Biochemistry Notes

Carbon• Organic

molecules contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen .

• Carbon has 4 electrons available for bonding.

•

Carbohydrates• The function is store

and release energy

• Monosaccharid - one sugar examples:

glucose C6H12O6, Fructose

• Disaccharide - 2 monosaccharides

• example - sucrose - made of glucose and fructose

Polysaccarides

• Contain many sugars• Examples -

– starch - stored energy in plants– glycogen - stored energy in animals– cellulose - makes cell wall of plants

Polysaccharide

Cellulose in a Plant

Lipids• Monomers are fatty

acids • Ex.– fats, oils, &

phospholipids in cell membranes

• Non-polar - insoluble in water

• Structure– 3 fatty acids bonded to glycerol

Lipid function

Long-term energy storage, insulation, cell structure (lipid bi-layer/cell membrane)

Saturated Fatty Acid

•

• Solid at room temperature

• Bad for heart• Meat, butter• Contain lots of

hydrogen atoms and carbons are linked with single bonds in fatty acid chain

Unsaturated Fatty Acid• Liquid at room

temperature• Good for your heart• Olive oil, nuts, fish.• Contain few

hydrogen atoms because carbon

atoms have double bonds in fatty acid

chain.

ProteinsProteins provide

structure (skin, hair, cartilage, muscle) and are carry out all cell metabolism (enzymes)

The shape determines function

Monomer—amino acidsLinked together by

peptide bonds (type of covalent bond)

Protein Structure• Primary – amino acid

sequence• Secondary - hydrogen

bonding between a.a.’s – causes twisting; 2-D shape

• Tertiary - additional folding – functional protein; 3-D shape

• Quaternary - 2 or more amino acid (polypeptide) chains– complex

Primary Structure

Secondary Teritary

Quaternary

Nucleic Acids• Macromolecule that stores and

transfers genetic material• Made up of nucleotides

– made up of a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogen base

• DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid• RNA: ribonucleic acid

Nucleotides