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Biological molecules Flashcards

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1
Q

What is activation energy?

A

Energy required to bring about a reaction

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2
Q

What is an active site?

A

A group of amino acids that makes up the region of an enzyme into which the substate fits to catalyse a reaction.

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3
Q

What are alpha glucose?

A

An isomer of glucose that can bond together to form starch or glycogen.

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4
Q

What is the amine group?

A

The -NH2 group of an amino acid

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5
Q

What are amino acids?

A

A monomer which makes up proteins. Has a central carbon atom which is bonded to: a carboxylic acid group, an amino group, a hydrogen atom and a R group.

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6
Q

What is Benedict’s reagent?

A

Blue solution which is used to test for reducing and non-reducing sugars

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7
Q

What are beta glucose?

A

An isomer of glucose that can bond together to form cellulose

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8
Q

What is the biuret test?

A

A simple biochemical reaction to detect the presence of protein, if the Biuret’s solution turns purple then protein is present

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9
Q

What is the carboxyl group?

A

The -COOH group of an amino acid

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10
Q

What is cellulose?

A

A polysaccharide made up of beta-glucose found in plant cells (beta-1,4-glycosidic bonds).

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11
Q

What is a competitive inhibitor?

A

A form of inhibitor which binds to the active site of the enzyme preventing the binding of substrate.

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12
Q

Describe complimentary

A

Describes the relationship between the active site of an enzyme and the substrate molecule – the way in which they fit together.

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13
Q

What is a condensation reaction?

A

Chemical process in which two molecules combine to form a more complex one with the elimination of a simple substance, usually water. Many biological polymers (e.g. polysaccharides, polypeptides) are formed by condensation.

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14
Q

What are covalent bonds?

A

Type of chemical bond in which two atoms share a pair of electrons,

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15
Q

What are disaccharides?

A

Made up of two sugar units that are formed by a condensation reaction. Monosaccharides are joined by a glycosidic bond.

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16
Q

What are disulphide bridges?

A

Bond formed between Sulphur atoms in R groups of amino acids.

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17
Q

What is an emulsion test?

A

Test for lipids. Mix your sample with ethanol and then add water. If a white cloudy emulsion forms, then a lipid is present

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18
Q

What are enzymes?

A

A protein that acts as a catalyst and so lowers the activation energy needed for a reaction.

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19
Q

What is an enzyme-substrate (ES) complex?

A

The intermediate formed when a substrate molecule interacts with the active site of an enzyme.

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20
Q

What are glucose?

A

C6H1206 - a single sugar which is used in respiration.

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21
Q

What is glycerol?

A

A molecule which combines with three fatty acids to form triglycerides. I is 3 carbon chain with 3 hydroxyl groups.

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22
Q

What is glycogen?

A

A highly branched polysaccharide made up of alpha-glucose found in animal cells (alpha-1,4- and alpha-1,6-glyosidic bonds).

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23
Q

What is a hexose sugar?

A

A sugar made up of 6 carbons

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24
Q

What are glycosidic bonds?

A

Bond between sugar molecules in disaccharides and polysaccharides

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25
What is a hydrogen bond?
Chemical bond formed between the positive charge on a hydrogen atom and the negative charge on another atom of an adjacent molecule. Often between negative oxygen and positive hydrogen atoms
26
What is hydrolysis?
The breaking down of large molecules into smaller ones by the addition of water molecules.
27
Describe hydrophilic
A section of a molecule which is attracted to water.
28
Describe hydrophobic
A section of a molecule which is repulsed by water.
29
Describe the induced fit model
A mechanism of interaction between an enzyme and a substrate. As the substrate fits into the active site the active site of the enzyme changes shape to allow an enzyme-substrate complex to be formed.
30
What is an inhibitor?
A substance which reduces the activity of an enzyme.
31
What are mono-unsaturated fatty acids?
Fatty acid which possesses a carbon chain with a single double bond between carbon atoms.
32
What are ionic bonds?
A bond between a positive ion which has lost an electron(s) and a negative ion which has gained an electron(s).
33
What is an isomer?
Two or more compounds with the same formula but a different arrangement of atoms in the molecule and therefore different properties.
34
What is kinetic energy?
The energy of motion, observable as the movement of an object, particle or set of particles.
35
What are lipids?
A class of organic compounds that are fatty acids are their derivatives and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. They include triglycerides, phospholipids, waxes and steroids.
36
Describe the lock and key model
An analogy for how enzymes work - only the correctly sized key (substrate) fits into the keyhole (active site) of the lock (enzyme)
37
What is a monomer?
One of many small molecules that combine together to form a polymer
38
What are non-reducing sugars?
A sugar which cannot serve as a reducing agent. An example is sucrose.
39
What is a nucleotide?
A compound consisting of an organic base and ribose sugar linked to a phosphate group. Nucleotides form monomers of nucleic acids such as DNA
40
What is a peptide bond?
The type of bond that is formed between two amino acids.
41
What is a polypeptide?
Many amino acids joined together by peptide bonds.
42
What is the primary protein structure?
The sequence of amino acids that makes up the polypeptides of a protein.
43
What is the quaternary protein structure?
A number of polypeptide chains linked together, and sometimes associated with non-protein groups to form a protein
44
What is starch?
A polysaccharide found in plant cells made up of alpha-glucose - comprised of amylose (alpha-1,4 glycosidic bonds) and amylopectin (alpha-1,4- and alpha-1,6-glyosidic bonds).
45
Describe the rate of reaction
The speed of a chemical reaction - can be worked out by looking at the decrease in concentration of a reactant over time or increase in concentration of a product over time.
46
What is the test for reducing sugars?
Heat solution with Benedict's reagent to test for reducing sugars. If it goes brick red, then a reducing sugar is present
47
What is the R-group?
Each of the 20 amino acids has a different R group - determines the bonding that the amino acid can carry out.
48
What is metabolism?
All the chemical processes that take place in living organisms.
49
What is a monosaccharide?
A single sugar e.g. glucose. The monomers of long chain carbohydrate polymers
50
What are non-competitive inhibitors?
A form of inhibitor which does not bind at the active site of the enzyme which prevents the binding of substrate.
51
What is the test for non - reducing sugars?
Following a negative reducing sugars test. Heat the solution with CI to hydrolyse the non-reducing sugar into it's monosaccharides. Then perform the Benedict's test again. If you get a positive result after hydrolysis, then a non-reducing sugar is present
52
What are organic molecules?
Molecules containing carbon that can be found in living things; four classes are carbohydrates, proteins (chain of amino acids), lipids, and nucleic acids
53
What is pH?
A figure expressing the acidity or alkalinity of a solution on a logarithmic scale on which 7 is neutral, lower values are more acidic and higher values are more alkaline. Equivalent to -log10(H+].
54
What are phospholipids?
Triglyceride in which one of the three fatty acid molecules is replaced by a phosphate molecule. Phospholipids are important in the structure and functioning of plasma membranes.
55
What are polysaccharides?
Made of many sugar units that are formed by a condensation reaction. Monosaccharides are joined by a glycosidic bond
56
What are poly-unsaturated fatty acids?
Fatty acid which possesses a carbon chain with many double bonds between carbon atoms.
57
What is a protein?
A polymer which is made up of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. May also contain prosthetic groups as part of its quaternary structure.
58
What is a reducing sugar?
A sugar that serves as a reducing agent. All monosaccharides are reducing sugars along with some disaccharides.
59
What are saturated fatty acids?
A fatty acid in which there are no double bonds between the carbon atoms
60
What is the secondary protein structure?
The way in which the chain of amino acids of the polypeptides of a protein is folded.
61
Describe what specific means (in response to reactions)
Describes how each enzyme only catalyses a certain chemical reaction.
62
What is a substrate?
A substance that is acted on or used by another substance or process. Fits into the active site of an enzyme.
63
What is the tertiary protein structure?
The folding of a whole polypeptide chain in a precise way, as determined by the amino acids of which it is composed
64
What is a triglyceride?
An individual lipid molecule made up of a glycerol molecule and three fatty acids. Contains ester bonds.

Biology Glossary (10 decks)

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