Organic Molecules
The term organic is used to describe what?
The compounds that contain carbon (most of them)
All carbohydrate compounds contain what elements?
Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
All proteins have what four elements?
Carbo, oxygen hydrogen, and nitrogen
Why do lipids ordinarily not dissolve in water?
Because they are nonpolar
What are the two most important nucleic acid molecules?
DNA and RNA
How many electrons do carbon atoms have in their outer energy level?
4
What is the ratio of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in carbohydrates?
1:2:1
True
Portions of DNA molecules
What are the four major macromolecules?
Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids
Carbohydrates include what two substances?
Sugars and starches
What do structural proteins do?
Form the structure of the cells, tissues, and organs of the body
What are the most abundant lipids?
Triglycerides
DNA molecules are the smallest molecules in the body. True or false?
False
What are radicals?
Certain arrangements of atoms attached to the carbon core of organic molecules
Carbohydrates provide the primary source of chemical energy for what body cells?
Every body cell
What do functional proteins do?
Fit with certain other chemicals and cause some change in the molecules.
What two types of building blocks are needed to synthesize or build a triglyceride molecule?
Glycerol and faty acids
Nucleic acid molecules are polymers of thousands and thousands of smaller molecules called what?
Nucleotides (deoxyribonucleotides in DNA molecules and ribonucleotides in RNA molecules)
What is a free radical?
A radical that is temporarily unnattached and is highly reactive because of unpaired electrons
Carbohydrates are divided into what three types?
Monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides
What does the word protein mean in Greek?
First-rank substance
Why are lipids nonpolar?
Because electrons are shared equally within a molecule, there are no partially charged regions and thus lipids do not cling to the partially charged areas of the polar water molecules.
What do DNA and RNA stand for?
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acids
RNA: Ribonucleic acids