Chapter 3: The Molecules of Life
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42 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 Organic compounds | Compounds that contain carbon |
| Organic chemistry | Study of organic compounds |
| Hydrocarbons | Organic molecules that contain only carbon and hydrogen |
| Functional groups | Atoms that form the chemically reactive part of a molecule |
| Macromolecules | Very large molecule in a living organism: protein, polysaccharide, lipid, nucleic acid |
| Polymer | A large molecule consisting of many identical or similar molecular units (monomers) covalently joined together in a chain |
| Monomer | A chemical subunit that serves as a building block of a polymer |
| Dehydration synthesis(condensation) | Chemical process in which a polymer forms as monomers are linked together by the removal of water molecules |
| Hydrolysis | Chemical process in which macromolecules are broken down by the chemical addition of water molecules to the bonds linking their monomers; an essential part of digestion |
| Carbohydrates | Biological molecule consisting of simple single-monomer sugars (monosaccharides), two-monomer sugars (disacchsride) and other multi-unit sugars (polysaccharides) |
| Monosaccharides | Smallest kind of sugar molecule; single sugar unit |
| Isomers | Organic compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and thus different properties |
| Disaccharides | Sugar molecule consisting of two monosacccharides linked by a dehydration (condensation) reaction |
| Polysaccharides | Carbohydrate polymer consisting of hundreds to thousands of monosaccharides linked by covalent bonds |
| Starch | A storage polysaccharide found in the roots of plants and certain other cells; glucose polymer |
| Glycogen | A complex, extensively branched polysaccharide made up of glucose monomers; serves as as energy-storage molecule in liver and muscle cells |
| Cellulose | A large polysaccharide composed of many glucose monomers linked into cable-like fibrils that provide structural support in plant cell walls |
| Hydrophilic | "water-loving"; pertaining to polar or charged molecules (or parts of molecules) that are soluble 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 from an alcohol called glycerol and three fatty acids; a trigyceride; Most fats function as energy-storage |
| Triglyceride | A fat that consists of a molecule of glycerol linked to three fatty acid molecules |
| Unsaturated | Refers 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 maximum number of hydrogens and therefore have no double covalent bonds. Saturates fats and fatty acids solidify at room temperature |
| Atherosclerosis | A cardiovascular disease where growths called plaques develop on inner artery walls narrowing their diameter |
| hydrogenation | The process of converting unsaturated fats to saturated fats by the addition of hydrogen |
| Trans fat | An unsaturated fatty cid produced by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils and present in hardened vegetable oils, most margarines, commercial baked foods and many fried foods |
| Steroids | Type of lipid whose carbon skeleton is in the form of four fused rings; three 6-sided rings and on 5-sided ring; examples include cholesterol, testosterone, estrogen |
| Anabolic steroids | Synthetic variant of the male hormone testosterone that mimics some of its side effects |
| Protein | A biological polymer constructed from amino acids monomers |
| Amino acid | An organic molecule containing a carboxyl group and an amino group; protein monomers |
| Enzyme | Protein that serves as a biological catalyst, changing the rate of a chemical reaction without being changed itself in the process |
| Peptide bond | Covalent linkage between two amino acid molecules in a polypeptide; formed by dehydration reaction |
| Polypeptide | A chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds |
| Primary structure | First level of protein structure; specific sequence of amino acids making up a polypeptide |
| Denaturation | Process where a protein loses its specific conformation and thus its function; separation of strands in the DNA double helix; can be caused by changes in pH, salt concentration, high temperature |
| Nucleic acids | Polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers |
| DNA | Double-stranded helical macromolecule consisting of nucleotide monomers with the sugar deoxyribose and nitrogen bases A,T,G,C |
| RNA | Nucleic acid consisting of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar and nitrogenous bases adenine, cytosine, guanine and uracil |
| Nucleotide | Organic monomer consisting of a five-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group; building blocks of nucleic acids |
| Nitrogenous base | A molecule that contains nitrogen and has the chemical properties of a base |
| Sugar-phosphate backbone | Alternating chain of sugar and phosphate attached to nitrogenous bases |
| Double helix | Native form of DNA; two polynucleotide chains held together with hydrogen bonds and wound into a spiral shape |
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