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General Biology: Structure and Function of Large Biological Molecules

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Termini in questo insieme (20)

  • What is a polymer?

    A polymer is a long molecule consisting of many similar building blocks called monomers.

  • What is a monomer?

    A monomer is a repeating unit that serves as a building block of a polymer.

  • What is a dehydration reaction?

    A dehydration reaction joins two monomers by removing a water molecule, forming a new covalent bond.

  • What is hydrolysis?

    Hydrolysis breaks down polymers into monomers by adding a water molecule, breaking the covalent bond.

  • What are carbohydrates composed of?

    Carbohydrates are polymers made of sugar monomers called monosaccharides.

  • Examples of monosaccharides

    Common monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, and galactose.

  • Functions of polysaccharides

    Polysaccharides function in energy storage (starch, glycogen) and structural support (cellulose, chitin).

  • Difference between starch and cellulose

    Starch has α-1,4 glycosidic linkages and is branched; cellulose has β-1,4 linkages and is unbranched, forming microfibrils.

  • What are lipids?

    Lipids are hydrophobic molecules including fats, phospholipids, and steroids, not true polymers.

  • Structure of fats

    Fats are made of glycerol and three fatty acids joined by ester linkages.

  • Difference between saturated and unsaturated fats

    Saturated fats have no double bonds; unsaturated fats have one or more double bonds causing kinks.

  • Function of phospholipids

    Phospholipids form cellular membranes with hydrophilic heads and hydrophobic tails.

  • Role of cholesterol

    Cholesterol is a steroid that stabilizes membrane fluidity in animal cells.

  • What are proteins made of?

    Proteins are polymers of amino acids linked by peptide bonds.

  • Functions of proteins

    Proteins function as enzymes, transporters, receptors, structural components, and in movement.

  • Four levels of protein structure

    Primary: amino acid sequence; Secondary: α-helices and β-sheets; Tertiary: 3D folding; Quaternary: multiple polypeptides.

  • What causes sickle-cell disease?

    A single amino acid substitution in hemoglobin's primary structure causes sickle-cell disease.

  • What is denaturation of proteins?

    Denaturation is the loss of protein structure and function due to environmental changes.

  • What are nucleic acids?

    Nucleic acids are polymers of nucleotides that store and transmit hereditary information.

  • Difference between DNA and RNA nucleotides

    DNA contains nucleotides with bases A, T, C, G; RNA contains A, U, C, G.