Biological Molecules

• Polar


  Has one end that is negatively charged and one end that is positively charged
• Cohesion


  A property of water molecules that creates an attraction between them which causes them to stick together
• Polymer


  A molecule made from many repeating monomers joined together
• Monomer


  An individual unit that can be bonded to other identical monomers to make a polymer
• Hydrolysis


  Breaking a chemical bond between two molecules involving the use of a water molecule
• Condensation reaction


  A type of reaction that joins two molecules together with the formation of a chemical bond involving the elimination of a molecule of water
• Hexose monosaccharide


  A simple sugar that contains 6 carbon atoms
• Pentose monosaccharide


  A simple sugar that contains 5 carbon atoms
• Glucose


  A hexose monosaccharide that is the main respiratory substrate in eukaryotes
• Ribose


  A pentose monosaccharide which composes the backbone of RNA
• Maltose


  A disaccharide made of two molecules of glucose joined by a glycosidic bond
• Sucrose


  A disaccharide made of a molecule glucose and fructose joined by a glycosidic bond
• Lactose


  A disaccharide made of a molecule glucose and galactose joined by a glycosidic bond
• Starch


  A polysaccharide used for energy storage in plants that is made up of alpha glucose joined together in the forms of amylose and amylopectin
• Amylopectin


  A branched polysaccharide made up of alpha glucose monomers joined by α-1,6 glycosidic bonds that makes up starch along with amylose
• Amylose


  An unbranched polysaccharide made up of alpha glucose monomers joined by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds that makes up starch along with amylopectin
• Glycogen


  A highly branched polysaccharide that is used as the main energy storage molecule in animals and is made up of alpha glucose monomers joined by α-1,4 glycosidic bonds
• Cellulose


  A linear polysaccharide that is the main component of the cell wall in plants and is made up of many beta glucose molecules joined by β-1,4 glycosidic bonds
• Triglyceride


  A type of lipid formed from a molecule of glycerol joined by ester bonds to three fatty acid molecules
• Phospholipid


  A type of lipid formed from a glycerol molecule, two fatty acid tails and a phosphate group
• Saturated fatty acid


  A type of fatty acid molecule containing only single bonds between the carbon atoms
• Unsaturated fatty acid


  A type of fatty acid molecule containing at least one double bond in the carbon chain
• Cholesterol


  A type of lipid found in cell membranes consisting of a hydroxyl group, hydrocarbon ring and hydrocarbon tail
• Amino acid


  The monomers containing an amino group (NH2 ), a carboxyl group (COOH) and a variable R group that make up proteins
• Primary structure


  The individual sequence of amino acids in a protein
• Secondary structure


  The local interactions of the amino acids in the polypeptide chain
• Tertiary structure


  The way that the whole protein folds to make a three dimensional structure
• Quaternary structure


  A structure only applicable to proteins with multiple polypeptide chains that describes the interactions of the different chains
• Fibrous protein


  A class of long chain proteins that are generally insoluble in water and typically have structural roles
• Globular protein


  A class of spherical shaped proteins that are generally water soluble and typically have metabolic roles
• Conjugated protein


  A protein with a prosthetic group bound to it
• Haemoglobin


  A type of conjugated globular protein used to transport oxygen that is made up of four polypeptide chains each containing a haem prosthetic group
• Elastin


  A type of fibrous protein that allows tissues and structures like blood vessels to stretch and return to their original shape
• Keratin


  A type of fibrous protein that provides strength to hair and nails