Biology Honors 2.01 chemistry of life

DNA Molecule

A DNA molecule is very long and is made up of hundreds of thousands of genes.

Fatty Acid

A fatty acid is a long chain of carbon and hydrogen atoms with a carboxylic acid group on one end of the molecule.

Nucleic Acid

A nucleic acid is a chain of nucleotides bonded together

Carbon-Base Molecules

All life on Earth is made up of carbon-based molecules, sometimes called organic compounds.

Sometimes the substances in a chemical reaction bind to an active site on the enzyme, helping the reaction to occur faster.

An inhibitor may have a similar shape to the substances in the reaction, allowing it to bind to the active site and interfere with the enzyme's function.

Chitin. It differs from cellulose by having amino groups (NH2) bonded to its glucose molecules.

Because of its strength, it is used to form the exoskeleton of all arthropods: insects, spiders, lobsters, and crabs. These protective exoskeletons, or anything else made of chitin, cannot be digested by animals.

There are four categories of biological macromolecules that provide energy and structure to living organisms and their cells

Carbohydrates lipids proteins nucleic acid

Cellulose Molecule

Cellulose is a rigid polysaccharide found in plants. It is made up of long chains of glucose molecules bonded together in an alternating manner, where every other glucose is turned in an opposite direction.

Cellulose is responsible for the rigidity and strength in leaves, stems, bark, and other plant structures.

Cellulose, also known as plant fiber, cannot be digested by human beings and most animals. It just passes through the digestive tract without being absorbed into the body.

Chitin Molecule

Chitin is a rigid polysaccharide similar to cellulose in its alternating arrangements of glucose molecules.

Chitin

Chitin is another structural polysaccharide made up of glucose molecules. (However, it is different than cellulose because it has amino groups (NH2) bonded to the glucose. It is found in the exoskeletons of arthropods such as insects, spiders, lobsters, and crabs. These protective exoskeletons, or anything else made of chitin, cannot be digested by animals.)

There are two major types of nucleic acids: deoxyribonucleic acids (DNA) and ribonucleic acids (RNA).

DNA and RNA

Encoded into the DNA's structure are instructions for constructing a cell and directing all of the cell's activities.

DNA and RNA are very important because they allow cells to reproduce their structures from one generation to the next.

DNA

DNA contains an organism's genetic information and is usually found within a cell's nucleus. The RNA molecules are also very important because they transport the genetic coding from the DNA to other parts of the cell where proteins are built.

Cellulose is important for humans

Despite the fact that it cannot be used as an energy source in most animals, cellulose fiber is an important part of our diet because it helps exercise the digestive track and keep it clean and healthy.

Disaccharides

Disaccharides are carbohydrate molecules made up of two monosaccharide molecules bonded together.

Insulin

Enzyme for sugar metabolism. 51 amino acids

Another thing that can interfere with an enzyme's ability to speed up a reaction is an enzyme inhibitor.

Enzyme inhibitors are substances that bind to an enzyme and change its shape or block its ability to interact with the chemical reaction.

Enzymes are special proteins that increase the rate of a reaction by decreasing the amount of energy needed to get a reaction started.

Enzymes are biological catalysts, molecules that increase the speed of a reaction without being used up in the reaction.

cytochrome c

Enzymes for cell respiration. 104 amino acids

The polysaccharides that are produced and consumed by living organisms, such as starch, cellulose, and glycogen, are all made up of the monomer glucose.

Even though they are all made up of the same monomer, their properties are different because of the differences in how the glucose molecules are arranged in the different polysaccharides.

Fats are stored in the body in fat deposits, which serve as stored energy for the organism.

Fat deposits under the skin can also provide insulation for an animal, while fat surrounding vital organs provides protection and cushion for the organs. (Although fats, carbohydrates, and proteins all serve as energy sources, digesting fat macromolecules releases much more energy than an equal amount of the others. One gram of fat can provide about 38 kilojoules of energy, compared to around 17 kilojoules of energy from one gram of carbohydrate or protein.)

Each of these types of lipids has a unique structure and function, but they are grouped together because they all have hydrophobic properties.

Fat molecules are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms.

Fat molecules and triglycerides

Fat molecules are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. These macromolecules are made up of smaller molecules, one glycerol and three fatty acids, which is why fats are also called triglycerides.

Triglycerides

Fat molecules are made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms. These macromolecules are made up of smaller molecules, one glycerol and three fatty acids, which is why fats are also called triglycerides.

Fatty Acids

Fatty acids can form fat molecules, but they also serve a number of other important functions in our bodies.

structural Proteins

Fibrous and stringy proteins that provide support or protective coverings like hair, feathers, horns, ect. (examples include collagen and elastin)

Which monosaccharide is important for energy cell production?

Glucose

Glycogen Molecule

Glycogen is the polysaccharide molecule used to store glucose in animals. Glycogen is a branched chain of glucose molecules.

Glycogen

Glycogen is the polysaccharide that animals and fungi use to store excess glucose molecules from their food. It serves as an energy reserve that can be broken down into individual glucose molecules when they are needed. Your athletic endurance is related to the amount of glycogen you have stored away, but even a significant supply of glycogen in an average human can be used up in a day if it is not replenished by carbohydrates from food.

glucose, fructose, and galactose all have the same chemical formula, C6H12O6.

However, the differences in the arrangement of the atoms and bonds give each of the molecules a unique shape. The shape of a molecule determines how molecules function and react within a cell.

The glucose molecules in glycogen are all facing the same direction. The branches in glycogen molecules tend to be shorter and more frequent than any branching that may occur in some starch molecules.

Humans and other animals consume starch as a primary energy source for everyday functions.

Hydrolysis

Hydrolysis is the chemical reaction that breaks down polymers into the smaller monomer units. During this reaction, a water molecule is split into OH and H, which are added back to the monomers as the bond between the monomers is broken.

Enzymes are sensitive to temperature and pH like other proteins, so they can only speed up reactions when the conditions are right.

If temperature or pH is altered one way or another, the enzyme is denatured and no longer able to speed up the reactions.

In addition to providing energy, the carbon atoms in glucose can be used by the cells to build other important molecules, like fatty acids and amino acids.

If the monosaccharides are not used by the cells immediately, they can be stored in larger carbohydrate molecules to be used later.

Phospholipids are similar in structure to fat molecules.

Instead of three fatty acids found in a fat molecule, phospholipids have two fatty acids and one phosphate group bonded to the glycerol molecule. (Having a phosphate group instead of the third fatty acid gives phospholipids a hydrophilic end and a hydrophobic end to the molecule.)

Table sugar, called sucrose, is a disaccharide that you probably use every day

It is made up of one fructose molecule and one glucose molecule bonded together.

sucrose

It is made up of one fructose molecule and one glucose molecule bonded together.

Hydrophobic

Lacking affinity for water, tending not to mix well with water

Lactose

Lactose, the major sugar in milk, is made of one glucose molecule and one galactose molecule bonded together.

Maltose

Maltose is a disaccharide produced during the digestion of starch. It is made of two glucose molecules.

Hormonal proteins

Messenger Proteins that help coordinate bodily activities. (For example, insulin and oxytocin)

Monosaccharides and disaccharides are classified as simple carbohydrates.

Most simple carbohydrates have a sweet taste, and they are collectively referred to as "sugars" in biology.

gamma globulin

Part of immune system in blood. 1320 amino acids

polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are carbohydrate polymers made up of hundreds to thousands of monosaccharide units bonded together.

Proteins

Proteins are large biological macromolecules that are made up of smaller molecules called amino acids.

There are 20 different amino acids that all share the same basic structure.

Proteins are made up of 50 or more amino acids bonded together. A difference of only one amino acid in the protein chain can cause a big difference in the protein's function within a cell.

Functions of Proteins

Proteins can only function properly under specific conditions, such as a small range of temperature and pH. Changes in these conditions can break the chemical attractions within the protein and change the molecule's shape. (When this happens, the protein is said to be "denatured" because it is unable to serve its function.)

contractile proteins

Proteins responsible for the movement of muscles. (For example, Actin and myosin

Fatty Acids functions

Some of these functions include: controlling inflammation brain health and development maintaining fluidity of cell membranes preventing blood clots

Antibodies (Proteins)

Specialized proteins that help defend organisms from foreign invaders.

Starch

Starch is a polysaccharide formed by plants as a way to store the large amounts of glucose produced during photosynthesis. Animals are able to break down starch into individual glucose molecules, which makes starch an important food source.

Some types of starch do contain some branching in their glucose chains.

Starch is the principal polysaccharide used by plants to store glucose, to be used later as an energy source.

Starch Molecule

Starch molecules are long straight chains of glucose molecules where all of the glucose molecules are turned the same direction.

If some of the glucose molecules from the broken down starch need to be stored for later use, they are stored in the polymer glycogen.

The excess glucose is bonded together to form the branching glycogen molecules, which the humans and animals store primarily in the liver and muscle tissue to be broken down when energy is needed.

nucleic Acid

The fourth category of biological macromolecules is nucleic acids, which carry the genetic information needed to build organisms

One thing that determines the natural shape of a protein is the side chains of the amino acids.

The human body contains thousands of different proteins, and it is the shape and structure of the proteins that determine their unique function.

The main categories of lipids are?

The main categories of lipids are fats, phospholipids, and steroids.

dehydration synthesis

The term dehydration synthesis describes any process where two substances bond together by the removal of water.

Organic

The term organic is used to define any chemical molecule that is carbon-based.

Proteins introduction

The word protein comes from the Greek word proteios, meaning "first place." This indicates how important they are to living organisms.

The way the glucose molecules are arranged in cellulose allows hydrogen bonds to form between the cellulose molecules.

These series of hydrogen bonds that form between the closely packed cellulose molecules provide a rigid and stable structure used to give strength to plant cell walls.

Four different types of polysaccharide molecules that are produced and consumed by living organisms are starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin

They are all polymers made up of hundreds to thousands of glucose molecules bonded together, but the difference in their structures gives them different properties and functions.

Proteins make up more than 50 percent of the dry weight of cells, and they are important to almost every function of a cell

They are used for structure, transporting other substances, storage, signaling from one part of an organism to another, movement, and defense against foreign substances.

A DNA molecule is actually made up of two nucleotide chains that spiral around an imaginary axis.

This shape is called a double helix.

Plants often store starch in seeds or other specialized organs. Common sources of starch in our diets include rice, beans, wheat, corn, and potatoes.

When humans consume starch, an enzyme found in saliva and in the intestines breaks down the starch molecule into individual glucose molecules. This allows the glucose to be absorbed into the bloodstream and distributed to areas where it is needed for energy.

Amino acid Structure

amino group carboxylic acid group side chain central carbon atom forming a protein

transport proteins

carrier proteins that move molecules from one place to another around the body. (Examples include cytochromes and hemoglobin)

cellulose

cellulose, a polysaccharide made up of glucose, is a very strong material that serves as the primary structural component of plants. Most animals are not able to break cellulose down into glucose. However, cellulose in the food that we eat is important because it serves as dietary fiber that regulates digestion.

hexokinase

enzyme for glycolysis. 730 amino acids

What are the most common monosaccharides?

glucose and fructose

Amino Acids bond together to form a large protein molecule

it naturally twist and bends into its unique shape

Monosaccharides

monosaccharides is the smallest type of carbohydrates

myosin

muscle action

Nucleotides

nucleotide is made up of a nitrogenous base, a sugar, and a phosphate group.

Hemoglobin

oxygen transport in blood. 574 amino acids

polymers

polymers are large molecules composed of many identical or similar subunits called monomers

Enzymes

specialized proteins that speed up reactions by decreasing the energy needed for the reaction to occur. (Examples include lactase and pepsin)

Growth Hormone

used in anti aging treatments. 191 amino acids