molecular building blocks

Question 1

what are the main elements of life

Answer 1

hydrogen
oxygen
carbon
nitrogen
phosphorous

Question 2

at what temperature is the maximum density of water

Answer 2

4 degrees celcius

Question 3

what are the characteristics of living organisms (6)

Answer 3

made from one or more cells
capable of reproduction
respond to the environment
adapt and change
require a source of energy
growth & development

Question 4

what are the levels of organisation of a chemical

Answer 4

atom –> molecule –> macromolecule

Question 5

what is an atom

Answer 5

the simplest level of a chemical

Question 6

what is a molecule

Answer 6

two or more atoms

Question 7

what is a macromolecule

Answer 7

large, complex biologically important molecules inside cells made from simple molecules such as sugars, lipids and amino acids
most are polymers

Question 8

what functions do macromolecules have

Answer 8

osmotic
structural
optical
enzymatic
and more

Question 9

what are the structures of macromolecules like

Answer 9

very heterogenous - not from the same source
specific conformations are associated to definite functions

Question 10

examples of macromolecules (5)

Answer 10

haemoglobin
DNA
glycogen
rhodopsin
collagen

Question 11

what are organelles

Answer 11

aggregates of macromolecules used to carry out a specific function in the cell

Question 12

examples of single cell life

Answer 12

bacteria
simple fungi
amoeba

Question 13

what can multicellular organisms do (3)

Answer 13

specialise their cells
intercellular communiation
differentiation

Question 14

what is the function of water

Answer 14

acts as a solvent
best at dissolving iconic and polar compounds

Question 15

describe the polarity of water

Answer 15

the electron density is uneven
because of oxygen
so it has electronegativity

Question 16

at what temperature range is water liquid

Answer 16

0 too 100 degrees celcius

Question 17

describe the bonding in water

Answer 17

hydrogen bonding
electronegative atoms eg O or N can attract H atoms from other molecules
partial sharing of this proton leads to a mutual attraction between the two atoms
not a covalent bond
weak
important in protein and DNA structures and responsible for the unusual properties of water

Question 18

what does water not interact with

Answer 18

non-polar substances
lipids
aromatic groups
hydrophobic compounds

Question 19

what is the general formula for carbohydrates

Answer 19

Cn(H20)n

Question 20

what are monosaccharides

Answer 20

chain of carbons, hydroxyl groups, one carbonyl group
eg glucose

Question 21

what structure do monosaccharides exist as
and why

Answer 21

ring structures
because the aldehyde or ketone groups react with a hydroxyl group of the same molecule

Question 22

what are amino sugars

Answer 22

they contain an amino (NH2) group
they are often acelyated
eg glucosamine

Question 23

what are the 4 types of sugar derivatives

Answer 23

aminosugars
alcohol sugars
phosphorylated
sulphated

Question 24

give an example of an alcohol sugar

Answer 24

sorbitol

Question 25

what are phosphorylated sugars

Answer 25

they contain phosphate groups eg glucose 6 phosphate

Question 26

what are sulphated sugars

Answer 26

they contain sulphate groups eg heparin, chondroitin sulphate they can absorb a large volume of water

Question 27

how are glycosides formed

Answer 27

the hydroxyl group of a monosaccharide reacts with an OH or NH group to form a glycoside with a glycosidic bond

Question 28

what are the 2 types of glycosidic bonds

Answer 28

O - glycosidic bonds N - glycosidic bonds

Question 29

what do O glycosidic bonds form

Answer 29

disaccarides, oligosaccarides and polysaccarides

Question 30

where are N glycosidic bonds formed

Answer 30

nucleotides and DNA

Question 31

what are oligosaccharides

Answer 31

disaccharides that contain 2 monosaccharides joined by an O glycosidic bond they contain 3 - 12 monosaccharides they are products of digestion of polysaccharides or part of complex lipids/proteins

Question 32

what are polysaccharides

Answer 32

they are formed by thousands of monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds eg starch & glycogen

Question 33

what is the energy storage in plants

Answer 33

starch

Question 34

what is the energy storage in animals

Answer 34

glycogen

Question 35

what are proteogylcans

Answer 35

long unbranched polysaccharides radiating from a core protein

Question 36

what makes up the ECM

Answer 36

proteoglycans and proteins such as collagen

Question 37

what are fatty acids

Answer 37

lipids have a straight C chain (mostly 16-20) with a methyl group and a carboxyl group at the ends

Question 38

what is the trend of the melting group in fatty acids

Answer 38

decreases with degree of unsaturation (fluidity)

Question 39

what are 5 common unsaturated fatty acids

Answer 39

palmitoleic acid oleic acid linoleic acid linolenic acid arachidonic acid

Question 40

what are unsaturated fatty acids

Answer 40

contain double bonds between carbon atoms

Question 41

what are saturated fatty acids

Answer 41

contain no double bonds between carbon atoms

Question 42

what are phosphoacylglycerols

Answer 42

they derive from phosphatidic acid they are formed from fatty acids esterified to glycerol and phosphorylated at C3

Question 43

what are sphinogolipids

Answer 43

they derive from ceramide (serine, palmitic acid and another fatty acid)

Question 44

what are eicosanoids

Answer 44

synthesised from fatty acids with 20 C with 3,4,5 double bonds they have major biological functions

Question 45

what forms a nucleotide

Answer 45

nitrogenous base sugar phosphate

Question 46

what are nitrogenous bases

Answer 46

they have N which can take up a sugar

Question 47

what are examples of nucleotides (3)

Answer 47

nucleoside monophosphate (NMP) nucleoside diphosphate (NDP) nucleoside triphosphate (NTP)

Question 48

what is the structure of an amino acid

Answer 48

carbon with carboxyl group amino group side chain with R groups

Question 49

what determines the charge of an amino acid

Answer 49

it is determined by all 3 components it changes with the pH of the environment

Question 50

what determines the polarity of an amino acid

Answer 50

the side chain determines polarity (hydrophilicity) or nonpolarity (hydrophobicity)

Question 51

give 5 examples of amino acids

Answer 51

serine glutamic acid leucine tyrosine lysine

Question 52

what is the dissociation of amino acids

Answer 52

at different pH carboxyl and amino groups are ionised (charged) some amino acids also have ionisable side chains

Question 53

what are non-polar amino acids

Answer 53

they are hydrophobic

Question 54

give 6 non polar amino acids

Answer 54

glycine alanine proline valine leucine isoleucine

Question 55

give 5 polar amino acids

Answer 55

methionine cysteine glutamine serine threonine

Question 56

give 3 aromatic amino acids

Answer 56

phenylalanine tyrosine tryptophan

Question 57

what is a peptide bond

Answer 57

a bond between amino acids to form proteins formed via condensation reaction which releases water

Question 58

what determines folding of a protein

Answer 58

charged interactions flexibility physical dimentions

Question 59

give 4 examples of protein structure-function relationship

Answer 59

immunoglobulins fibrous proteins: collagen enzymes channel and carrier proteins, receptors and neurotransmitters