Biology: Macromolecules and Carbon Importance

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Questions and Answers

Carbon forms a bond with which of the following 4 elements?

Hydrogen (correct)

Oxygen (correct)

Nitrogen (correct)

Phosphorus (correct)

Sulfur (correct)

Why does carbon have a whole branch of chemistry devoted to it?

Carbon has 4 valence electrons allowing it to bond strongly with other elements.

What are macromolecules?

Large organic compounds made from smaller molecules.

How are polymers formed?

They are formed when monomers are joined together. Signup and view all the answers

What is polymerization?

Process that creates macromolecules by joining together monomers. Signup and view all the answers

What are the 4 major groups of macromolecules?

Carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. Signup and view all the answers

What are carbohydrates made of?

Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in a ratio of 1:2:1. Signup and view all the answers

What is another name for simple sugars?

Monosaccharides. Signup and view all the answers

Give examples of monosaccharides.

Glucose, galactose, and fructose. Signup and view all the answers

What is a disaccharide?

A compound made by joining two simple sugars. Signup and view all the answers

Give an example of a disaccharide.

Sucrose. Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of carbohydrates?

Source of energy. Signup and view all the answers

Plants, some animals, and other organisms also use carbohydrates for what?

Structural purposes. Signup and view all the answers

What supplies immediate energy for cell activities?

Glucose. Signup and view all the answers

What are complex carbohydrates?

Large macromolecules formed from monosaccharides. Signup and view all the answers

What supplies energy for muscle contraction and movement?

Glycogen. Signup and view all the answers

What do plants use to store excess sugar?

Starch. Signup and view all the answers

What are large biological molecules that are not soluble in water and made mostly from carbon and hydrogen?

Lipids. Signup and view all the answers

What is the major component of wood and paper?

Cellulose. Signup and view all the answers

What are the most common lipids?

Fats, oils, and waxes. Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of lipids?

To store energy. Signup and view all the answers

What are synthesized by the body and are lipids that serve as chemical messengers?

Steroids. Signup and view all the answers

How are lipids formed?

A glycerol molecule combines with fatty acids. Signup and view all the answers

When a lipid's fatty acid chain is joined to another carbon by a single bond, the lipid is said to be what?

Saturated. Signup and view all the answers

What does it mean when fatty acids contain the maximum number of possible hydrogen atoms?

Saturated. Signup and view all the answers

What do you call lipids whose fatty acid has at least one carbon-carbon double bond?

Unsaturated. Signup and view all the answers

What do you call lipids whose fatty acid contains more than one double bond?

Polyunsaturated. Signup and view all the answers

What do lipids containing unsaturated fatty acids, such as olive oil, do at room temperature?

Are liquids. Signup and view all the answers

Compare and contrast saturated and unsaturated fats.

Saturated fats have all single bonds; unsaturated fats have at least one carbon double bond. Signup and view all the answers

What are macromolecules containing hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus called?

Nucleic acids. Signup and view all the answers

What are nucleic acids?

Polymers assembled from individual monomers known as nucleotides. Signup and view all the answers

What do nucleotides consist of?

Three parts: a 5 carbon sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen base. Signup and view all the answers

What play important roles in capturing and transferring chemical energy?

Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). Signup and view all the answers

What do nucleotides do?

Store and transmit hereditary or genetic information. Signup and view all the answers

What are the two kinds of nucleic acids?

RNA and DNA. Signup and view all the answers

What macromolecules contain nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen?

Proteins. Signup and view all the answers

What are compounds with an amino group (-NH2) and a carboxyl group (-COOH)?

Amino acids. Signup and view all the answers

What bond links amino acids together?

Peptide bond. Signup and view all the answers

What is a functional molecule built from one or more polypeptides?

Protein. Signup and view all the answers

What controls the rate of reaction and regulates cell processes?

Function of proteins. Signup and view all the answers

What is the sequence of amino acids called?

Proteins primary structure. Signup and view all the answers

What do you call the folding or coiling of a peptide chain?

Proteins secondary structure. Signup and view all the answers

What is the complete three-dimensional arrangement of a polypeptide chain?

Protein tertiary structure. Signup and view all the answers

What are the four compounds found in living things?

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Signup and view all the answers

What is the function of nucleic acids?

Make up genetic information in living things. Signup and view all the answers

Why are proteins not lipids?

Lipids are made from carbon and hydrogen and proteins are made from nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. Signup and view all the answers

What does carbon's four valence electrons allow it to do?

Form long, complex chains which branch in many different directions. Signup and view all the answers

What are the 4 types of macromolecules?

Carbohydrate, protein, nucleic acid, lipid. Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Carbon and Its Importance

Carbon bonds with oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.
Four valence electrons allow carbon to form strong bonds, leading to a vast array of compounds.
Carbon can create single, double, or triple bonds and even form rings.

Macromolecules

Macromolecules are large organic compounds made from smaller molecules.
Polymers are formed by joining monomers through a process called polymerization.

Major Groups of Macromolecules

Four key macromolecule types: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins.

Carbohydrates

Composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a 1:2:1 ratio.
Simple sugars, or monosaccharides include glucose, galactose, and fructose.
Disaccharides, like sucrose, are formed by linking two simple sugars.
Function primarily as a source of energy and structural support in plants and some animals.

Complex Carbohydrates

Include large macromolecules formed from monosaccharides; examples are glycogen and starch.
Glycogen provides energy for muscle contraction, while starch stores excess sugar in plants.

Lipids

Large biological molecules that are hydrophobic, primarily made of carbon and hydrogen.
Include fats, oils, and waxes, serving mainly to store energy.
Steroids are lipid-based chemical messengers synthesized by the body.
Formed from glycerol combined with fatty acids; can be saturated or unsaturated.
Saturated fats contain only single bonds, while unsaturated fats have at least one double bond.

Nucleic Acids

Comprised of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and phosphorus.
Polymers made from monomers called nucleotides, which consist of a five-carbon sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogen base.
Two main types: RNA and DNA, responsible for storing and transmitting genetic information.

Proteins

Made from nitrogen, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.
Composed of amino acids linked by peptide bonds.
Function to control reaction rates, regulate cellular processes, form structures, and transport substances.
Primary structure refers to the amino acid sequence, secondary structure involves folding or coiling, and tertiary structure is the three-dimensional arrangement of polypeptides.

Distinctions and Functions

Nucleic acids store genetic information; their structures include nucleotides.
Proteins play diverse roles in biological systems different from lipids, which are solely made of carbon and hydrogen.

Unique Properties of Carbon

Carbon's four valence electrons enable the formation of diverse, complex structures with varying bond types and arrangements.

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Description

Explore the significance of carbon in forming various macromolecules. This quiz covers the types of macromolecules, their structures, and functions, particularly focusing on carbohydrates. Test your knowledge on the essential building blocks of life and their roles in biological systems.