Looks like no one added any tags here yet for you.
What are hydrocarbons?
ALL biological molecules are hydrocarbons, but not all hydrocarbons are biological molecules
What are the only pure hydrocarbons and what are their characteristics?
Carbon and Hydrogen
they’re similar in electronegativity (they share electrons equally)
They’re NON polar molecules, so they form non polar covalent bonds
NOT water soluble and cannot interact with water
What form of matter are pure hydrocarbons?
they are GASSES
Do biological molecules have to be polar or non-polar and why?
The have to be POLAR because otherwise they wouldn’t interact with water
What kind of backbone do biological molecules have and why?
They have a hydrocarbon backbone but they MUST have other molecules on the backbone so they are polar and can interact with water
What are functional groups, and what do they do?
Functional groups are the other molecules located on biological molecules’ backbones. They convey polarity to the hydrocarbon backbone.
What are the 7 standard functional groups?
Hydroxyl
Carbonyl
Carboxyl
Amine
Phosphates
Sulphydryls
Methyl
Describe Hydroxyls
OL ending
all ALCOHOLS have a hydroxyl
VERY POLAR
Describe Carbonyls
have a double-bonded Oxygen
They allow sugars to form rings in aqueous solutions
2 types of carbonyl: Aldehyde and ketone
Describe Aldehydes
a TERMINAL carbonyl
the double bonded Oxygen is on the END
AL ending
Describe Ketones
NON-terminal carbonyl
Double bonded oxygen is NOT on end
O N E ending
What do carbonyls allow to happen?
They allow sugars to form rings in aqueous solutions
Describe Carboxyl
have a CARBONYL and a HYDROXYL on the same carbon
Acts as an acid
Describe Amine
have ONE NITROGEN and TWO HYDROGENS
Acts as a base
Describe Phosphates
PO4
Acts as an acid
Is the nucleotides of ATP
Describe Sulfhydryl
SH “thiols” ending
found in amino acid CYSTEINE
What functional group does the disulfide bridge belong to, how does it occur, and why is it important?
Belongs to Sulfhydryl
Formed by sulfurs ditching their hydrogens and bonding together
it affects the 3D shape of the protein
Describe Methyl
NON POLAR (unlike the rest)
carbon is part of the functional group (CH3)
DNA is methylated (has methyls stuck onto it) ESPECIALLY at the promoters
What is a promoter?
Where the enzymes for transcription bind (every gene has one)
What does each promoter have?
every promoter has an optimal methylation pattern that promotes optimal gene expression (transcript and translation)
Can your methylation pattern change, and what happens if it does?
Yes, if your methylation pattern changes then so does your gene expression
What does “Up-regulate” mean?
Increased transcription and translation (gene expression)
What does “down-regulate” mean?
Decreased transcription and translation (gene expression)
What causes your methyl patterns to change?
Diet and exercise
Poor diet and exercise = deviation from optimal
Good diet and exercise = optimal gene expression
How do children receive their methyl patterns, and what do doctors recommend to parents?
Whatever methylation patterns are present in the parents at the time of conception are passed down to the child
Doctors recommend parents spend ONE YEAR practicing good diet and exercise before conception
How are biological molecules involved in cellular respiration?
Carbohydrates and fats are primarily the electron donors for cellular respiration
Can all biological molecules be used for cellular respiration?
Technically, yes, but they SHOULD NOT be
What do biological molecules do to organic molecules?
Proteins and Nucleic Acids break down molecules into their components and re-use them
What are essential nutrients?
things that your body cannot make that are essential to your diet
What are essential fats?
essential to diet but cannot be made by your body
plant and fish fats
What are essential amino acids?
we get these from meat (protein)
What are the four types of carbohydrates?
Monosaccharides
Disaccharides
Oligosaccharides
Polysaccharides
Describe Monosaccharides
one sugar
ex: glucose, fructose, etc
Describe Disaccharides
two sugars
ex: sucrose
Describe Oligosaccharides
between 10-30ish units of sugar (it varies)
found OUTSIDE of the PLASMA MEMBRANE
Describe Polysaccharides
can be 100s or 1000s of units long
makes up starches and non-starches
How are sugars further classified?
simple sugars and complex carbs
Describe simple sugars
made up of mono and disaccharides
rapidly expelled from stomach into the intestine
rapidly absorbed from the intestine into the blood stream
blood stream is overwhelmed with sugar and your INSULIN SPIKES
Describe complex carbs
Made up of polysaccharides
they sit in the stomach for a long time
they are absorbed slowly through the intestine and your insulin does NOT spike
feel full for longer, eat less often
Why are simple sugars so bad for you?
your stomach empties faster, so you’re hungrier more often and you eat more
it’s easy to convert sugar into fat and it’s hard to break down fat
What are empty calories?
Can be found in either simple sugars OR complex carbs
No nutritive value, only sugar (pasta, white potatoes, coke, juice)
What are glucose alpha polysaccharides?
plant and animal starches (starch (plant) glycogen (animals))
What is glycogen?
stored in the muscles of animals
What are glucose beta polysaccharides?
NON starches
they are FIBERS
we do NOT have the enzymes to digest these
What is soluble fiber?
things that our gut bacteria CAN digest
the bacteria release byproducts that are beneficial to us (vitamins)
ex: E.coli in the large intestine produces vitamin K
What is insoluble fiber?
CANNOT be digested by gut bacteria
forms the bulk of our solid waste
includes plant’s cell walls
What are the 3 types of lipids?
fats, phospholipids, and steroids
Describe fats and their structure
primarily electron donors
glycerol backbone, can have 1,2, or 3 fatty acid tails
Describe glycerol and its structure
3 carbons and 3 hydroxyls
about 12-20 carbons long with a carboxyl on one end
What are saturated fats?
they are saturated with hydrogen
NO DOUBLE BONDS between CARBONS on fatty acid tail
Are saturated fats solid or liquid at room temp and why?
They are SOLID at room temp because the fat molecules can pack tightly together when there are no double bonds between carbons on the tail
What are unsaturated fats?
one or more double bonds between the carbons on the fatty acid tail
What is a monosaturated fat?
ONE double bond between carbons on fatty acid tail
What is a polysaturated fat?
one or MORE double bonds between carbons on fatty acid tail
What is a cis-unsaturated fat?
naturally occurring unsaturated fats
Are unsaturated fats solid or liquid at room temp and why?
They are LIQUID at room temp because where there are double bonds, the tail BENDS (kinky fats) and it prevents tight packing
How do enzymes and fats interact?
They can easily break down unsaturated fats
Why do you need healthy/essential fat in your diet?
to replenish/rebuild membranes (fatty fish like salmon and tuna)
What is the goal of hydrogenation?
To make a PLANT OIL solid at room temp
this increases the aesthetic appeal for customers (no separation)
What does hydrogenation produce?
converts a cis-unsaturated fat into a trans unsaturated fat to get it to behave like a saturated fat (solid at room temp)
What do phospholipids include?
Fats and diglycerides (phospholipids are the most biologically important diglycerides and have 2 fatty acid tails)
Describe steroids and their make-up
a backbone of 4 fused rings
a carbon at the corner of each rings
the 4 fused rings are NON-POLAR and HYDROPHOBIC
What do functional groups determine for steroids?
they determine the function and polarity of the steroid
What is cholesterol?
An integral part of the cell membrane (especially in ANIMALS)
Is cholesterol polar or non-polar? What does its polarity cause?
Cholesterol is NON polar, so it doesn’t want to interact with water in the blood stream, so it needs a carrier molecule to carry it through the blood stream
What is LDL?
Low Density Lipoprotein
BAD cholesterol carrier
sticks to artery walls (plaque) and can cause clots
comes from an ANIMAL DIET
What does plaque do to artery walls?
causes them to lose elasticity
this is bad because they need to be able to contract to keep blood flowing
HDL What is HDL?
High density lipoprotein
GOOD cholesterol carrier
does NOT stick to artery walls and REMOVES LDL from walls
it can reverse plaque and clot formation, but cannot restore elasticity
comes form plant and fish diet
How does trans fat interact with HDL and LDL?
Trans fat converts HDL into LDL
How does birth control work?
uses natural sex hormones to control your uterine cycle by preventing implantation and preventing ovulation
How does birth control that prevents implantation work?
prevents a fertilized egg from implanting itself in the uterine lining by using hormones
for those who think life begins at conception, this is abortion
How does birth control that prevents ovulation work?
makes your body think you’re pregnant so you don’t ovulate and therefore cannot fertilize eggs
makes you gain weight
can change feelings towards romantic partners
What are proteins made up of?
Amino acids
How many amino acids make up life as we know it?
20
Describe the structure of amino acids
they all have the same backbone, but differ in residues
What is located on the residues of amino acids, and why is this important?
functional groups are located on the residues, and they convey different properties to amino acids
Why are proteins unique?
They are the only biological structure with a true 3D shape
What’s the 3D shape of a protein called?
tertiary structure
Why does the shape of a protein matter?
The structure MUST be correct in order to fit its function
shape=function
What are the levels of protein structure?
Primary
Secondary
Tertiary
Quaternary
Describe primary protein structure
name of bond: peptide bonds
type of bond: covalent
attaches all the amino acids together and creates a chain of amino acids
Describe secondary protein structure
2 types: Alpha Helix and Beta Pleated Sheet
both are made up of HYDROGEN bonds between the functional groups on the backbone
Describe Alpha Helix
exists in sugars and starches
it’s a coil
the hydrogen bonds are between the coils
Describe Beta Pleated Sheet
two types of the same polypeptide next to each other
hard for body to break down, hard to digest
looks like two zigzags on top of each other with h bonds connecting them
Describe tertiary protein structure
TRUE 3D SHAPE
the protein is folded up on to itself
contains alpha helix and beta pleated sheet still
What does the tertiary structure of a protein depend on?
the unique properties of each amino acid aka:
What causes the 3D structure of proteins
functional groups on residues interacting with each other causes the 3D shape
How do polar functional groups interact with each other?
form hydrogen bonds
How do acidic and basic functional groups interact with each other?
form ionic bonds
How do multiple cystines interact with each other?
name of bond: disulfide bridge
bond type: covalent
How do non polar residues interact with each other?
they don’t want to interact with water
they DO NOT BOND but instead huddle together to avoid water
What is a hydrophobic interaction?
When residues don’t bond with one another but rather huddle together to avoid water
Describe quaternary structure
ONLY found in proteins with multiple polypeptide subunits that work together
quaternary structures are the interactions that hold the subunits together (same interactions as tertiary)
How can proteins form with an incorrect shape and what is an example of this?
The sub-units stack incorrectly and changes the shape of the protein
ex: sickle cell anemia
How many essential amino acids are there and what are they?
8 in adults, 9 in infants
the body cannot make them
What is a complete protein?
a diet is considered a complete protein when it provides all 8 amino acids (ANIMAL DIET)
What is an incomplete protein?
does NOT include all 8 amino acids (plant diet)
What are insulin and glucagon?
Two hormones that regulate blood sugar
What produces insulin?
the pancreas
What cells in the pancreas produce insulin, and when do they do this?
The beta cells in the pancreas produce insulin when blood sugar levels are too high