Download WHAT THEY DO

Organic Compounds
The BIG Four
Before we talk about the “Big 4”,
let’s define a few terms…
Macro
Polymer
Monomer
What do these words mean?
So What Is A
Macromolecule? A BIG
molecule!
What does
“Mono”
mean?
Next Word…POLYMER
Polygons
(many sides)
Polygamy
(many
wives)
Polymers & Monomers
Here are some analogies to better
understand what polymers and monomers
are….
EXAMPLE of
POLYMER
A TRAIN
MONOMER
A PEARL NECKLACE
?
?
If the train is the whole polymer, what would be the small
groups that make up the train? If the necklace is the polymer,
what are the monomers that make up the necklace?
A Polymer
Here are some analogies to better
understand what polymers and monomers
are….
EXAMPLE of POLYMER
MONOMER
A TRAIN
THE CARS
A PEARL NECKLACE
EACH PEARL
If the train is the whole polymer, what would be the small
groups that make up the train? If the necklace is the polymer,
what are the monomers that make up the necklace?
There are FOUR important
biochemical molecules
When studying these
biochemical molecules, we are
interested in finding out…..

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what they do for living things.
what they generally look like.
what their monomers are.
and how they may help the body gain
energy to sustain life.
CARBOHYDRATES
CARBOHYDRATES
They are the main source for the
body to gain energy. They are our
fuel!
They function in short-term energy
storage for animals and plants
CARBOHYDRATES
•In plant foods in the cell walls
of plants - fruits,
vegetables
•In animal
products - in
milk
Cookies, candy,
fruits, sugar,
breads, potatoes,
vegetables
CARBOHYDRATES
Each carbohydrate is made up of…
THINK: “CHO”
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates are chains
(polymers) made of monomers. The
most common monomer of
carbohydrates is…
Glucose is called a monosaccharide
LIPIDS
LIPIDS
Source of STORED ENERGY
INSULATE the body to maintain normal body
temperature
 CUSHION the internal organs for protection.
Produce hormones for the body called
STERIODS
Waterproof surfaces of animals, plants, and
fruits- these are waxes! (Yes, beeswax and your
earwax too!)
LIPIDS
•In plants- in the seeds
----------------------------------
•In animals- in adipose tissue,
connective tissue
-----------------------------------
•Lipids make up the cell
membrane of all cells.
Oils,
butter,
margarine
LIPIDS
Each lipid is made up of…
THINK: “CHO”
LIPIDS
Lipids are chains (polymers) made
of monomers. The most common
monomer of lipids is…
Lipids are shaped like the letter “E”
PROTEINS
PROTEINS
Major structural molecules in living things
for growth and repair: muscles, ligaments,
tendons, bones, hair, skin, nails
Present in all cell membranes
Make antibodies in the immune system
Make enzymes for helping chemical
reactions
Make non-steroid hormones (ex: insulin that
breaks down sugar in your bloodstream)
Make hemoglobin, which carries oxygen in
your blood
PROTEINS
•In plant foods - in
the cell
membranes
•In animal products
- in the cell
membranes- in the
muscles of living
things- cows,
chicken, fish…
Eggs, fish, chicken,
meats, milk, fruits,
vegetables, nuts,
and grains
PROTEINS
Each protein is made up of…
THINK: “CHONS”
PROTEINS
Proteins are made of long chains
(polymers) made of monomers. All
proteins are made of the
monomer…
The shapes of proteins are like a balled up piece
of string
Amino Acid chain
All wound up
How the amino acid folds and its resulting shape
determine the specific function of the protein
Enzymes…a special protein example

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Enzymes speed up chemical reactions (catalysts)
They are required for all biochemical reactions
Stay tuned…We will learn more about enzymes
later in this week!
NUCLEIC ACIDS
NUCELIC ACIDS

DNA

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Is our genetic material. Chromosomes
are made of DNA.
Chromosomes contain the “recipes”
to make proteins for your body.
RNA

Reads the DNA “protein recipes” and
makes the proteins for your body.
You may have heard of…
“DNA” is short for
DeoxyriboNucleic Acid

Now you know why they just call it DNA!

Another common type is RNA (RiboNucleic Acid)
NUCELIC ACIDS
•In every living cell, often in the
nucleus
NUCLEIC ACIDS
Each nucleic acid is made up of…
THINK: “CHONP”
NUCLEIC ACIDS
Nucleic Acids are chains (polymers)
made of monomers. Nucleic acids
are made up of
Something we will learn more about
when we study DNA
In interesting point…three out
of the 4 types of biochemical
macromolecules
can be found on food
nutrition labels…
Look at the label to the left.
3 of the 4 macromolecules
can be found in foods.
The 3 biochemical molecules
found on a nutrition label are:
1____________________
(0 grams in this product)
(13 grams in this product)
2____________________
(9 grams in this product)
3____________________
Resources
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www.bio.kimunity.com
www.slideshare.net/guest13161d/big-4macromolecules
Repacholi, Stephen.
www.slideshare.net/chalkie28/biological-molecules
Mr. J. Willis, science teacher, Hibriten High School
Miller, Ken and Joe Levine. Prentice hall Biology.
Pearson Education Inc. New Jersey, 2005.