MC IA- BIOLOGY

Chemical Building Blocks of Life

IMPORTANT GREEK TERMS

  • Poly- many

  • Mono- one (The smallest unit of saccharides is a monosaccharide)

  • Di- two

  • Meros- part

THE CHEMISTRY OF CARBON?

  • Carbon has FOUR electrons in its outer shell

  • Readily forms 4 covalent bonds with other atoms and itself

  • Form an endless diversity of carbon skeletons

  • Can form a variety of simple and complex molecules

WHAT IS MACROMOLECULES?

  • Carbon atoms can be joined to form carbon molecules.

  • Large compounds can be made by joining together smaller compounds

  • Monomers- small compounds (building blocks)

  • Polymers- are molecules made from repeating units of identical or nearly identical compounds (monomers) linked together by a series of covalent bonds. 

  • Macromolecules are large molecules formed by joining smaller organic molecules together.

FOUR MAJOR CATEGORIES OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES

  1. Carbohydrates

  2. Lipids

  3. Proteins

  4. Nucleic Acid

Making Polymers

  • condensation reaction (dehydration synthesis)

  • anabolic reaction- need energy

  • water molecule is removed when joining monomers together.

Breaking down polymers

  • hydrolysis

  • water added by reaction

  • catabolic reaction- release energy

CARBOHYDRATES ARE THE MAIN ENERGY SOURCE OF THE BODY!

  • Carbohydrates are formed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms with a ratio of 1:2:1.

  • The two categories of carbohydrates include
    sugar and starch.

#1 Carbohydrates

  • monosaccharide: each monomer is a sugar. When body needs energy, the carbohydrates is broken down into individual sugars.

Polysaccharides

  • made up of three or more monosaccharides

CARBOHYDRATE BREAKDOWN

  • Enzymes  in the mouth, stomach, and small intestine, breakdown the carbohydrate molecules.

  • These large complex carbohydrate molecules breakdown into simple sugars.

How Does The Breakdown Occur?

  • Our bodies use special protein molecules called enzymes to break the larger molecules into smaller pieces.

  • Enzymes Are Catalysts 

  • [Catalysts are chemicals that quicken a chemical reaction without undergoing any change themselves]


THE ROLE OF ENZYMES
- Activation Energy is the energy needed to start a reaction.

  • An enzyme is a protein catalyst that speeds up biological reactions by lowering the activation energy!

  • Each enzyme is very specific and only attaches to one type of molecule.

  • The molecule the enzyme acts upon is called its substrate.

#2 LIPIDS

> mostly made up of carbon and hydrogen

> primary function: energy storage

SATURATED

  • contain all SINGLE bonds

  • found on meats and diary products

UNSATURATED

  • contain at least 1 DOUBLE bonds

POLYUNSATURATED

  • contain SEVERAL DOUBLE bonds

Example of Lipids

  • STEROIDS
    - cholesterol- important in building cells and carrying messages.

  • hormones (Estrogen and Testosterone)

    - composed of 4 fused carbon rings

  • Phospholipids

    - make up cell membranes

    - hydrophilic- have a head that is polar and attract water.

    - hydrophobic- have 2 tails and are non-polar and do not attract water.

#3 NUCLEIC ACIDS

  • function: storing genetic information(DNA)

    -transmitting genetic information(RNA)


    NUCLEOTIDES

  • All nucleic acids are made from combinations of nucleotides.

    5 NUCLEOTIDES

  • uracil

  • cytosine

  • thymine

  • adenine

  • guanine 

#4 PROTEINS

  • made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen

  • Proteins are nutrients which contain materials the body uses for growth and repair.

  • Proteins are large molecules made up of combinations of amino acids.  

  • Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins.

  • These building blocks bond together to form chains that are called peptides.

  • Proteins are formed of combinations of large peptides chains, this is referred to as polypeptides.  

PROTEIN STRUCTURE:

  • PRIMARY

  • SECONDARY

  • TEERTIARY

  • QUARTERNARY

FUNCTION OF PROTEINS

  • Speed reactions

  • provide structural support

  • transport

  • make hormones

- In order for the body to use protein,
enzymes in the stomach and small intestine break the polypeptides down into individual amino acids.

WHY ARE MACROMOLECULES IMPORTANT TO THE HUMAN BODY?

  • Carbohydrates are the body’s main source of energy. 

  • Lipids provide stored energy reserves. This allows us to survive when carbohydrates are not being supplied to the body. 

  • Protein helps us stay strong, by forming new bones and muscles, and helping us fight diseases.

  • Nucleic acids are responsible for making each person functional and unique; they are the blueprint for our genetic structure.