Chapter 2 Biological Molecules Flashcards
What are the 4 classes of large biological molecules that all living things are made up of?
carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids
what are macromolecules
polymers composed of thousands of covalently connected atoms
what is a polymer
long molecules consisting of many similar building blocks
what is a monomer
the small subunit building-block molecules
which 3 of the 4 classes of life’s organic molecules are polymers
carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids
what are carbohydrates
includes sugars and polymers of sugars
what are simple carbohydrates called
monosaccharides
what are carbohydrate macromolecules called
polysaccharides
what is starch
a storage polysaccharide of plants
what are lipids
the one class of large biological molecules that do not form polymers
are lipids hydrophobic or hydrophilic
hydrophobic
what are the most biologically important lipids
fats, phospholipids, and steroids
what is the major function of fats
energy storage
what do adipose tissue do
cushion vital organs
what is a phospholipid made of
two fatty acids and a phosphate group attached to glycerol
