Basic Biochemistry Terms

Here are some other important terms that have been hammered into my head ever since my first days of learning biochemistry. If you don't know what these mean, you probably have no idea what's going on.

I've mentioned that living systems are composed of very complex molecules. Well, complex usually means really, really large. Most organic compounds are polymers: a large, usually chainlike molecule built from many small molecules. These small molecules are called monomers and are the basic unit of these polymers. Different kinds and sequences of monomers come together to form compounds with different characteristics.

Monomers come together by a process called dehydration synthesis. A hydrogen atom from one functional group joins together with a hydroxide ion from a functional group of another molecule, which results in water and a bond formed between the two molecules. This is called dehydration synthesis. Hydrolysis is just the opposite.

above: amino acids (the monomers of proteins) coming together.

As mentioned before, polarity is very important. You should remember that like dissolves like. Polar molecules will always dissolve in water, while nonpolar ones will not. Substances that are attracted to water are called hydrophilic ("water loving") and ones that are not are called hydrophobic ("water fearing"). This plays a very important role in cell membranes and other things. We'll get there!

Introduction to Biochemistry
- Basic chem knowledge
- The cell
- Basic biochem terms