Advanced Botany

  The word 'carbohydrate' was coined more than 100 years ago to describe a large group of compounds include polymers and other compounds synthesized from polyhydroxylated aldehydes and ketones. In general carbohydrates have the empirical formula (CH 2 O) n . They are polyhydroxylated aldehydes or ketones and their derivatives. Chemically, carbohydrates are molecules that are composed of carbon, along with hydrogen and oxygen. The compounds carbohydrates have common same functional groups, glyceraldehydes and gulose are classifed as aldoses and ribulose and dihydroxyacetone as ketoses. All of these compounds are alcohols with many hydroxyl groups. They are polyhydroxylated and either aldehydes or ketones. Classification of carbohydrates Monosaccharides The simplest and smallest unit of the carbohydrates is the monosaccharide, (mono = one, saccharide = sugar). Monosaccharides are either aldehydes or ketones, with one or more hydroxyl groups; the six-carbon monosaccharides g...

  Most of the Universe consists of matter and energy . Energy is the capacity to do work. Matter has mass and occupies space. All matter is composed of basic elements that cannot be broken down to substances with different chemical or physical properties. Elements are substances consisting of one type of atom, for example Carbon atoms make up diamond, and also graphite. Atoms are the smallest particle into which an element can be divided. Center of the atom (nucleus) is occupied by proton. Each atom has at least one proton. Protons have a charge of +1, and a mass of approximately 1 atomic mass unit (amu). Elements differ from each other in the number of protons they have, e.g. Hydrogen has 1 proton; Helium has 2. The neutron is also located in the atomic nucleus (except in Hydrogen). The neutron has no charge, and a mass of slightly over 1 amu. The electron is a very small particle located outside the nucleus. Because they move at speeds near the speed of light the pr...

  Bioenergetics is the branch of biochemistry that focuses on how cells transform energy, often by producing, storing or consuming adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Bioenergetic processes, such as cellular respiration or photosynthesis, are essential to most aspects of cellular metabolism, therefore to life itself. Bioenergetic processes, such as cellular respiration or photosynthesis, are essential to most aspects of cellular metabolism, therefore to life itself. Cellular Respiration  Cellular respiration refers to a catabolic process that cells use to harvest energy from biomolecules. Here, a series of reactions break up macromolecules into their basic units, transforming the potential energy embedded in the chemical bonds into ATPs and the cofactor  nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). Cellular respiration in most organisms takes place in the presence of oxygen ( aerobic respiration),   consisting of the following pathways: Glycolysis ( Embden–Meyerhof–...

Bioenergetics is the branch of biochemistry that focuses on how cells transform energy, often by producing, storing or consuming adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Bioenergetic processes, such as cellular respiration or photosynthesis, are essential to most aspects of cellular metabolism, therefore to life itself. Laws of Bioenergetics 1. Living cells use energy carriers The first bioenergetics law states that living cells do not use the acquired energy directly. Instead, the energy received from external sources is first converted into energy carriers before performing cellular works. Three energy carriers are known to date: Adenosine triphosphate (ATP) Considered the  molecular currency,  ATP consists of adenine attached to one molecule of ribose sugar at carbon one and a triphosphate group at carbon five, where energy is stored in the phosphoanhydride bonds. Energy is released when the triphosphate group of the ATP is broken up into di- and monophosphate, r...