Biologically Important Molecules #1

Vocabulary:

Polarity: the quality or condition inherent in a body that exhibits opposite properties
or powers in opposite parts or directions or that exhibits contrasted properties or
powers in contrasted parts or directions. it indicates something with two opposing
but related qualities. Like a magnet.

Polar: a molecule with a net dipole(a pair of equal opposite charges) as a result of the
opposing charges from polar bonds arranged asymmetrically.

Monomer: All monomers have the capacity to form chemical bonds to at least two
other monomer molecules.

Polymer: Polymers are a class of synthetic substances composed of multiples of

simpler units called monomers.

Hydrophobic: tending to repel or fail to mix with water- water fearing

Hydrophilic: having a tendency to mix with, dissolve in, or be wetted by water- water
loving

Van der Waals interactions: occur when adjacent atoms come close enough that their
outer electron clouds just barely touch. This action induces charge fluctuations that
result in a nonspecific, non directional attraction. Hydrogen bonding is a van der waals
interaction.

Ionic bonding: a chemical bond formed between oppositely charged ions because of
their mutual electrostatic attraction.

Cohesion: process of sticking together of similar molecules or substances. For

example a water molecule sticking to another water molecule.

Organic: any substance containing carbon-based compounds, especially produced by

living organisms.
Inorganic: Relating to a substance that does not contain carbon, of mineral, rather
than of biological, origin.

Hydrophobic Interactions: describe the relations between water and

hydrophobes(molecules that don’t dissolve in water). Hydrophobes are nonpolar
molecules and usually have a long chain of carbons that do not interact with water
molecules.

Covalent Bond: consists of the mutual sharing of one or more pairs of electrons
between two atoms. A covalent bond forms when the difference between the
electronegativities of two atoms is too small for an electron transfer to occur to form
ions.

Hydrogen Bond: ​The hydrogen bond is a bond between the hydrogen atom and more
electronegative elements. a weak bond between two molecules resulting from an
electrostatic attraction between a proton in one molecule and an electronegative atom
in the other.

Hydrolysis: any chemical reaction in which the adding of a water molecule breaks one
or more chemical bonds.

Dehydration Synthesis(condensation): combination reactions which occur between

the same or different monomer units with the elimination of water molecules. a kind
of condensation reaction in which water molecules are eliminated with the addition of
two molecules.

Macromolecule: A large, organic molecule such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and

nucleic acids(those are the four main macromolecules).

Carbohydrate: an organic compound such as sugar or starch, and is used to store

energy.are built of small, repeating units that form bonds with each other to make a
larger molecule.

Monosaccharides: any of the classes of sugars (glucose, fructose, galactose) that

cannot be hydrolyzed to give a simpler sugar.

Disaccharide: the sugar formed when two monosaccharides are joined. Like
monosaccharides, disaccharides are simple sugars soluble in water. Three common
examples are sucrose, lactose, and maltose.
Polysaccharide: a carbohydrate that can be decomposed by hydrolysis into two or
more molecules of monosaccharides . molecules consist of a number of sugar
molecules bonded together.

Lipid: function as an energy reserve, regulate hormones, transmit nerve impulses,

cushion vital organs, and transport fat-soluble nutrients. are insoluble in water but
soluble in organic solvents.

Nonpolar: no separation of charge, so no positive or negative poles are formed. The

electrical charges of nonpolar molecules are evenly distributed across the molecule.

Amphipathic: a molecule or a protein that has both hydrophilic and hydrophobic

parts.

Phospholipid: major membrane lipids that consist of lipid bilayers. Contain a

phosphate, hydrophobic head, and hydrophilic fatty acid tails.

Triglyceride Fat: body converts any calories it doesn't need to use right away into
triglycerides. The triglycerides are stored in your fat cells. Later, hormones release
triglycerides for energy.

Saturated Fat: a fatty acid in which the hydrocarbon molecules have a hydrogen atom
on every carbon and thus are fully hydrogenated; provide energy for the body.

Unsaturated Fat: a fatty acid in which the hydrocarbon molecules have two carbons
that share double or triple bond(s) and are therefore not completely saturated with
hydrogen atoms.

Recall and Review:

1.

Cohesion Adhesion

- cohesion : is when water - Adhesion: is the sticking of

molecules bond or stick with
each other.
- Water is a polar molecule, it
has slight positive hydrogen
atoms, and a slight negative
water molecules to other
things.
- The narrower a passage is the
further up the water will
travel, and it pulls up again
 oxygen atom.
- Because of the different
charges, the negatively charged
oxygen atom is attracted to the
positively charged hydrogen
atoms, creating a hydrogen
bond, causing the water
molecules to “stick” together.
2. Draw four sketches that illustrate the properties of water that deal directly
with hydrogen bonding:
Cohesion:
Floating of ice on liquid water:
through cohesion.
- An example of adhesion would
be the xylem in plants, a
passageway that runs through
the stem, carrying water from
the ground up to the leaves and
other parts of the plant that
need it.
- This process is called capillary
action: the process of a liquid
flowing in a narrow space
without the assistance of
external forces like gravity.
Moderation of Temperature:
Solvent of life is water:
3.

High Specific Heat High heat of Expansion Upon

Vaporization freezing

- Contributes to - The evaporation - Because it

the moderation of of sweat in expands, ice takes
temperature humans and up more space
- Water's specific animals, which is than water (it is
heat is high 90 percent water, less dense). This
relative to other allows the causes the ice to
substances, organism to cool float on water.
which allows so that - this layer of ice
water to change homeostasis of actually helps to
its temperature body temperature keep fish, other
less when it can be animals and
absorbs or loses a maintained. plants warm in
given amount of - The evaporation ponds and lakes
heat. of water in bodies during the
- Heat must be of water, goes up winter, and
absorbed in order in the prevents the
to break atmosphere and ocean from
hydrogen bonds, in the clouds, completely
and heat is which then gives freezing over.
released when us rains and cools
hydrogen bonds plants and
form. animals down,
- Helps regulate and gives us
the rate at which water to drink
temperature which is
changes necessary for life.

4. Carbon skeletons may vary in shape, size, length, number and location of double
bonds, other elements covalently bonded to available sites etc. This variation
contributes to diversity and complexity of the organic molecules.
5. The letters of the alphabet are similar to the monomers of a polymer. The letters
in the alphabet can be rearranged in different ways to create different words. In
the same way monomers could be arranged in different ways to create different
polymers.
6. A shape of the molecule is critical to determining its function because of the
way it determines how most molecules recognize and respond to each other.
One nerve cell in the brain signals another by releasing molecules of a specific
shape to go find matching receptor molecules on the surface of the receiving
cell. It also affects the ability the molecule has to do a certain work.
7. Draw an example of two monomers forming polymers through dehydration
synthesis:

8. You technically actually are what you eat. The polymers like lactose and starches
that you put into your body are broken down by the insertion of
water(hydrolysis) creating monomers. These monomers are then rearranged in
ways that your body could use them.
9.

Monosaccharides Disaccharides Polyssccharides

- Simple - Simple - Complex

carbohydrate carbohydrates carbohydrates
- Consist of: - The bonding of - The bonding of
glucose, fructose, two multiple
and galactose. monosaccharides monosaccharides
- One singular through through
sugar molecule hydrolysis hydrolysis.
- Are arranged into - They consist of: - Consist of: starch,
hexagonal shapes. maltose, sucrose, glycogen, fiber.
- Consist of 6 and lactose.
carbon atoms, 12
hydrogen atoms,
and 6 oxygen
atoms(C6H12O6).
10. a) The biological process that produces carbohydrates such as glucose, fructose
and cellulose is known as photosynthesis.
b) This process occurs in the chloroplast of plants.

11. The hydrocarbon tail is a hydrogen attached to a carbon to another carbon, to

another carbon and it keeps going. Hydrocarbons are excellent sources of
energy because the bond between hydrogen and carbon is really strong, so there
is energy within that bond that can be released.

12. The difference between the structure of saturated and unsaturated fatty acid
tails influence their behavior in living things. Saturated lipids have straight fatty
acid tails making it easier for them to stack up on top of one another, so
saturated fats are usually in solid form. Unsaturated fatty acid tails of lipids have
a bend in them making it more difficult to have them neatly packed on one
another and are therefore mostly found in liquids. Both are needed and found in
the membranes of cells if it was only one or the other the membrane would be
either solid, or too liquid, both of them together create a sort of plasma like
substance.

Saturated fatty acid: Unsaturated fatty acid:

13. Amphipathic means having both hydrophilic and hydrophobic parts. In

phospholipids it has both a hydrophilic phosphate head, and hydrophobic fatty
acid tails. This is important for cell membrane construction because the head
goes on the outside so water is attracted to the hydrophilic head, which helps
the cell be semi-permeable.

14. Cutting fat out of your life would be detrimental to one's health because fat is
necessary for energy storage, insulation, making up the cell membrane
(structure) etc.
 Biologically Important Molecules #2

Vocabulary:

Protein: are large, complex molecules that play many critical roles in the body. They do
most of the work in cells and are required for the structure, function, and regulation of
the body's tissues and organs.

Polypeptide: peptide consisting of 2 or more amino acids, linear organic polymer

consisting of a large number of amino-acid residues bonded together in a chain.

Hydrophobic: tending to repel or fail to mix with water- water fearing

Hydrophilic: having a tendency to mix with, dissolve in, or be wetted by water- water
loving

Amino acid: are molecules that combine to form proteins, the building blocks of life.
When proteins are digested or broken down, amino acids are left.

Peptide bond: a chemical bond formed between two molecules when the carboxyl
group of one molecule reacts with the amino group of the other molecule, releasing a
molecule of water.

Polar amino acid: are hydrophilic and have side chains that interact with water.

Nonpolar amino acid: are hydrophobic and have side chains that do not interact with
water.

Primary structure: The simplest level of protein structure, primary structure, is

simply the sequence of amino acids in a polypeptide chain.

Secondary structure: localized structures that form based on interactions within the
protein backbone.contains regions of amino acid chains that are stabilized by
hydrogen bonds from the polypeptide backbone. These hydrogen bonds create
alpha-helix and beta-pleated sheets of the secondary structure.
Tertiary structure: three-dimensional folding pattern of the protein due to its side
chain interactions.

Dehydration synthesis(condensation): combination reactions which occur between

the same or different monomer units with the elimination of water molecules. a kind
of condensation reaction in which water molecules are eliminated with the addition of
two molecules.

Quaternary structure: protein consisting of more than one amino acid chain.

Denaturing: involves the breaking of many of the weak linkages, or bonds, within a
protein molecule that are responsible for the highly ordered structure, protein loses all
of its structure.

Nucleic acid: are naturally occurring chemical compounds that serve as the primary
information-carrying molecules in cells. They play an especially important role in
directing protein synthesis.Two main nucleic acids are DNA and RNA.\

Nucleotide: one of the structural components, or building blocks, of DNA and RNA. A
nucleotide consists of a base (one of four chemicals: adenine, thymine, guanine, and
cytosine) plus a molecule of sugar and one of phosphoric acid.

DNA: stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid. It is an organic chemical that contains genetic
information and instructions for protein synthesis. It is found in most cells of every
organism. DNA is a key part of reproduction in which genetic heredity occurs through
the passing down of DNA from parent or parents to offspring.

RNA: stands for Ribonucleic acid. Unlike DNA, RNA is most often single-stranded. An
RNA molecule has a backbone made of alternating phosphate groups and the sugar
ribose, rather than the deoxyribose found in DNA.
Hydrogen bonds: The hydrogen bond is a bond between the hydrogen atom and more
electronegative elements. a weak bond between two molecules resulting from an
electrostatic attraction between a proton in one molecule and an electronegative atom
in the other.
Complementary base pairing: the bases of the dna always bond to a specific other
base. the phenomenon where in DNA guanine always hydrogen bonds to cytosine and
adenine always binds to thymine

Transcription: the process of making an RNA copy of a gene's DNA sequence. This
copy, called messenger RNA (mRNA), carries the gene's protein information encoded in
DNA.

Translation: the process by which a cell makes proteins using the genetic information
carried in messenger RNA.

Replication: process of duplicating or producing an exact copy, such as a

polynucleotide strand (DNA).

Recall and Review:

1. A shape of the molecule is critical to determining its function because of the

way it determines how most molecules recognize and respond to each other.
One nerve cell in the brain signals another by releasing molecules of a specific
shape to go find matching receptor molecules on the surface of the receiving
cell. It also affects the ability the molecule has to do a certain work.

2. The changing of an R-group in an amino acid changes the properties of the

amino acid. This is because the structure of the R-group is formed in such a way
so that the amino acids either have a positive or negative charge, making them
polar, and hydrophilic Or it is nonpolar and is hydrophobic.

Generalized structure of an amino acid:

3. Two amino acids forming a peptide bond through dehydration synthesis:

4. a) The biological process that produces proteins is known as translation.

b) This process occurs in the ribosomes on the rough ER, and it happens in all
types of organisms.

5. The four levels of protein structures:

Primary Structure: Secondary Structure:

Tertiary structure: Quaternary Structure:

6. If there is water surrounding the protein, then the hydrophilic/polar molecules

will orient themselves outwards while the non-polar/hydrophobic molecules
will curve inwards. The negatively and positively charged R-groups will move
towards each other because they are attracted. If the environment of which the
protein changes in some way, for example if the PH increases or decreases, the
protein could denature, losing its primary structure.
7. Hydrogen bonds in RNA cause the pentose-sugar to bind with the phosphate in
the nucleotides. Hydrogen bonds occur like this in DNA as well, but in DNA,
there are also hydrogen bonds between the two base pairings in the middle of
the DNA.

8. The synthesis of RNA from DNA is called transcription. RNA is synthesized from
one strand of protein and then the protein is synthesized using the RNA strand
during the process called translation. Every three bases in the RNA strand codes
for one amino acid.

9. ATP and DNA both have a phosphate group and pentose sugar. ATP is made of
adenine and three phosphates and a five carbon sugar ribose. DNA and RNA also
have adenine. However there is a phosphate backbone in DNA and RNA. RNA
has ribose sugar and DNA has deoxyribose sugar. ATP and RNA both contain
ribose bonded to adenine and a phosphate group. But ATP has two additional
phosphate groups. But DNA and RNA do have more bases than ATP.

10. Scientists think that DNA evolved from RNA because RNA is the simple version
of DNA and has almost similar functions, and bases. DNA molecules are held
together through hydrogen bonds

11. DNA molecules are diverse because of the order of the nucleotide bases. There
are only a certain number of bases but countless orders to put them in.