4.4: Key Terms
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- biological macromolecule
- large molecule necessary for life that is built from smaller organic molecules
- dehydration synthesis
- (also, condensation) reaction that links monomer molecules, releasing a water molecule for each bond formed
- enantiomers
- molecules that share overall structure and bonding patterns, but differ in how the atoms are three dimensionally placed such that they are mirror images of each other
- enzyme
- catalyst in a biochemical reaction that is usually a complex or conjugated protein
- functional group
- group of atoms that provides or imparts a specific function to a carbon skeleton
- geometric isomer
- isomer with similar bonding patterns differing in the placement of atoms alongside a double covalent bond
- hydrocarbon
- molecule that consists only of carbon and hydrogen
- hydrolysis
- reaction that causes breakdown of larger molecules into smaller molecules by utilizing water
- isomers
- molecules that differ from one another even though they share the same chemical formula
- monomer
- smallest unit of larger molecules that are polymers
- organic molecule
- any molecule containing carbon (except carbon dioxide)
- polymer
- chain of monomer residues that covalent bonds link; polymerization is the process of polymer formation from monomers by condensation
- structural isomers
- molecules that share a chemical formula but differ in the placement of their chemical bonds
- substituted hydrocarbon
- hydrocarbon chain or ring containing an atom of another element in place of one of the backbone carbons
- valence shell
- outermost shell of an atom