Chemistry

Biochemistry terms

128869866	matter	Anything that has mass and takes up space.
128869867	element	The simplest form of matter.
128869868	atom	The smallest form of an element that still displays its unique properties.
128869869	cation	Ion with a positive charge that contains more protons than electrons.
128869870	anion	Ion with a negative charge that contains more electrons than protons.
128869871	compounds	Elements are combined to form entities called compounds.
128869872	organic compounds	Carbon-containing compounds. Important examples include carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids.
128869873	inorganic compounds	For the most part, compounds containing no carbon. There are some exceptions such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and others.
128869874	carbohydrate	Organic compound used by the cells of the human body in energy-producing reactions and as structural material. The three main types of carbohydrates are monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.
128869875	protein	Organic compound composed of chains of amino acids that function as structural components, transport aids, enzymes, and cell signals, among other things.
128869876	lipids	Hydrophobic organic compounds used by cells as energy stores or building blocks. Three important lipids are fats, steroids, and phospholipids.
128869877	nucleic acid	Macromolecule composed of nucleotides, sugars, and phosphates that serve as genetic material of living organisms (DNA and RNA).
128869878	functional groups	The groups responsible for the chemical properties of organic compounds.
128869879	fats	Lipids, made by combining glycerol and fatty acids, used as long-term energy stores in cells. They can be saturated or unsaturated.
128869880	oil	Type of lipid.
128869881	steroids	Lipids composed of four carbon rings. Examples include cholesterol, estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
128869882	phospholipid	Lipid with both a hydrophobic tail and a hydrophillic head; the major component of cell membranes with the hydrophilic phosphate group forming the outside portion and the hydrophobic tail forming the interior of the wall.
128869883	glycerol	Three-carbon molecule that combines with fatty acids to produce a variety of lipids.
128869884	fatty acid	Long carbon chain that contains a carboxyl group on one end that combines with glycerol molecules to form lipids.
128869885	saturated fat	Fat that contains no double bonds. It is associated with heart disease and atherosclerosis.
128869886	unsaturated fat	Fat that contains one or more double bonds; found in plants.
128869887	monosaccharide	The simplest form of a carbohydrate. The most important monosaccharide is glucose, which is used in cellular respiration to provide energy for cells.
128869888	disaccharide	A sugar consisting of two monosaccharides bound together. Common disaccharides include sucrose, maltose, and lactose.
128869889	polysaccharide	A carbohydrate usually composed of hundreds or thousands of monosaccharides, which acts as a storage form of energy, and as structural material in and around cells. Starch and glycogen are storage polysaccharides; cellulose and chitin are structural polysaccharides.
128869890	starch	Storage polysaccharide made of glucose molecules; seen in plants.
128869913	glycogen	Storage polysaccharide made of glucose molecules used by animals.
128869914	cellulose	Polysaccharide composed of glucose used by plants to form cell walls.
128869915	chitin	Polysaccharide that is an important part of the exoskeletons of arthropods such as insects, spiders, and shellfish.
128869916	enzymes	Catalytic proteins that are picky, interacting only with particular substrates. However, the enzymes can be reused and react with more than one copy of their substrate of choice and have a major effect on a reaction.
128869917	catalysts	Molecules that speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy of a reaction.
128869918	substrates	Substances that enzymes act upon.
128869919	active site	Part of the enzyme that interacts with the substrate in an enzyme-substrate complex.
128869920	induced-fit model	Theory that suggests that when an enzyme and a substrate bind together, the enzyme is induced to alter its shape for a tighter active-site/substrate attachment, which places the substrate in a favorable position to react more quickly.
128869921	competitive inhibition	Condition in which an inhibitor molecule resembling the substrate binds to the active site and physically blocks the substrate from attaching.
128869922	noncompetitive inhibition	Condition in which an inhibitor molecule binds to an enzyme away from the active site, causing a change in the shape of the active site so that it can no longer interact with the substrate.