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Campbell Biology in Focus Chapter 3: Carbon and the Molecular Diversity of Life Flashcards

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3656349938organic compoundA chemical compound containing carbon.0
3656349939macromoleculeA giant molecule formed by the joining of smaller molecules, usually by a dehydration reaction. Polysaccharides, proteins, and nucleic acids.1
3656349940valenceThe bonding capacity of a given atom; the number of covalent bands an atom can form usually equals the number of unpaired electrons in its outermost shell.2
3656349941hydrocarbonAn organic molecule consisting of only carbon and hydrogen.3
3656349950adenosine triphosphateAn adenine-containing nucleoside triphosphate that releases free energy when its phosphate bonds are hydrolyzed. This energy is used to drive endergonic reactions in cells.4
3656349951polymerA long molecule consisting of many similar or identical monomers linked together by covalent bonds.5
3656349952monomerThe subunit that serves as the building block of a polymer.6
3656349953enzymeA macromolecule serving as a catalyst, a chemical agent that increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction. Most are proteins.7
3656349954dehydration reactionA chemical reaction in which two molecules become covalently bonded to each other with the removal of a water molecule.8
3656349955hydrolysisA chemical reaction that breaks bonds between two molecules by the addition o water; functions in disassembly of polymers to monomers.9
3656349956carbohydrateA sugar (monosaccharide) or one o its dimers (disaccharide) or polymers (polysaccharides).10
3656349957monosaccharideThe simplest carbohydrate, active alone or serving as a monomer for disaccharides and polysaccharides. Also known as simple sugars, and they have molecular formulas that are generally some multiple of CH2O.11
3656349958disaccharideA double sugar, consisting of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic linkage formed by a dehydration reaction.12
3656349959glycosidic linkageA covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction.13
3656349960polysaccharideA polymer of many monosaccharides, formed by dehydration reactions.14
3656349961starchA storage polysaccharide in plants, consisting entirely of glucose monomers joined by alpha glycosidic linkages.15
3656349962glycogenAn extensively branched glucose storage polysaccharide found in the liver and muscle of animals; the animal equivalent of starch.16
3656349963celluloseA structural polysaccharide of plant cell walls, consisting of glucose monomers joined by beta glycosidic linkages.17
3656349964chitinA structural polysaccharide, consisting of amino sugar monomers, found in many fungal cell walls and in the exoskeletons of all arthropods.18
3656349965lipidAny of a group of large biological molecules, including fats, phospholipids, and steroids, that mix poorly, if at all, with water.19
3656349966fatA lipid consisting of three fatty acids linked to one glycerol molecule; also called a triacylglycerol or triglyceride.20
3656349967fatty acidA carboxylic acid with a long hydrocarbon chain. They vary in length and in the number and location of double bonds.21
3656349968triacylglycerolA lipid consisting of three fatty acids linked to one glycerol molecule; also called a fat or triglyceride.22
3656349969triglycerideAnother name for fat that is often found in the list of ingredients on packaged foods.23
3656349970saturated fatty acidA fatty acid in which all carbons in the hydrocarbon tail are connected by single bonds, thus maximizing the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon skeleton.24
3656349971unsaturated fatty acidA fatty acid that has one or more double bonds between carbons in the hydrocarbon tail. Such bonding reduces the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon skeleton.25
3656349972phospholipidA lipid made up of glycerol joined to two fatty acids and a phosphate group. The hydrocarbon chains of the fatty acids act as nonpolar, hydrophobic tails, while the rest of the molecule acts as a polar, hydrophilic head. They form bilayers that function as biological membranes.26
3656349973steroidA type of lipid characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting on four fused rings with various chemical groups attached.27
3656349974cholesterolA steroid that forms an essential component of animal cell membranes and acts as a precursor molecule for the synthesis of other biologically important steroids, such as many hormones.28
3656349975catalystA chemical agent that selectively increases the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction.29
3656349976polypeptideA polymer of many amino acids linked together by peptide bonds.30
3656349977proteinA biologically functional molecule consisting of one or more polypeptides folded and coiled into a specific three-dimensional structure.31
3656349978amino acidAn organic molecule possessing both a carboxyl and an amino group. They serve as the monomers of polypeptides.32
3656349979peptide bondThe covalent bond between the carboxyl group on one amino acid and the amino group on another, formed by a dehydration reaction.33
3656349980primary structureThe level of protein structure referring to the specific linear sequence of amino acids.34
3656349981secondary structureRegions of repetitive coiling or folding of the polypeptide backbone of a protein due to hydrogen bonding between constituents of the backbone (not the side chains).35
3656349982alpha helixA coiled region constituting one form of the secondary structure of proteins, arising from a specific pattern of hydrogen bonding between atoms of the polypeptide backbone (not the side chains).36
3656349983beta pleated sheetOne form of the secondary structure of proteins in which the polypeptide chain folds back and forth. Two regions of the chain lie parallel to each other and are held together by hydrogen bonds between atoms of the polypeptide backbone (not the side chains).37
3656349984tertiary structureThe overall shape of a protein molecule due to interactions of amino acid side chains, including hydrophobic interactions, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, and disulfide bridges.38
3656349985hydrophobic interactionA type of weak chemical interaction caused when molecules that do not mix with water coalesce to exclude water.39
3656349986disulfide bridgesA strong covalent bond formed when the sulfur of one cysteine monomer bonds to the sulfur of another cysteine monomer.40
3656349987quaternary structureThe particular shape of a complex, aggregate protein, defined by the characteristic three-dimensional arrangement of its constituent subunits, each a polypeptide.41
3656349988sickle-cell diseaseA recessively inherited human blood disorder in which a single nucleotide change in the beta-globin gene causes hemoglobin to aggregate, changing red blood cell shape and causing multiple symptoms in afflicted individuals.42
3656349989denaturationIn proteins, a process in which a protein loses its native shape due to the disruption of weak chemical bonds and interactions, thereby becoming biologically inactive.43
3656349990x-ray crystallographyA technique used to study the three-dimensional structure of molecules. It depends on the diffraction of an X-ray beam by the individual atoms of a crystallized molecule.44
3656349991geneA discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses).45
3656349992nucleic acidA polymer (polynucleotide) consisting of many nucleotide monomers, serves as a blueprint for proteins and, through the actions of proteins, for all cellular activities. The two types are DNA and RNA.46
3656349993deoxyribonucleic acidA nucleic acid molecule, usually a double-stranded helix, in which each polynucleotide strand consists of nucleotide monomers with a deoxyribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T); capable of being replicated and determining the inherited structure of a cell's proteins.47
3656349994ribonucleic acidA type of nucleic acid consisting of a polynucleotide made up of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U); usually single-stranded; functions in protein synthesis, gene regulation, and as the genome of some viruses.48
3656349995polynucleotideA polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers in a chain. The nucleotides can be those of DNA or RNA.49
3656349996nucleotideThe building block of a nucleic acid, consisting of a five-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and one or more phosphate groups.50
3656349997pyrimidineOne of two types of nitrogenous bases found in nucleotides, characterized by a six-membered ring. Cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U).51
3656349998purineOne of two types of nitrogenous bases found in nucleotides, characterized by a six-membered ring fused to a five-membered ring. Adenine (A) and guanine (G).52
3656349999deoxyriboseThe sugar component of DNA nucleotides, having one fewer hydroxyl group than ribose, the sugar component of RNA nucleotides.53
3656350000riboseThe sugar component of RNA nucleotides.54
3656350001double helixThe form of native DNA, referring to its two adjacent antiparallel polynucleotide strands wound around an imaginary axis into a spiral shape.55
3656350002antiparallelReferring to the arrangement of the sugar-phosphate backbones in a DNA double helix (they run in opposite 5' to 3' directions).56
3656350003complementaryEach strand of a DNA double helix is the predictable counterpart of the other.57

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