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SUMMARY SHEET
Monomers & Polymers Lipids Biochemical Tests
• Monomers are individual molecules that make up a polymer. • Fatty acids can be: Molecule Reagent Positive result
• Polymers are long chains that are composed of many individual ◦ Saturated – there are no C=C bonds and the molecule has as
Reducing Benedict’s reagent → Heat Red/orange
monomers that have been bonded together in a repeating many hydrogen atoms as possible.
sugars precipitate
pattern. ◦ Unsaturated – there is at least one C=C bond, therefore the
molecule contains fewer hydrogen atoms than is maximally Starch Iodine in potassium iodide Blue/black
• Condensation Reactions occurs when two molecules combine to
possible. solution
form a more complex molecule with the removal of water.
• A triglyceride molecule is formed by joining one molecule Non-reducing Hydrochloric acid → Heat Red/orange
of glycerol to three fatty acids through three condensation sugars Sodium hydrogencarbonate precipitate
reactions, forming ester bonds. Benedict’s reagent → Heat
• Triglycerides have key Proteins Sodium hydroxide Purple
roles in respiration and Copper (II) sulphate
energy storage due to Lipids Ethanol Cloudy white
• Hydrolysis Reactions occurs when larger molecules are broken its insolubility and high Water → Shake
down into smaller molecules with the addition of water. carbon to hydrogen ratio.
• Phospholipids replace one of the fatty acid chains in
triglycerides with a phosphate molecule. Enzymes
• The hydrophobic tails • Enzymes are biological catalysts that speeds up the rate of reaction
and hydrophilic heads of and remains unchanged and reusable at the end of the reaction.
phospholipids allow them to • They lower the activation energy of the reaction.
form phospholipid bilayers. • The lock and key model proposed that each substrate is a key
that only fits a specific lock or enzyme. The alternative induced fit
Carbohydrates model has been proposed (below)
Deletion Removal of one or more nucleotides • Epigenetics - changes in DNA that alter the expression of genes Cells produce adhesion Cells stop producing adhesion
without changing the base sequence of DNA itself. It involves molecules molecule. Can spread through the
Substitution A nucleotide is replaced by a different nucleotide the addition of chemical tags onto DNA or histones.
• The epigenetic changes can body (metastasis)
Inversion A sequence of bases is separated and then
reattached in the inverse order regulate transcription by changing Can usually be removed by Chemotherapy and radiotherapy are
how tightly the chromatin is packed surgery. used, which specifically target and
Duplication One or multiple bases are repeated
(chromatin remodelling), affecting kill rapidly dividing cells.
Translocation A piece of DNA breaks off and doesn’t reattach to RNA polymerase accessibility.
itself or its homologous pair. • DNA methylation prevents transcription by preventing
• Some mutations may only affect a single codon, changing a transcription factors from binding & chromatin condensation.
single amino acid in a protein, therefore the protein may remain • Acetylation of histones promotes transcription by decreasing
functional. Other may have no effect on protein structure due to the attraction between DNA and histones, making chromatin
the genetic code being degenerate. more loosely packed.
• Mutations such as insertions and deletions can cause frame • The epigenetic changes in gene function can be heritable.
shifts, changing all the codons and amino acids downstream • Epigenetic changes occur during development but can also be
from the mutation. This results in a unfunctional protein. caused by environmental factors e.g. smoking.