Organic Chemistry Basics
What element is the backbone of most biological molecules?
Carbon
What is the main function of carbohydrates?
Provide quick energy.
What are lipids generally known for?
Long-term energy storage and forming cell membranes.
What are the building blocks of proteins?
Amino acids.
What sugar is found in DNA?
Deoxyribose.
Why is carbon important in living organisms?
Carbon can form four covalent bonds, allowing it to create many complex molecules.
What is the monomer (building block) of carbohydrates?
Monosaccharide (simple sugar).
Are lipids usually polar or nonpolar?
Nonpolar.
What bond connects amino acids?
Peptide bonds.
What sugar is found in RNA?
Ribose.
What are the four major groups of biological macromolecules?
What is glucose?
A monosaccharide used by cells as an energy source.
What makes up a triglyceride?
What determines a protein’s shape?
The sequence of amino acids.
What are the DNA base pairing rules?
Adenine pairs with Thymine (A-T)
Cytosine pairs with Guanine (C-G)
What is a macromolecule?
A large biological molecule made from smaller building blocks (monomers).
What is the difference between starch and cellulose?
Both are made of glucose, but they have different structures and functions.
What is the difference between saturated and unsaturated fats?
Saturated:
Unsaturated:
Why can changing one amino acid affect protein function?
The amino acid sequence determines protein shape, and shape determines function.
Give three differences between DNA and RNA.
DNA:
RNA:
Why can small changes in biological molecules have large effects?
A small change in the structure of a molecule can alter its function.
Why can humans digest starch but not cellulose?
Humans lack the enzymes needed to break down cellulose bonds.
Why are phospholipids important?
They form the cell membrane because they have a hydrophilic head and hydrophobic tails.
Explain how sickle-cell disease demonstrates the relationship between DNA and proteins.
A mutation in DNA changes one amino acid in hemoglobin, altering the protein’s shape and affecting red blood cells.
Where is genetic information stored in DNA?
The sequence/order of nitrogen bases.