Chapter 5 Vocabulary Flashcards
(39 cards)
Purines
Purines are larger than pyrimidines, with a six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring. Adenine and Guanine are purines.
Pyrimidines
A pyrimidine has a six-membered ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms. They include cytosine, thymine, and uracil.
Double Helix
Cellular DNA molecules have two polynucleotides that spiral around an imaginary axis, forming a double helix.
Polynucleotides
Nucleic acids are macro molecules that exist as POLYMERS called polynucleotides. Each polynucleotide consists of monomers called nucleotides.
Nucleotide
A nucleotide is composed of three parts, a nitrogenous base, and pentose, and a phosphate group.
Pentose
Pentose is a five-carbon sugar
Chaperone Proteins(Chaperonins)
Protein molecules that assist the proper folding of other proteins. Chaperonins do not specify the correct final structure of the protein, but rather keep the new polypeptide segregated from “bad influences” and it folds spontaneously.
Denaturation
If pH, salt concentration, temperature, or other aspects of the environment are altered, the protein may unravel and lose its native conformation. Because it is misshapen, the denatured protein is biologically inactive.
Di-sulfide Bridges(Covalent)
Di-sulfide bridges form where two cysteine monomers, amino acids with sulfhydyl groups on their side chains, are brought close together by the folding of the protein.
Glycosidic linkage
A covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction.
Monomers
The repeating units that serve as building blocks
Polymers
A polymer is a large molecule that consists of many similar or identical building blocks linked by covalent bonds, such as a train consists of many cars linked together.
Condensation Reaction & Dehydration Reaction
Monomers are connected to one another by a reaction through the loss of a water molecule. Since this reaction makes bonds between two monomers, it is a condensation reaction. However, since a water molecule is taken out, it is also a dehydration reaction.
Enzymes
Enzymes are specialized proteins that speed up chemical reactions in cells.
Hydrolysis
Hydrolysis is the addition of water in order to break a covalent bond between two monomers. A hydroxyl group(-OH) bonds to one monomer, and a Hydrogen(-H) bonds to the other.
The Digestive Process
Digestion hydrolyzes through the use of enzymes in order to speed up the digestive process. The monomers are then absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed to all the cells. Later on, the monomers can be reassembled or made into other polymers. The new polymers perform specific functions required by the cell.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates include both sugars and the polymers and monomers of sugars.
Monosaccharides
The simplest sugars, usually take some form of CH2O. They are made of a carbonyl group(>C=O) and multiple hydroxyl groups. Glucose and fructose are both monosaccharides.
Disaccharides
A disaccharide is two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage. Maltose and sucrose are both disaccharides, along with lactose.
Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides are macro molecules with a few hundred to a few thousand monosaccarides. They come in two groups: Structural or Storage.
Structural Poly S.
Cellulose is a structural polysaccharide.
Storage Poly S.
Starch is a storage polysaccharide.
Chitin
Chitin is a structural polysaccharide. It is used by arthropods(spiders, insects, crustaceans) to make the exoskeleton.
Fat/Glycerol/Fatty Acid
A fat is constructed from two kinds of smaller molecules: glycerol and fatty acids. A glycerol is an alcohol with three carbons, each bearing a hydroxyl group. A fatty acids has a long carbon skeleton, usually 16-18 carbon atoms in length. At the end of the fatty acid is a carboxyl group, the functional group that gives these molecules the name “fatty acid.”
