Macromolecules: The 4 Building Blocks of Life

A . What are macromolecules?

1 : Macromolecules are in living cells and are made up of smaller molecules.

a. small units know as monomers bond together to form polymers.

b. There are four types: Lipid, proteins, carbohydrates, and nucleic

acids

B. The Carbon…the little element that could

1 . Carbon: is the element that allows all these different possibilities. It can form up to four bonds, allowing it to form chains , branches, and rings. Nature of carbon atoms explained using an Animation - Tutorvista.com

2.     Carbohydrates: Store energy and building materials

a. monosaccharides: single, simple sugars. Ex. glucose and fructose

b . disaccharides: double, two sugars

c. . polysaccharides: made of many monosaccharides.Ex.1 . Glycogen: made of glucose stored in animals.Ex 2.      Starch: made of glucose monomers, it is stored in plantsGlucose-glucose-glucose-glucose = starch

= polysaccharide

Sugars

d. Other polysaccharides…1. cellulose: found in plant cell walls, provides structural support (think wood) 2. Chitin: found in exoskeleton of crabs, provides structural support

Polysacchrides provide structural support.

Cellulose in plants

Chitin in arthropods

C. Lipids: hydro (water)-phobic (scared of) …don’t mix with water

1.      includes oils, fats, and waxes

2.      Used for storage of energy and a part of all cell membranes

3.      Fats are composed of a glycerol and three fatty acids

a.saturated fats: no double bonds, maximum number of hydrogen

atoms example: butter, lard, and other

solid fats b.      unsaturated fats: one or

more double bonds example : olive oil, canola oil, other

liquid oils

(a) Saturated fat and fatty acid

Stearic acid

(b) Unsaturated fat and fatty aciddouble bond

Oleic acid

Which one causes heart disease?

     D. Proteins: needed for growth, repair, and to make enzymes.

a. Wide range of functions 1. control speed of reaction

2. regulated processes 3. build bone and muscle 4. fight disease.

b. Proteins are a polymer known as a polypeptide chain made up amino acid monomers.

1. There are 20 types of amino acids.

amino acid basics

Biomolecules - The Proteins - Learning Activity - Flash Player Installation

aa aa aa aaaa

Polypeptide or protein

c. Enzymes are proteins that act as catalyst to speed up chemical reactions.

a. they are not changed in the reactionb. they are affected or “ denatured

“ by extreme changes in temperature or ph level.

c. Denaturing caused proteins to lose their original shape and function.

d. Proteins go through 4 levels of organization, the shape is part of its function .

d. Review of Protein Structure

+H3NAmino end

Amino acidsubunits

helix

1.Function is to store and transmit genetic information

2.two types: DNA, and RNA

E. Nucleic Acids

3. DNA: deoxyribonucleic acid

a.       double helix, two strands (think twisted ladder)b.      made of monomers called nucleotide basesc.       Nucleotide bases are made of a 5-carbon sugar, phosphate group, and nitrogen base. d.      Bases are Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine , and Thymine

e. Contains deoxyribose sugar

4. RNA : ribonucleic acid a.       generally single strandedb.      bases include Adenine, Guanine, Cytosine, and Uracilc.       three types, mRNA, rRNA, and tRNA

1

2

3

Synthesis of mRNA in the nucleus

Movement of mRNA into cytoplasm

via nuclear pore

Synthesisof protein

NUCLEUSCYTOPLASM

DNA

mRNA

Ribosome

AminoacidsPolypeptide

mRNA

Figure 5.25

Preview of DNA and RNA