Organic Molecules
What are the main elements found in organic molecules?
Carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.
What is the chemical formula for glucose?
C6H12O6.
What are the building blocks of proteins?
Amino acids
What makes up a nucleotide?
A phosphate group, a sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), and a nitrogenous base.
What is dehydration synthesis?
A reaction where water is removed to form a covalent bond.
What are isomers, and why are they important in biology?
Isomers are compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and properties. They are important because structural differences can lead to different biological functions.
What are glycosidic linkages, and through what process are they formed?
Glycosidic linkages are covalent bonds between monosaccharides, formed through dehydration synthesis.
Describe the four levels of protein structure.
Primary (sequence of amino acids), Secondary (alpha helices & beta sheets), Tertiary (3D folding), Quaternary (multiple polypeptides).
What are the differences between DNA and RNA?
DNA has deoxyribose and thymine; RNA has ribose and uracil.
What is hydrolysis, and how does it differ from dehydration synthesis?
Hydrolysis adds water to break a covalent bond, opposite of dehydration synthesis.
Name three functional groups commonly found in biological molecules and describe their significance.
Hydroxyl (-OH, increases solubility), Carboxyl (-COOH, acts as an acid), and Amino (-NH2, acts as a base).
How do cellulose and starch differ structurally and functionally?
Cellulose has beta glucose linkages, making it rigid; starch has alpha glucose linkages, making it digestible.
What are chaperonins, and what is their function?
Chaperonins assist in the proper folding of proteins.
Which nitrogenous bases pair together in DNA, and how many hydrogen bonds connect them?
A-T (2 hydrogen bonds), G-C (3 hydrogen bonds).
What is a phosphodiester bond?
A bond linking nucleotides in DNA and RNA.
Explain the difference between structural isomers and enantiomers.
Structural isomers have different covalent arrangements, while enantiomers are mirror images of each other.
What are the differences between saturated and unsaturated fats?
Saturated fats have no double bonds (solid at room temp); unsaturated fats have one or more double bonds (liquid at room temp). (
Explain what it means for a protein to become denatured and name two factors that can cause it
A denatured protein loses its shape and function due to pH changes or high temperature.
What type of bonds hold the sugar-phosphate backbone of DNA together? (
Phosphodiester bonds.
Which bonds in DNA are stronger: hydrogen bonds or phosphodiester bonds? (
Phosphodiester bonds are stronger.
How does carbon’s ability to form four covalent bonds contribute to molecular diversity?
Carbon can form single, double, or triple bonds, allowing for a wide variety of molecular structures.
How do phospholipids contribute to cell membrane structure?
They form bilayers with hydrophilic heads facing water and hydrophobic tails facing inward.
What types of bonds are found in proteins, and how do they contribute to protein folding?
Hydrogen bonds, ionic bonds, disulfide bridges, and hydrophobic interactions stabilize protein structure.
How does the structure of DNA contribute to its function in genetic information storage?
The double helix and complementary base pairing allow for replication and stability.
Why is ATP considered the primary energy-transferring molecule in cells?
ATP stores energy in phosphate bonds, which release energy upon hydrolysis. (