ap biology
Terms
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- eukaryotic cell
- A type of cell with a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles, present in protists, plants, fungi, and animals; also called eukaryote.
- nucleotides
- The building block of a nucleic acid, consisting of a five-carbon sugar covalently bonded to a nitrogenous base and a phosphate group.
- peptide bond
- The covalent bond between two amino acid units, formed by a dehydration reaction.
- alpha helix
- A spiral shape constituting one form of the secondary structure of proteins, arising from a specific hydrogen-bonding structure.
- organelles
- One of several formed bodies with specialized functions, suspended in the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells.
- pyrimidine
- One of two families of nitrogenous bases found in nucleotides. Cytosine (C), thymine (T), and uracil (U) are pyrimidines.
- hydrophobic interaction
- A type of weak chemical bond formed when molecules that do not mix with water coalesce to exclude the water.
- disaccharide
- A double sugar, consisting of two monosaccharides joined by dehydration synthesis.
- nucleoid
- A dense region of DNA in a prokaryotic cell.
- conformation
- process by which the characterization of an animal in regard to environmental variables. The animal is a conformer if it allows some conditions within its body to vary with certain external changes.
- cholesterol
- A steroid that forms an essential component of animal cell membranes and acts as a precursor molecule for the synthesis of other biologically important steroids.
- cell fractionation
- The disruption of a cell and separation of its organelles by centrifugation.
- deoxyribonucleic acid
- A double-stranded, helical nucleic acid molecule capable of replicating and determining the inherited structure of a cell's proteins.
- gene
- A discrete unit of hereditary information consisting of a specific nucleotide sequence in DNA (or RNA, in some viruses).
- saturated fatty acids
- A fatty acid in which all carbons in the hydrocarbon tail are connected by single bonds, thus maximizing the number of hydrogen atoms that can attach to the carbon skeleton.
- polysaccharide
- A polymer of up to over a thousand monosaccharides, formed by dehydration reactions.
- polypeptide
- A polymer (chain) of many amino acids linked together by peptide bonds.
- ribonucleic acid
- A type of nucleic acid consisting of nucleotide monomers with a ribose sugar and the nitrogenous bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and uracil (U); usually single-stranded; functions in protein synthesis and as the genome of some viruses.
- glycogen
- An extensively branched glucose storage polysaccharide found in the liver and muscle of animals; the animal equivalent of starch
- steroids
- A type of lipid characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of four rings with various functional groups attached.
- fats
- A biological compound from two types of smaller molecules, a single glycerol and three fatty acids
- prokaryotic cell
- A type of cell lacking a membrane-enclosed nucleus and membrane-enclosed organelles; found only in the domains Bacteria and Archaea.
- unsaturated fatty acids
- A fatty acid possessing one or more double bonds between the carbons in the hydrocarbon tail. Such bonding reduces the number of hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon skeleton.
- chitin
- A structural polysaccharide of an amino sugar found in many fungi and in the exoskeletons of all arthropods.
- fatty acids
- 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.
- phospholipids
- A molecule that is a constituent of the inner bilayer of biological membranes, having a polar, hydrophilic head and a nonpolar, hydrophobic tail.
- denaturation
- 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.
- cellulose
- A structural polysaccharide of cell walls, consisting of glucose monomers joined by b-1, 4-glycosidic linkages.
- pleated sheet
- One form of the secondary structure of proteins in which the polypeptide chain folds back and forth, or where two regions of the chain lie parallel to each other and are held together by hydrogen bonds.
- double helix
- The form of native DNA, referring to its two adjacent polynucleotide strands wound into a spiral shape.
- amino acids
- An organic molecule possessing both carboxyl and amino groups. Amino acids serve as the monomers of proteins.
- proteins
- A three-dimensional biological polymer constructed from a set of 20 different monomers called amino acids.
- secondary structure
- The localized, repetitive coiling or folding of the polypeptide backbone of a protein due to hydrogen bond formation between peptide linkages.
- primary structure
- The level of protein structure referring to the specific sequence of amino acids.
- nucleic acid
- A polymer (polynucleotide) consisting of many nucleotide monomers; serves as a blueprint for proteins and, through the actions of proteins, for all cellular activities. The two types are DNA and RNA.
- glycosidic linkage
- A covalent bond formed between two monosaccharides by a dehydration reaction.
- triacylglycerol
- Three fatty acids linked to one glycerol molecule.
- starch
- A storage polysaccharide in plants consisting entirely of glucose.