Macromolecules 1

• 4 Major types of molecules
  
• Enzymes
  
• The role of Carbon
  

1. Cells are made of 4 main chemical elements:

• carbon
• nitrogen
• oxygen
• hydrogen

2. These atoms form 4 macromolecules they are:

• carbohydrates
• lipids
• proteins
• nucleic acids

• Molecules that contain Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen in some ratio are called organic.

• Macromolecules are large organic molecules.

(Not all of carbon containing compounds are organic (like CO2-CN), BUT all of the organic compounds have at least one carbon atom in their structure")

• Water (H2O), Carbon Dioxide (CO2) are considered inorganic.
  

•Organic molecules are so diverse because they have carbon skeletons (backbones) that vary greatly in arrangement.

• It has four electrons in an outer shell that can hold eight

• Carbon can share its electrons with other atoms to form up to four covalent bonds

• Organic compounds are composed of various functional groups (patterns) attached to a hydrocarbon backbone.

• A functional group is a group of atoms that is commonly found together.

• Functional groups are attached to larger organic molecules, giving them special properties.

• Macromolecules are actually made up of even smaller subunits.

• Each subunit of a macromolecule is called a monomer.

• The macromolecules themselves are called polymers, because they are made up of many of these subunits.

• Monomer: one basic unit or subunit

• Polymer: a chain of many basic units

• Also called “condensation reaction” it is the combining of simple molecules to form a more complex one with the removal of water.
  

• Forms polymers by combining monomers by “removing water”.

• All macromolecules are broken down with hydrolysis

• All macromolecules are formed by dehydration synthesis

Function:

• Living things use some carbohydrates as a key source of ENERGY.
• Plants use carbohydrates for STRUCTURE (cellulose) and not digestible by animals.

Contains the elements: carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen (in a 1:2:1 ratio) (CH2O).

Carbohydrates dissolve easily in water.

•one sugar unit (simple sugar)

Monosaccharide is the monomer of carbohydrates

•Energy for cells (provides energy for the process of respiration)

Examples:

–Glucose (C6H12O6) – main source of energy for all cells

–Fructose – found in fruits and is the sweetest

–Galactose – part of milk sugar (lactose)

–Deoxyribose - DNA

–Ribose - RNA

two sugar unit

Energy for cells

•Examples:

–Sucrose (glucose+fructose) table sugar

–Lactose (glucose+galactose) milk sugar

–Maltose (glucose+glucose) brewing beer

.

Long chains of sugar polymers (Not sweet)

Function: energy storage, structural support

Examples:

• Starch used as energy storage found in plants (alpha)
  

• glycogen (animal starch stored in liver & muscles) (alpha)
  

• cellulose (indigestible in humans – forms the cell walls of plants)(Beta)

How to tell if the food goo has carbohydrates in it:
simple sugars - use Benedict's solution

Blue solution turns orange/green/brown

Complex carbohydrates - use Iodine

Turns from orange-red-brown to black-purple

Watch the video on Basics of Metabolism:
Write the notes for a grade.