Study Guide Carbon Molecules Proteins and DNA (KEY) 1.

Lifes molecules are organic compounds, with hydrogen and other elements covalently bonded to carbon atoms. 2. These include carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. 3. They are used as energy sources, structural materials, metabolic workers, and carriers of hereditary information. 4. Oxygen, hydrogen, and carbon are the most abundant elements in living things. 5. Much of the hydrogen and oxygen are linked as water. 6. Carbon can form four covalent bonds with other atoms to form organic molecules of several configurations. 7. The orientations of the atoms attached to a carbon backbone give rise to the three-dimensional shapes and functions of biological molecules. 8. A hydrocarbon, which has only hydrogen atoms attached to a carbon backbone, does not break apart easily; they form very stable, hydrophobic, portions of most biological molecules. 9. Functional groups (such as the OH of alcohols) are atoms or groups of atoms covalently bonded to a carbon backbone; they convey distinct properties, such as solubility, to the complete molecule. 10. Enzymes speed up specific metabolic reactions by these mechanisms. 11. Condensation: through covalent bonding, two molecules combine to form a larger molecule.
12. Carbohydrates are the most abundant biological molecules. 13. Carbohydrates have structural roles and serve as forms of transportable and stored energy.

14. A monosaccharide, one sugar unit, is the simplest carbohydrate.

15. Proteins function as enzymes, in cell movements, as storage and transport agents, as hormones, as anti-disease agents, and as structural material throughout the body. 16. Amino acids are small organic molecules with an amino group, an acid group, a hydrogen atom, and an R group. 17. The twenty different R groups determine the twenty naturally-occurring amino acids. 18. Primary structure is defined as the chain (polypeptide) of amino acids each linked together in a definite sequence by peptide bonds between an amino group of one unit and an acid group of another. 19. Secondary structure is the helical coil or sheetlike array into which the polypeptide chain is formed by the interaction of hydrogen bonds, which join the side groups of the amino acids. 20. Tertiary structure is the result of interactions among R groups that produce a complex threedimensional shape, such as is found in globular proteins. 21. Quaternary structure describes the complexing of two or more polypeptide chains. 22. Glycoproteins have side chains of oligosaccharides on the cell surface. 23. Lipoproteins bind and transport lipids. 24. Hemoglobin is a highly organized protein consisting of four polypeptides, each with a heme group that can bind an oxygen molecule. 25. In the normal beta polypeptide chain, the sixth amino acid in the sequence is glutamate, but a mutation can sometimes substitute a valine. 26. Most persons inherit two genes that place glutamate in both beta chains. 27. However, occasionally a mutated gene is inherited that will code for valine in position six; one gene is not a big problem to the individual.

28. If a person inherits two mutated copies of the gene, the defective hemoglobin will cause the red blood cells to be sickle-shaped, causing clumping and clogging of the capillaries they must negotiate. 29. High temperatures or chemicals can cause the three-dimensional shape to be disrupted. 30. Normal functioning is lost upon denaturation, which is often irreversible. 31. Nucleotides are small organic molecules. 32. Each nucleotide has a five-carbon sugar (ribose or deoxyribose), a nitrogen-containing base (single- or double-ringed), and a phosphate group. 33. Some nucleotides are involved in metabolism. 34. Adenosine phosphates are chemical messengers (cAMP) or energy carriers (ATP). 35. Nucleotide coenzymes transport hydrogen atoms and electrons (examples: NAD+ and FAD). 36. In nucleic acids, four different kinds of nucleotides are bonded together in large macromolecules. 37. RNA is single-stranded; it functions in the assembly of proteins 38. DNA is double-stranded; genetic messages are encoded in its base sequences.