concept 5.1: macromolecules are polymers, built from monomers

what are the four classes of large biological molecules that make up all living things

carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids

what are macromolecules

large biological molecules that have unique properties that arise from the orderly arrangement of their atoms

what is a polymer

a long molecule consisting of many similar building blocks

what is a large polymer

a large polymer is called a macromolecule due to its large size

what makes up a polymer

a monomer

what are carbohydrates make up of

monocassharides

what are proteins make up of

amino acids

what are nucleic acids made up of

nucleotides

what role do enzymes play in regards to chemical reactions

enzymes are specialized macromolecules that speed up chemical reactions such as those that make or break down polymers

what is a dehydration reaction

occurs when two monomers bond together through the loss of a water molecule

what is happening during a dehydration reaction

a polymer is synthesized and water is removed

what is hydrolysis

a water molecule comes in and breaks up a polymer into monomers

what happens during hyrdolysis

water is added and a polymer is broken apart

describe the diversity of polymers

polymers differ from organ group to organ group and differ even more from species to species