Molecules

Question	Answer
A Molecule	A group of atoms, chemically bonded together working as a unit
At the molecular level	All life is essentially the same. "...Anything found to be true of E.coli must also be true of elephants..." - Jacques Monod, cited in Friedmann 2004
All cells	obey the laws of physics
Biological molecules are based on	The carbon atom, typically bonded to atoms of: Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Other Carbon atoms (HONO)
Two types of molecules	Small molecules and Macromolecules
Small molecules	WCLA - wild cats like animals Water (70% of a typical cell), Carbohydrates, lipids, amino acids
1. Carbohydrates	Empirical formula = CH20, 1 carbon atom, 2 hydrogen atoms, 1 oxygen atom (equal parts of carbon and water)
Carbohydrates include	Sugars such as glucose and sucrose C6 H12 06 = Empirical formula for glucose/sugar
Sugars in carbohydrates are important for	energy storage and cell structure
2. Lipids (fats) Two major roles	Formulation of the cell membrane and energy storage
3. Amino Acids	small molecules based around a carbon chain with an amino group and a carboxyl group. They are the building blocks of proteins (there are 20)
Macromolecules	Large molecules created by the 'polymerization of monomers'
Polymerization	process of combining small molecules into a chain
Monomers	Small molecules
Two principles types of macromolecules in animals	Glycogen and Proteins
1. Gycogen	Large macromolecule comprising a chain of glucose monomers
The order the glucose monomers join the chain	Is unimportant
Glycogen is essential for	energy storage in animals
2. Proteins	Amino acid sequences for proteins have evolved over thousands of years
In order for a protein to be synthesized	cells must know the correct sequence
Life is dependent upon	each cell having a complete set of instructions for the amino acid sequence of every protein in the cell
Cells are made up of	proteins
Proteins are made up of	amino acids

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	Created by lauradavies94 over 10 years ago