Download BIOMOLECULES: building blocks of life

BIOMOLECULES:
building blocks of life
** Carbon is the basic unit of most
biomolecules **
CARBOHYDRATES
• Structure: sugars made of C, H, and O in a 1:2:1
ratio
• Function:
– E supply for all organisms; also provide fiber
– used to store E for short periods of time
– Primary source of fuel for cellular respiration
– Structural support: plants have cellulose
– Cell recognition
CARBOHYDRATES
• Different types:
– monosaccharide (“single sugar”) glucose
– Disaccharide (two sugars) table sugar/
lactose
– Polysaccharide, considered a complex
carbohydrate (3+ sugars) starch
• Caloric Value: dependent on # of C-H bonds;
varies
LIPIDS (FATS)
• Structure: long chains of C-H bonds; made of
glycerols and fatty acids
• Function: important for E when few carbs
available
– Primary way to store E long term
– Insulation/ cushion vital organs
– Water barriers: repels water (hydrophobic);
cell’s boundary
LIPIDS (FATS)
• Different types:
– saturated: solid at room temperature; single C
bonds; hard for body to break down
– unsaturated: liquid at room temperature;
double C bonds
• Caloric Value: contain more E per gram than
carbs & proteins b/c of C-H bonds
• Important Information: includes fats,
phospholipids, steroids, and waxes
PROTEINS
• Structure: made of amino acids held together
by peptide bonds
– Primary = specific order of amino acids
– Secondary = amino acids in one chain form
bends, twists, coils, folds
– Tertiary = folding of a bent and coiled chain
of amino acid
– Quaternary = overall shape that results
from combining chains
PROTEINS
• Function: involved in almost every function of
human body
– Structure and support (connective tissue)
– Enable movement
– Transport substances (hemoglobin)
– Regulate processes (insulin production)
– Speed up chemical reactions (digestive
enzymes)
– Control growth
PROTEINS
• Different types: structural, transport,
hormone, enzymes, contractile
• Caloric Value: dependent on # of C-H
bonds; varies
• Important Information:
** more important as building blocks
than source of E; only give E if shortage
of carbs/lipids**
AMINO ACIDS
• building blocks of proteins:
– each has an amino group, a carboxyl group,
and a variable side group (composed of C,
H, O, N, and sometimes sulfur)
• 20 different amino acids:
– 12 made in the body,
– other 8 must consume from nuts, beans, or
meat
NUCLEIC ACIDS: DNA and RNA
• Structure: long chain of nucleotide units that
store and transmit hereditary information
– Nucleotide = molecule made up of three
parts: a sugar, a base, and a phosphate
group
• ex: DNA (deoxyribose is the sugar) and
RNA (ribose is the sugar)
NUCLEIC ACIDS: DNA and RNA
• Function: DNA molecules = genetic code
(instructions for processes of an organism's
life)
– genetic code depends on order of bases in
the nucleotides of DNA molecule
– double strand of nucleotides linked
together by hydrogen bonds (double helix)
• RNA involved in protein synthesis (making protein)
CARBOHYDRATES
LIPIDS (FATS)
PROTEINS
NUCLEIC ACIDS