Macromolecules Week 1 (Quiz Study Set 3)

Triglyceride

A triglyceride is an ester derived from glycerol and three fatty acids. Triglycerides are the main constituents of body fat in humans and other vertebrates, as well as vegetable fat. They are also present in the blood to enable the bidirectional transference of adipose fat and blood glucose from the liver, and are a major component of human skin oils.

Amino Acid

Amino acids are the structural units (monomers) that make up proteins. They join together to form short polymer chains called peptides or longer chains called either polypeptides or proteins.

Nucleic Acids

Are complex biopolymer organic substances present in living cells, especially DNA or RNA, whose molecules consist of many nucleotides linked in a long chain.

What makes carbohydrates and fats such good biological sources of fuel?

Carbohydrates are important to fueling your body because they provide you with energy for daily tasks and are the primary fuel source for your brain's high energy demands. Fiber is a carbohydrate that helps promote good digestive health and may lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes. Fats is an important source of essential fatty acids, which the body cannot make itself. Fat helps the body absorb vitamin A, vitamin D and vitamin E. These vitamins are fat-soluble, which means they can only be absorbed with the help of fats.

Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are the primary fuel for running all cellular machinery and form much of the structure of cells in all life forms. Carbohydrates contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and generally have the same number of carbon atoms as they do H2O units. C-H bonds of carbohydrates store a great deal of energy and are easily broken by organisms. The simplest of these carbohydrates, including glucose, are monosaccharides or simple sugars. Carbohydrates contain from three to six carbon atoms.

Chitin/Cellulose

Chitin: protective exoskeletons that are present in arthropods and the cell walls of fungi. Cellulose: Cellulose is the main substance in the walls of plant cells, helping plants to remain stiff and upright.is a molecule, consisting of hundreds and sometimes even thousands - of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen atoms.

Cholesterol

Cholesterol is an important component of most cell membranes. It can attach to blood vessel walls and cause them to thicken. Cells in our liver produce almost 90% of the circulating cholesterol.

Complete/Incomplete Protein

Complete protein: a food source of protein that contains an adequate proportion of each of the nine essential amino acids necessary in the human diet. Incomplete protein: low or lacking in one or more of the amino acids your body needs to build cells.

Complex carbohydrates

Complex carbohydrates include starch, the primary form of energy storage in plants, and glycogen, a primary form of energy storage in animals.

DNA/RNA

DNA: holds the genetic information to build an organism. DNA is shaped like a ladder in which the long vertical sides of the ladder are made from a sequence of sugar-phosphate-sugar-phosphate molecules and the rungs are pairs of nucleotide bases. The sequence of nucleotide bases in DNA contain the information about how to produce a particular protein. RNA: is a universal translator, reading DNA and directing protein production. from DNA to another part of the cell where, in accordance with the RNA instructions, amino acids are pieced together into proteins. Ways RNA is different from DNA: The sugar molecule of the sugar phosphate backbone Single-stranded Uracil (U) replaces thymine (T)

Denatured Protein

Denatured proteins are the disruption and possible destruction of both the secondary and tertiary protein structures. Since denaturation reactions are not strong enough to break the peptide bonds, the primary structure (sequence of amino acids) remains the same after a denaturation process.

Double Helix

Double helix is the description of the structure of a DNA molecule. A DNA molecule consists of two strands that wind around each other like a twisted ladder. Each strand has a backbone made of alternating groups of sugar (deoxyribose) and phosphate groups. Attached to each sugar is one of four bases: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), or thymine (T). The two strands are held together by bonds between the bases, adenine forming a base pair with thymine, and cytosine forming a base pair with guanine.

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts.

Glucose

Glucose is the most important carbohydrate to living organisms. Glucose in the bloodstream can be used as an energy source, can be stored as glycogen in the muscles and liver for later use, or can be converted to fat.

Compare and contrast Glucose, Glycogen and Fats. Under what situations would you convert food you eat to... Glucose, Glycogen or Fats?

Glucose: a simple sugar which is an important energy source in living organisms and is a component of many carbohydrates. Glycogen: a multi-branched polysaccharide of glucose that is deposited in bodily tissues as a store of carbohydrates. It is a polysaccharide which forms glucose on hydrolysis. Fats: Fat molecules consist of primarily carbon and hydrogen atoms and are therefore hydrophobic and are soluble in organic solvents and insoluble in water. Ex: cholesterol, phospholipids, and triglycerides. When your body is breaking down food it is usually converted to glycogen.

Why are humans evolutionarily predisposed to like fats so much?

Humans like fats because being able to store a lot of fat was one of the main traits that helped us survive for eons.

Hydrophobic/Hydrophilic

Hydrophobic: is the physical property of a molecule that is seemingly repelled from a mass of water. Hydrophilic:is a molecule or other molecular entity that is attracted to water molecules and tends to be dissolved by water.

Lipids

Lipids are macromolecules with several functions, including energy storage. Lipids are non-soluble in water and greasy to the touch. They are valuable to organisms in long-term energy storage and insulation, membrane formation, and in the production of hormones.

Monosaccharide, Disaccharide, Polysaccharide

Monosaccharide: 1 sugar unit Ex: glucose, fructose, and galactose. Disaccharide: 2 sugar units Ex: sucrose, lactose, and maltose Polysaccharide: a carbohydrate (e.g. starch, cellulose, or glycogen) whose molecules consist of a number of sugar molecules bonded together. Ex: starch and glycogen, and structural polysaccharides such as cellulose and chitin.

Olestra (Remember Lays with Olestra)

Olestra is a fat substitute that adds no calories to products. Olestra was popular in the 1990's in the US but then got recalled in the late 1990's because of the side effects associated with olestra. Abdominal cramping and loose stools are common when eating products with olestra.

Phospholipid

Phospholipids are a class of lipids that are a major component of all cell membranes. They can form lipid bilayers because of their amphiphilic characteristic. The structure of the phospholipid molecule generally consists of two hydrophobic fatty acid "tails" and a hydrophilic "head" consisting of a phosphate group. The two components are usually joined together by a glycerol molecule. The phosphate groups can be modified with simple organic molecules such as choline, ethanolamine or serine.

Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Quaternary protein structure

Primary protein structure: the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain. Secondary protein structure: the corkscrew-like twists of pleated folds formed by hydrogen bonds between amino acids in the polypeptide chain. Tertiary protein structure: the complex three dimensional shape formed by multiple twists and bends in the polypeptide chain based on interactions between the side chains. Quaternary protein structure: when two or more polypeptide chains are held together by bonds between the amino acids on the different chains. A good example of this protein is hemoglobin.

Proteins

Proteins are macromolecules formed by amino acids. Proteins polymers of structural units called amino acids. Proteins are macromolecules which are polymers of structural units called amino acids. A total of 20 different amino acids exist in proteins and hundreds to thousands of these amino acids are attached to each other in long chains to form a protein.

Sterols

Sterols, also known as steroid alcohols, are a subgroup of the steroids and an important class of organic molecules. They are a type of lipid. They occur naturally in plants, animals, and fungi. produced by some bacteria. The most familiar type of animal sterol is cholesterol, which is vital to cell membrane structure, and functions as a precursor to fat-soluble vitamins and steroid hormones.

Sugar-Phospate backbone

Sugar-Phosis an important stuctural component of DNA. It consists of 5-carbon deoxyribose sugars and phosphate groups. These sugars are linked together by a phosphodiester bond, between carbon 4 of their chain, and a CH2 group that is attached to a phosphate ion.

ACTG and U (RNA only)

U (uracil): a compound found in living tissue as a constituent base of RNA. In DNA its place is taken by thymine.

Why do phospholipids form a membrane when in an aqueous solution? (Refer to image)

When phospholipids are mixed with water, they spontaneously rearrange themselves to form the lowest free-energy configuration. This means that the hydrophobic regions find ways to remove themselves from water, while the hydrophilic regions interact with water. The resulting structure is called a lipid bilayer.

Glycogen

a multi-branched polysaccharide of glucose that is deposited in bodily tissues as a store of carbohydrates. It is a polysaccharide which forms glucose on hydrolysis.

Side Chain

is the general term to describe the variable part of a polymer, the functional group(s) attached to the constant or regularly repeating backbone. Different kinds of polymers have different kinds of side chains. Non-polar, polar, acidic, and basic categories. Non-polar side chains: which have pure hydrocarbon alkyl groups (alkane branches) or aromatic (benzene rings) are non-polar. Examples include valine, alanine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine. The number of alkyl groups also influences the polarity. Polar side chains: are side chains that contain groups that are either charged at physiological pH or groups that are able to participate in hydrogen bonding. How to determine of a side chain is basic or acidic: If the side chain contains an amine functional group, the amino acid produces a basic solution because the extra amine group is not neutralized by the acid group. Amino acids which have basic side chains include: lysine, arginine, and histidine.