Chemistry Of Life

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polar molecule

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A molecule with opposite charges on opposite sides

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cohesion

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The binding together of like molecules, oftten by hydrogen bonds

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adhesion

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The clinging of one subtance to another

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surface tension

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A measure of how difficult it is to stretch or break the surface of a liquid. Water has a high surface tension because of the hydfdogen bonding of surface molecules

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specific heat

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The amount of heat that must be absorbed or lost for 1 g of a subtance to chagne its temperature 1°C

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hydrophilic

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Having an affinity for water

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hydrophobic

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Having an aversion to water; tending to coalesce and form droplets in water

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evaporative cooling

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The property of a liquid whereby the surface becomes cooler during evaporation, owing to a loss of highly kinetic molecules to the gaseous state

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buffer

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A substance that consists of acids and base forms in solution that minimizes chnages in pH when extraneous acids or bases are added to the solution

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organic chemistry

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The study of carbon compounds

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hydrocrabon

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An organic molecule consisting only of carbon and hydrogen

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isomer

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One of several organic compounds with the same molecular formula but different structures and therefore different properties. The three types are structural, geometric, and enantiomers.

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structural isomr

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differ in the covalent arrangements of their atoms

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geometric isomer

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have all the same covalent partnerships, but they differ in their spatial arrangements; they arise from the inflexibility of double bonds

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enantiomer

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are molecules that are mirror images of eachother.

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functional group

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A specific configuration of atoms commonly attached to the carbon skeletons of organic molecules and usually involved in chemical reactions.

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hydroxyl group

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A function group consisting of a hydtrogen atom joined to an oxygen atom by a polar covalent bond. Molecules possessing this group are soluble in waterand are called alcohols.

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alcohol

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An organic molecule containt a hydroxyl group

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carbonyl group

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A fucntional group present in adlehydes and ketones, consisting of a carbon atom double bonded to an oxygen atom.

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aldehyde

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An organic compoud with a carbonyl group on the end of its carbon skeleton

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ketone

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An organic compoud with a carbonyl group that is not on the end of its carbon skeleton

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carboxyl group

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A functional group present in organic acids, consisting of a single carbon atom double-bonded to an oxygetn atom and also bonded to a hydroxyl group

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carboxylic acid

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An organic compoud contating a carboxyl group

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amino group

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A functional group that consists of a nitrogen atom bonded to two hydrogen atoms; can act as a base in solution, accepting a hydgroen ion and acquirng a charge of +1

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amine

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An organic compoud containing an amino group

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sulfhydryl

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A functional group that consits of a sulfur atom bonded to an atom of hydrogren

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thiol

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An organic compoud containing a sylfhydryl group

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phosphate group

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A functional group important in energy transfer.

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polymer

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A large molecule consisting of many identical or similar monomers linked together

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monomer

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The subunit that serves at the building block of a polymer

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condensation reaction

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A reaction in which two molecules become covalently bonded to each other through the loss of a small molecule, usually water; also called deyhydration reaction

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dehydtration reaction

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A chemical reaction in which two molecules covalently bond to one another with the removal of a water molecule

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hydrolysis

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A chemical process that lyses or splits molecules by the addition of water; an essential process in digestion

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polysaccharide

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A polymer of up to over a thousand monosaccharides, formed by condensation synthesis

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fatty acid

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A long carbon chain carboxylic acid. Fatty acids vary in length and in the number and location of double bonds; three fatty acids linked to a glycerol molecule form fat.

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saturated fatty acid

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A fatty acid in which all carbonds in the hydrocarbon tail are connected by single bonds, thus maximizing the number of hydrogen atoms that can attach to the carbon.

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unsaturated fatty acid

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A fatty acid possessin gone or more double bonds between the carbons in the hydrocarbon tail. Such bonding reduces the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon skeleton

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steroid

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A class of lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four rings with various functional groups attached

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cholesterol

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A steroid that forms an essential component of animal cell membranes and acts as a precursor molecule for the sunthesis of other biologically important steroids

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peptide bond

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The covalend bond between two amino acid units, formed by condensation synthesis

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primary structure

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The level of protein structure referring to the specific sequence of amino acids

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secondary structure

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The localized, repetitive coiling or folding of the polypeptide backbone of a protein due to hydrogen bond formation between peptide linkates.

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tertiary structure

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Irregular contortions of a portein molecule due to interactions of side changs involved in hydrophobic interactions, ionic bonds, hydrogen bonds, and disulfide bridges

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quaternary structure

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The particular shape of a complex, aggregate protein, defined by the characteristic three dimensional arrangement of its constituent subunits, each a polypeptide.

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denaturation

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For proteins a process in which a protein unravels and loses its native conformation, thereby becoming biologically inactive. For DNA, the separation of the two strands of the double helix. Denaturation occurs under extreme conditions of pH, salt concentration, and temperature

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nucleic acid

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A polymer consisting of many nucleotide monomers; serves as a bluepring for proteins and, through the actions of proteins, for all cellular activities. The tso types are DNA and RNA

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purine

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are larger than pyrimidens and hat six-membered rings fused to five-membered rings. Adenine (A), Guanine (G)

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pyrimidine

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has a six-membered ring of carbon and nitrogen atoms. (The nitrogen atoms tened to take up H+ from the solution, which explains the term nitrogenous base.) Cytosine (C), Thymine (T), Uracil (U)

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metabolism

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The totalisty of an organism's chemical processes, consisting of catabolic and anabolic pathways

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catabolic pathways

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A metabolic pathway that releases energy by breaking down complex molecules into simpler compounds

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anabolic pathways

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A metabolic pathway that consumes energy by building up complicated molecules from simpler ones.

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thermodynamics

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The study of the energy transformations that occur in a collectivion of matter.

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1st law of thermodynamics

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The principle of conservation of energy. Energy can be transferred and transformed, but it cannot be created or destroyed.

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2nd law of thermodynamics

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The principle whereby every energy transfer or transformation increases teh entropy of the universe. Ordered forms of energy are at least partly converted to heat, and in spontaneous reactions, the free energy of the system also decreases.

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free energy

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A quantity of energy that interrelates entropy (S) and the system's total energy (H); symbolized by G. The change in free energy of a system is calculated by the equation G = ∆H-T∆S, where T is absolute temperature.

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energy coupling

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the use of an exergonic process to drive an energonic one

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catalyst

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is a chemical agent that chagnes the rate of a reaction without being consumed by the reaction.

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competitive inhibitors

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A substance that reduces the activity of an enzyme by entering the active site in place of the substrate whose structure it mimics.

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noncompetitive inhibitors

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A substance that reduces the activity of an enzyme by binding to a location remote from the active site, changing its conformation so that it no longer binds to the substrate.

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feedback inhibition

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A method of metabolic control in which the end-product of a metabolic pathway acts as an inhibitor of an enzyme within that pathway.

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entropy

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a measurement of disorder and randomness. The more random a collection of matter is, the greather its entropy.