Chapter 3: The Molecules of Life

a chemical compound containing carbon and usually synthesized by cells

chemistry involving organic compounds

a chemical compound composed only of the elements carbon and hydrogen

the atoms that forms the chemically reactive part of an organic molecule

a giant molecule in a living organism; included proteins, polysaccharides, and nucleic acids

a large molecule consisting of many identical or similar molecular units, called monomers, covalently joined together in a chain

a chemical subunit that serves as a building block of a polymer

a chemical reaction that removes a molecule of water

a chemical process in which macromolecules are broken down by the chemical addition of water molecules to the bonds linking their monomers; an esential part of digestion; the opposite of dehydration synthesis (adding water)

a biological molecule consisting of simple single-monomer sugars (monosaccharides), 2-monomer sugars (disaccharides), and other multi-unit sugars (polysaccharides)

the smallest kind of sugar molecule; a single unit-sugar; also known as simple sugar; are the complex building blocks of more complex sugars and polysaccharides

a carbohydrate polymer consisting of many monosaccharides (sugars) linked by covalent bonds

a sugar molecule consisting of two monosaccharides linked by dehydration reaction

molecules that have the same molecular formula but different structures

a storage polysaccharide found in the roots of plants and certain other cells; a polymer of glucose

a complex, extensively branched polysaccharide made up of many glucose monomers; serves as an energy-storage molecule in liver and muscle cells

a large polysaccharide composed of many glucose monomers linked into cable like fibrils that provide structural support in plant cell walls because cellulose cannot be digested by animals, it acts as roughage or fiber, in the diet

"water-loving"; pertaining to polar, or charged, molecules (or parts of molecules) which are soluable in water

an organic compound consisting mainly of carbon and hydrogen atoms linked by nonpolar convalent bonds and therefore mostly hydrophobic and insoluble in water; includes fats, waxes, phopholipids, and steroids

"water-fearing"; pertaining to nonpolar molecules (or parts of molecules) which do not dissolve in water

a large lipid molecule made from an alcohol called glycerol and three fatty acids; a triglyceride; most fats function as energy storage molecules

a dietary fat, which consists of a molecule of glycerol linked to three molecules of fatty acid

pertaining to fats and fatty acids whose hydrocarbon chains lack the maximum number of hydrogen atoms and therefore have one or more double covalent bonds; do not solidify at room temperature

pertaining to fats and fatty acids whose hydrocarbon chains contain the maximum number of hydrogens and therefore have no double covalent bonds saturated fats and fatty acids solidify at room temperature

a cardiovascular disease in which growths called plaques develop on the inner walls of the arteries narrowing the passageways through which blood can flow

the process of converting unsaturated fats to saturated fats by the addition of hydrogen

an unsaturated fatty acids produced by the partial hydrogenation of vegetable oils and present in hardened vegetable oils; most margarines, commercial baked foods, and many fried foods

a type of lipid whose carbon skeleton is in the form of four fused rings: 3 6-sides rings and one 5-sided ring (i.e: choleserol, testosterone, and estrogen)

synthetic variants of testosterone

a biological polymer constructed from amino acid monomers

a protein that serves as a biological catalyst, changing the rate of a chemical reaction without itself being changed in the process

an organic molecule containing a carboxyl group, an amino group, a hydrogen atom, and a variable side chain; serves as the monomer of proteins

the covalent linkage between two amino acid units in a polypeptide, formed by a dehydration reaction between two amino acids

a chain of amino acids linked by peptide bonds

the first level of protein structure; the specific sequence of amino acids making up a polypeptide chain

a process in which a protein unravels, losing its specific conformation and hence function; can be caused by changes in pH or salt concentration or by high temperature; also refers to the separation of the two strands of the DNA double helix, caused by similar factors

an organic monomer consisting of a five-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group; are the building blocks of nucleic acids

macromolecules that provide the directions for building proteins

deoxyribonuclic acid; the genetic material that organisms inherit from their parents; a double-stranded helical macromolecule consisting of nucleotide monomers with deoxyribose sugar, a phosphate group, and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T)

ribonucleic acid; a type of nucleic acid consisting of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar, a phosphate group, and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U); usually single-stranded; function in protein syntheisis and the the genome of some viruses

nitrogen containing; accepts hydrogen ions (H+) in aqueous solutions

the alternating chain of sugar and phosphate to which DNA and RNA nitrogenous bases are attached

A specific stretch of DNA that programs the amino acid sequence of a polypeptide

the form assumed by DNA in living cells, referring to its two adjacent polynucleotide strands wound into a spiral shape