BIOL 1107 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Unsaturated Hydrocarbon, Alkane, Lipid Bilayer
Document Summary
Chapter 6: lipids, membranes, and the first cells. Plasma membrane- (cell membrane) separates life from nonlife; layer of molecules that surrounds and separates the cell interior from the environment. Selective barrier- keep damaging substances out of cell, allow entry of substances needed by cell. Reactants collide more frequently in cell when enclosed by plasma membrane, thus allowing for more chemical reactions necessary for life to occur more efficiently. Lipid- term for carbon-containing compounds that are found in organisms. Dissolve in organic solvents consisting of nonpolar compounds. Hydrocarbons- molecules that only contain carbon and hydrogen. Nonpolar because electrons are shared equally in c-h bonds owing to the same electronegativities of carbon and hydrogen. Do not dissolve in water because c-h bonds form no partial charges. Fatty acid- sample lipid consisting of a hydrocarbon (-cooh) chain bonded to a carboxyl functional group. Typically, 14-20 carbon atoms, most found in hydrocarbon tails.
