Atoms form chemical bonds to be in their lowest-energy form: when they have a full shell of valence electrons
Cations
Positive ions formed by losing electrons
Anions
Negative ions formed by gaining electrons
Crystal
Many atoms/molecules arranged in a repeating, predictable 3D pattern
Covalent bonds are more common than ionic bonds in the molecules of living organisms
London dispersion forces
Weak intermolecular bonds that can happen between any two elements when the randomness of an atom's electrons gives one side a partial charge, which goes on to affect the other atoms around it, creating weak bonds
Van der Waals forces
Weak bonds between molecules caused by a temporary charge by random positioning of electrons, otherwise known as London dispersion forces
Strong covalent bonds hold together the nucleotides in a strand of DNA so that it stays together
Weak hydrogen bonds keep the strands of DNA in a double helix, but can be easily unzipped by helicase
The main four types of large biomolecules are:
carbohydrates
proteins
nucleic acids
lipids
Polymer
Long chains made up of smaller repeating molecular subunits
Monomer
Small molecular subunit that makes up polymers
Lipids
The only major macromolecule that doesn't tend to form polymers
Dehydration synthesis
When two macromolecules attach themselves to each other by forming a covalent bond, then each releasing atoms that end up forming a water molecule, where this process gets its name
Dehydration synthesis
Many different polymers with super different functions can be produced from the same basic monomers
Hydrolysis
The reverse of a dehydration synthesis reaction
Hydrolysis
When a polymer breaks into individual monomers again by adding water, which breaks the covalent bonds between them, adding a H ion to one branch and an OH ion to the other