Macromolecule Basics
These are the four classes of macromolecules that make up all living things.
What are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids?
This is the monomer of proteins.
What is an amino acid?
The monomer of nucleic acids.
What is a nucleotide?
These are the simplest form of carbohydrates, consisting of a single sugar unit.
What are monosaccharides?
This is the unique feature of lipids compared to other macromolecules.
What is being hydrophobic?
This type of molecule speeds up biochemical reactions in the body.
What is an enzyme?
This term refers to large molecules made up of smaller subunits, typically found in living organisms.
What is a macromolecule?
The structure of proteins is determined by the sequence of these.
What are amino acids?
This is the main difference between a nucleotide and a nucleoside.
What is the presence of a phosphate group in a nucleotide?
This term refers to sugars formed by two monosaccharides linked together.
What are disaccharides?
Lipids are primarily composed of this type of molecule, which is insoluble in water.
What are hydrocarbons?
Enzymes are often used in this way in industrial and medical applications.
What are catalysts?
Polymers are made up of repeating subunits called this.
What is a monomer?
This bond forms between amino acids when they are linked in a polymer chain.
What is a peptide bond?
This molecule stores genetic information in most organisms.
What is DNA?
This type of carbohydrate is made up of many sugar units linked together.
What are polysaccharides?
These lipids are essential for forming the cell membrane.
What are phospholipids?
This is the process by which an enzyme changes its shape to fit the substrate.
What is induced fit?
This reaction type links monomers together to form polymers by releasing water.
What is a dehydration reaction?
The function of a protein is largely determined by this aspect of its structure.
What is a three-dimensional shape?
Chargaff's Rules state that in DNA, these bases always pair together.
What are adenine with thymine and cytosine with guanine?
The general chemical formula for a monosaccharide is C6H12O6C6H12O6. What is this common monosaccharide?
What is glucose?
These fatty acids have no double bonds between carbon atoms.
What are saturated fatty acids?
Enzymes work best under specific conditions such as temperature and pH. This term describes the unfolding of enzymes due to environmental factors.
What is denaturation?
This reaction breaks down polymers into monomers by adding water.
What is a hydrolysis reaction?
This term refers to the four levels of protein structure: primary, secondary, tertiary, and quaternary.
What are the levels of protein structure?
This concept describes the flow of genetic information from DNA to RNA to protein.
What is the central dogma of biology?
This type of polysaccharide serves as a storage form of energy in animals.
What is glycogen?
This type of fat is typically solid at room temperature, such as in butter.
What are saturated fats?
These molecules can assist in the proper folding of proteins, ensuring they function correctly.
What are chaperonins?
An example of these reactions in biology is when glucose monomers are added to form starch or broken down during digestion.
What is a biological example of dehydration and hydrolysis?
In sickle cell disease, the change in protein structure occurs due to a mutation in this specific amino acid.
What is glutamic acid (changed to valine)?
DNA differs from RNA in this structural way.
What is DNA has deoxyribose and thymine, while RNA has ribose and uracil?
This polysaccharide is used by plants for structural support and is not digestible by humans.
What is cellulose?
This steroid is essential for animal cell membranes and acts as a precursor for hormones.
What is cholesterol?
Improper folding or malfunction of these proteins can lead to diseases such as Alzheimer’s.
What are chaperonins?