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Hydrocarbons: organic molecules consisting of only carbon and hydrogen
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A fat molecule: consists of a small, nonhydrocarbon component joined to three hydrocarbon tails that account
for the hydrophobic behavior of fats. The tails can be broken down to provide energy
Isomers: Variation in the architecture of organic molecules can be seen in isomers, compounds that have the
same numbers of hence different properties
Structural isomers: differ in the covalent arrangements of their atoms.
cis-trans isomers: (formerly called geometric isomers), carbons have covalent bonds to the same atoms, but
these atoms differ in their spatial arrangements due to the inflexibility of double bonds.
o The subtle difference in shape between such isomers can dramatically affect the biological activities of
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organic molecules.
Enantiomers are isomers that are mirror images of each other and that differ in shape due to the presence of an
asymmetric carbon, one that is attached to four different atoms or groups of atoms.
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Female Hormone—Male Hormone
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Functional groups are chemical groups that affect molecular function by being directly involved in chemical
reactions. The 7 most important are hydroxyl, carbonyl, carboxyl, amino, sulfhydryl, phosphate, and methyl
groups. Each functional group participates in chemical reactions in a characteristic way from one organic
molecule to another.
Hydroxyl
o
o
bound to an oxygen atom and then a carbon skeleton
Alcohols ( usually end in -ol)
o
o
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Ex.
Polar because of the oxygen atom on the end and can form hydrogen bonds with water to help dissolve
things like sugar
Carbonyl
o
o
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Ketones (if in a carbon skelton) and Aldehyde (if at the end of a carbon structure) are structural isomers
in the group of Carbonyl
o Ex.
o Both sub groups are found in two major groups of sugars: ketoses and aldoses
Carboxyl
o
o
o
o
Carboxylic acids (organic acid)
Ex.
Acts as an acid because it can donate an H+ from the OH so it is generally found in cells with a -1 charge
and referred to as a carboxylate ion
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Amino
o
o
Amines
o
o
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Ex.
The counter to the carboxyl group, Amino are found within cells with a +1 charge as it picks up H+ from
the surrounding solution so basic
Sulfhydryl
o
o
Thiols
o
o
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Ex.
When two Sulfhydryl groups react they form a covalent bond that helps stabilize protein structures
(reason hair can be curly and be curled when bonds are broken or made)
Phosphate
o
o
Organic phosphates (more complicated organic phosphate, adenosine triphosphate, or ATP)
o
o
Ex.
Contributes -2 charge when at the end of a molecule or -1 when in the middle of a chain
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Methyl
o
o
o
o
Methylated Compounds
Found in DNA or molecules bound to DNA, methyl affects gene expressions and is also found in male
and female sec hormones and influences shape and function
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ATP is formed when three of the phosphate groups bind (HOPO3 2-). When one phosphate group splits off
because of a reaction with water it becomes ADP. ATP has the potential to react with water so it commonly
referred to as “energy”.
o
Macromolecules are molecules like carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids because they are huge. They are
chain-like molecules called polymers. Monomers are the individual smaller molecules that make up polymers.
Enzymes are specialized macromolecules that speed up chemical reactions and help to break down polymers.
Dehydration reaction is when two monomers are bound together to make a polymer and a water molecule is
created
Hydrolysis is when a water molecule is consumed to break a polymer into monomers
Carbohydrates: include both sugars and polymers of sugars.
Monosaccharides: generally have molecular formulas that are some multiple of the unit CH2O. Simplest
carbohydrates are the monosaccharides, or simple sugars.
Disaccharide: consists of two monosaccharide
Glycosidic linkage, a covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction.
Polysaccharides are macromolecules, polymers with a few hundred to a few thousand monosaccharides joined
by glycosidic linkages
Starch is a polymer of glucose monomers, as granules within cellular structures known as plastids, which include
chloroplasts
Glycogen is a polymer of glucose that is like amylopectin but more extensively branched Humans and other
vertebrates store glycogen mainly in liver and muscle cells.
Cellulose is a major component of the tough walls that enclose plant cells made of polysaccharides
lipids are grouped together because they share one important trait: They mix poorly
fat is constructed from two kinds of smaller molecules: glycerol and fatty acids
An unsaturated fatty acid has one or more double bonds
saturated fatty acid has no double bonds
Triacylglycerol is formed when a bond between a hydroxyl group and a carboxyl group. The resulting fat, also
called a triacylglycerol, thus consists of three fatty acids linked tone glycerol molecule
Phospholipids are essential for cells because they make up cell membranes.
Steroids are lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four fused rings
Cholesterol is a crucial molecule in animals. It is a common component of animal cell membranes and is also the
precursor from which other steroids are synthesized
Enzymatic proteins regulate metabolism by acting as catalysts
polypeptides are Polymers of amino acids
A protein is a biologically functional molecule that consists of one or more polypeptides, each folded and coiled
into a specific three dimensional structure
o primary structure of a protein is a linked series of amino acids with a unique sequence.
o secondary structure include coils and folds and are the result of hydrogen bonds between the repeating
constituents of the polypeptide backbone (not the amino acid side chains)
o Beta pleated sheet is the third structure where two or more strands of the polypeptide chain lying side
by side (called βstrands) are connected by hydrogen bonds between parts of the two parallel
polypeptide backbones
chaperonins (also called chaperone proteins), protein molecules that assist in the proper folding of other
proteins
A gene is an amino acid sequence of a polypeptide is programmed by a discrete unit of inheritance
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1.
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Nucleic acids are polymers made of monomers called nucleotides.
o two types of nucleic acids, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA),
Nucleic acids are macromolecules that exist as polymers called polynucleotides
each polynucleotide consists of monomers called nucleotides
Pyrimidine has one six-membered ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms. The members of the pyrimidine family are
cytosine (C), thymine(T), and uracil (U).
Purines are larger, with a six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring. The purines are adenine (A) and
guanine (G).
In DNA the sugar is deoxyribose; in RNA it is ribose. The only difference between these two sugars is that
deoxyribose lacks an oxygen atom on the second carbon in the ring; hence the name deoxyribose.
DNA molecules have two polynucleotides, or “strands,” that spiral around an imaginary axis, forming a double
helix
Antiparallel 3’ and 5’ to 5’ and 3’ in DNA structure
antiparallel
Distinguish molecules are organic
Different types of bond
Configuration
Identify functional groups
Ph and basic vs. acidic
Dehydration and hydrolysis and know the products of the reaction
Polymer formation
Macromolecules ( composition )
Protein structures
Denaturing a protein, nitrogenous bases