of the class of biological molecules consisting of simple single-monomer sugars (monosaccharides), two-monomer sugars (disaccharides), and other multi-unit sugars (polysaccharides). |
| monosaccharides | The simplest carbohydrate; a simple sugar with a molecular formula that is generally some multiple of CH2O. Monosaccharides are the building blocks of disaccharides and polysaccharides. |
| disaccharide | A sugar molecule consiting of two monosaccharides linked by a dehydration reaction. |
| polysaccharide | A carbohydrate polymer consisting of hundreds to thousands of monosaccharides (sugars) linked by dehydration synthesis. |
| starch | A storage polysaccharide found in the roots of plants and certain other cells; a polymer of glucose. |
| glycogen | An extensively branced polysaccharide of many glucose monomers; serves as an energy -storage molecule in liver and muscle cells; the animal equivalent of starch. |
| cellulose | A large polysaccharide composed of many glucose monomers linked into cable-like fibrils that provicde structural support in plant cell walls. |
| chitin | A structural polysaccharide found in many fungal cell walls and in the exoskeletons of arthropods |
| lipids | An organic compound consisting mainly of carbon and hydrogen atoms linked by nonpolar covalent bonds, making the compound mostly hydrophobic. Lipids include fats, phospholipids, and steroids and are insoluble in water. |
| hydrophobic | "Water fearing"; pertaining to nonpolar molecules (or parts of molecules) that do not dissolve in water. |
| fat | A large lipid molecule made form an alcohol called gylcerol and three fatty acids; a triglyderide. Most fats function as energy-storage molecules. |
| unsaturated | Pertianing to fats and fatty acids whose hydrocarbon chains lack the maximum number of hydrogen atoms and therefore have one or more double covalent bonds. Unsaturated fats and fatty acids do not solidify at room temperature. |
| saturated | Pertaining to fats and fatty acids whose hydrocarbon chains contain the maximun number of hydrogens and therefore have no doulbe covalent bonds. Saturated fats and fatty acids solidify at room temperature. |
| phospholipids | A lipid made up of glycerol joined to two fatty acids and a phosphate group, giving the molecule a nonpolar hydrophobic tail and a polar hydrophilic head. Phosphlipids form bilayers that function as biological membranes. |
| steroids | A type of lipid whose carbon skeleton is in the form of four fused rings with various chemical groups attached; examples are cholesterol, testosterone, and estrogen. |
| cholesterol | A steroid that is an important componenet of animal cell membranes and that acts as a precursor molecule for the synthesis of other steroids such as hormones. |
| anabolic steroids | A synthetic variant of the male hormone testosterone that mimics some of its effects |
| Proteins | A functional biological molecule consisting of one or more polypeptides folded into a specific three-dimensional structure.= |
| amino acids | An organic molecule containing a carboxyl group and an amino group; serves as the monomer of proteins.= |
| peptide bond | The covalent linkage between two amino acid units in a polypeptide; formed by a dehydration reaction. = |
| polypeptide | A polymer (chain) of amino acids linked by peptide bonds.= |
| denaturation | A process in which a protein unravels, losing its specific structure and hence function; can be caused by changes in pH or salt concentration or by high temperature. Also refers to the separation of the two strands of the DNA double helix |
| Primary structure | The first level of protein structure, the specific sequence of amino acids making up a polypeptide chain.= |
| Secondary structure | the second level of protein structure; the regular local patterns of coils or folds of a polypeptide chain. = |
| Alpha helix | The spiral shape resulting from the coiling of a polypeptide in a proteins secondary structure. = |
| Pleated sheet | The folded arrangement of a polypeptide in a protein’s secondary structure. = |
| Tertiary structure | The third level of a protein structure; the overall, three-dimensional shape of a polypeptide due to interactions of the R groups of the amino acids making up the chain.= |
| Quaternary structure | The fourth level of protein structure; the shape resulting from the association of two or more polypeptide subunits. = |
| Gene | A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses). Most of the genes of a eukaryote are located in its chromosomal DNA; a few are carried by the DNA of mitochondria and chlorop |
| DNA | Deoxyribonucleic acid – a double stranded helical nucleic acid molecule consisting of nucleotide monomers wit deoxyribose sugar and he nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T), Capable of replicating, is an organism’ |
| Nucleic acids | A polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers; serves as a blueprint for proteins and, through the actions of proteins, for all cellular structures and activities. The two types of nucleic acids are DNA and RNA. = |
| RNA | Ribonucleic acid – A type of nucleic acid consisting of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U); usually single stranded ; functions in protein synthesis and as the gen |
| Nucleotides | An organic monomer consisting of a five=-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group. Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids.= |
| Double helix | The form of native DNA, referring t its two adjacent polynucleotide strands wound into a spiral shape. |
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