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General Biology: Cell Biology and Biochemistry Study Guide

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Terms in this set (34)

  • What determines the properties of organic compounds?
    The size and shape of the carbon skeleton and the atoms attached to it.
  • What is a chemical group?
    Atoms attached to the carbon skeleton that affect the function of a molecule.
  • Example of molecules with the same carbon skeleton but different chemical groups?
    Testosterone and estradiol.
  • What is a hydroxyl group and where is it found?
    A hydrogen atom attached to an oxygen atom (-OH); found in alcohols.
  • What is a carbonyl group and where is it found?
    A carbon atom double bonded to oxygen; found in simple sugars.
  • What is a carboxyl group and its chemical property?
    A carbon double bonded to oxygen and bonded to hydroxyl (-COOH); donates H+, making it acidic.
  • What is an amino group and its function?
    Nitrogen bonded to two hydrogens (-NH2); picks up H+ from solution, forming amines.
  • Which chemical groups are polar and hydrophilic?
    Hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, and phosphate groups.
  • Which chemical group is non-polar, hydrophobic, and non-reactive?
    The methyl group (-CH3).
  • What are the four main classes of macromolecules?
    Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids.
  • What is a polymer?
    A long molecule made of many similar or identical monomers linked in a chain.
  • What is a dehydration reaction?
    A reaction that removes water to bond two molecules together; requires enzymes.
  • What is hydrolysis?
    The digestion of polymers into monomers by adding water; requires enzymes.
  • Are most carbohydrates hydrophilic or hydrophobic?
    Hydrophilic, due to many hydroxyl groups.
  • What is the general formula for monosaccharides?
    A multiple of CH2O, e.g. glucose is C6H12O6.
  • What are polysaccharides and their function?
    Hundreds or thousands of monosaccharides linked; function as storage and structural molecules.
  • What is starch and its function in plants?
    A storage polysaccharide that coils into a helical shape; serves as carbohydrate storage.
  • What is glycogen?
    A highly branched glucose storage polysaccharide in animals, mainly in liver and muscle cells.
  • What is cellulose?
    A glucose polymer forming cable-like microfibrils; major component of plant cell walls.
  • What is chitin and where is it found?
    A structural polysaccharide in insect and crustacean exoskeletons and fungal cell walls.
  • Are lipids hydrophobic or hydrophilic?
    Hydrophobic; they do not mix well with water.
  • What are the three important types of lipids?
    Fats, phospholipids, and steroids.
  • What is a fat (triglyceride)?
    Three fatty acids linked to a glycerol molecule.
  • Difference between saturated and unsaturated fatty acids?
    Saturated have no double bonds and are solid at room temperature; unsaturated have double bonds and are liquid.
  • What is the main function of fats?
    Energy storage, storing twice as much energy per gram as carbohydrates.
  • What is the structure and role of phospholipids in membranes?
    Glycerol, two fatty acids (hydrophobic tails), and a phosphate group (hydrophilic head); form bilayers in membranes.
  • What is a protein?
    A polymer made of amino acid monomers.
  • What are the 8 roles of proteins?
    Enzymes, transport, defense, signaling, receptors, contractile, structural, and storage proteins.
  • What is a peptide bond?
    A covalent bond formed by dehydration between amino and carboxyl groups of amino acids.
  • What are the four levels of protein structure?
    Primary (sequence), secondary (local folding), tertiary (3D shape), quaternary (multiple polypeptides).
  • What is denaturation?
    Loss of protein shape and function due to environmental factors like heat.
  • What are nucleotides?
    Monomers of nucleic acids, composed of a 5-carbon sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogenous base.
  • Base pairing rules in DNA?
    Adenine pairs with thymine; guanine pairs with cytosine via hydrogen bonds.
  • What is ATP and why is it an energy carrier?
    Adenosine triphosphate stores energy in its negatively charged phosphate bonds, which release energy when hydrolyzed.