Download Molecules of Life

Molecules of Life
• Carbohydrates
•Lipids
•Proteins
•Nucleic Acids
Molecules of Life
• All living things are composed of the following
basic elements:
– Carbon
– Hydrogen
– Nitrogen
– Oxygen
– Phosphorous
– Sulfur
Remember “CHNOPS”
Inorganic vs. Organic
• Inorganic molecules do not contain the
element carbon
– Water
• Organic molecules contain the element carbon
– Example: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic
Acid
– Exception: carbon dioxide (CO2) and carbon
monoxide (CO)
Molecules of Life
• Living things have four basic carbon
compounds:
– Carbohydrates
• Sugar, starch, cellulose
– Lipids
• Fats, waxes, steroids, chlorophyll
– Proteins
• Meat, fish, nuts
– Nucleic Acid
• DNA or RNA
Monomer vs. Polymer
• Monomer-
Monomer
– Mono = one, mero = part
– A molecule that can bind to other
molecules to form a polymer
– Examples: Glucose (C6H12O6), Amino
Acids
• Polymer
– Poly = many, meros = parts
– A large molecule that contains many
molecules
– A large molecule made of smaller,
molecules of the same type
(monomers) linked together.
• A protein (the polymer) is made of many
amino acids (monomers)
Polymer
Carbohydrates
• Composed of CHO (Carbon, Hydrogen and
Oxygen)
• Examples: Sugar and Starch
– Most end in “-ose”, fructose, glucose, sucrose,
cellulose
– Glucose- C6H1206 is the basic “fuel” in all living things,
produced during photosynthesis
• Carbohydrates provide energy
• Carbohydrates may be converted to lipids (fats)
for long term energy storage
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates can be either:
1. monosaccharide- a simple, single carbohydrate (monomer)
examples: glucose or fructose
2. disaccharide- 2 monosaccharides put together (polymer)
example:
• Sucrose (table sugar) = 1 glucose + 1 fructose
• Maltose (malt sugar) = 1 glucose + 1 glucose
• Lactose (milk sugar) = 1 glucose + 1 galactose
3. polysaccharide - numerous monosaccharides (polymer)
examples: starch, glycogen and cellulose
• More on polysaccharides:
– Starches
• Many glucose molecules linked together (polymer)
• Plants store energy in the form of starch
• Found in many staple foods: rice, wheat, and potatoes
– Glycogen
• Many glucose molecules linked together but differently than
starch (polymer)
• Animals store glycogen in muscles/liver
• Secondary long term storage for animals
– Cellulose
• Structure component of the cell wall in plants that provides
support (polymer)
• Humans cannot digest cellulose… the shell of corn is made of
cellulose…
Lipids
•
•
•
•
Composed of CHO (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen)
1 glycerol and 3 fatty acids (think “Fat E”)
Do not dissolve in water (“oil and water”)
Examples of lipids
– Fats: acts as an insulator
– Oils: some birds secrete oil to help them
“waterproof” themselves
– Waxes: helps plants conserve water
– Steroids
Lipids
• Two types of lipids:
– Saturated fats
• The carbon bonds (where the carbon molecules meet)
are single, no double bonds
• C-C-C-C-C-C-C-C
• animal fats like butter, cream, cheese
– Unsaturated:
• Some of the carbon bonds are double bonded (where
two bonds hold the carbons together)
• C-C-C=C-C-C-C-C
• Plant fats like canola oil, olive oil
Proteins
• Composed of CHON (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen)
• Some types of proteins can contain other
elements like S, P, Fe, and Cu (Sulfur,
Phosphorous, Iron, Copper)
• Made of small units (monomers) called amino
acids.
• Examples:
– Proteins make up muscle, skin and hair
– Hemoglobin (blood) is a protein that carries
oxygenated blood
– Enzymes are proteins that speed of reactions in the
body
Nucleic Acid
• Nucleic Acids are large complex molecules
containing genetic material
• Made of nucleotides
– sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogen base
Two types:
1. Deoxyribonucleic Acid- DNA
2. Ribonucleic - RNA
• DNA carries instructions that regulate cells
activities
• RNA–uses information from DNA to make
proteins
Nucleic Acids
• Nucleotides:
– Phosphate
– 5 carbon sugar (deoxyribose
in DNA, ribose in RNA)
– Nitrogen Base (Adenine,
Thymine, Guanine,
Cytosine)
Nucleic Acids
• Contain genetic information
• More details about DNA and RNA later!