Carbohydrates
Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen
Are lipids polar or nonpolar?
Nonpolar
What are the two main types of nucleic acids?
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic acid (RNA).
What are the monomers (building blocks) of proteins?
Amino Acids
Which macromolecules are polymers?
Carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids
What is the function of carbohydrates in living organisms?
Primary energy source by breaking down into glucose for ATP production.
Name one major function of lipids in the body?
Energy Storage
What are the four bases found in DNA?
Adenine (A), Guanine (G), Cytosine (C), and Thymine (T).
What is one major function of proteins in the body?
Acting as enzymes to catalyze reactions essential for metabolism, digestion, and energy production.
What type of bond holds amino acids together in proteins?
Peptide bonds
Why do athletes often eat carbohydrates before exercising?
Carbs quickly provide glucose to refill muscle and other organisms, which helps maintain energy and delay fatigue during workouts.
How does the structure of phospholipids help form cell membranes?
Enables them to spontaneously form a bilayer in water.
What is the role of mRNA in protein synthesis?
mRNA carries the genetic code from DNA in the nucleus to ribosomes in the cytoplasm.
How do temperature and pH affect enzyme activity?
Temperature boosts enzyme activity but only to a sentient point, pH affects it by altering the ionization and shape of the active site.
Why do phospholipids form bilayers in water?
Hydrophilic heads are attracted to water while their hydrophobic tails avoid water.
How do carbohydrates loading actually increase athletic performance on a cellular level?
Providing more glucose substrate for sustained glycolysis and ATP production to delay fatigue during prolonged high-intensity exercise.
How does the bile salts help digest lipids?
Bile salts break big fat droplets into many tiny one.
Describe the difference between transcription and translation?
Transcription copies a gene from DNA into (mRNA) in the nucleus, Translation reads the mRNA sequence to assemble amino acids into a protein.
How mutations in DNA can change protein structure and function?
Mutations in DNA change the nucleotide sequence, altering mRNA codons to produce proteins with different amino acid sequences that disrupt folding
How does hydrogen bonding affect macromolecule stability?
By forming numerous weak attractions between polar groups.
How does the structure of glycogen allow quick energy release?
Glycogen has highly branched with many ends, allowing enzymes to release lots of glucose molecules at the same time for quick energy.
How does the body convert excess carbs and proteins into lipids?
Glucose from carbs or deaminated amino acids from proteins produce acetyl-CoA that synthesizes fatty acids.
Describe how mutations can occur during DNA replication?
Occur when DNA polymerase inserts the wrong nucleotide due to base mispairing or slippage on repetitive sequences.
Describe how enzymes lower activation energy on a molecular level?
Enzymes lower activation energy by binding substrates in a precisely shaped active site.
How do structural differences among macromolecules support their specific biological roles?
Enable their specific roles: branched chains in glycogen and starch allow compact energy storage with rapid glucose release.