Scott Vo

Period 1
AP Biology
September 16, 2013
Macromolecule Lab
Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to build and understand the basic components of the four
main macromolecules and their structure on a molecular level. In a living organism, the four
macromolecules that make them up are nucleic acids, proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids which
all provide necessary functions for sustaining and building life.
Materials: The materials necessary to complete the lab are:

Molymod Molecular Model Set

Lab Book

Writing Utensil

Photography Device

Hypothesis: I believe that the structure and composition of a molecule can change its function.
In addition, I also believe I will know more about the four macromolecules and their monomers
after this lab than I did before.
Procedure:
1. Acquire a Molymod Molecular Model Set.

2. Using the diagrams, construct each of the following monomers: glucose, glycine,
saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, and cytosine.
Data: Below are photos of the molecules after construction. The key is:

Black orbs are carbon.

Red orbs are oxygen.

White orbs are hydrogen.

Short, thick bonds are single bonds.

Long, thin bonds are double bonds.

Glucose

Glycine

Fatty Acids:
Saturated

Unsaturated

Cytosine (We are missing the picture. The one below belongs to Carmina Culannay.)

Conclusion: In our data, we built several monomers of the four main macromolecules. The first
molecule we built was glucose. Glucose has a chemical formula of C6H12O6. Glucose is a sugar
and has the same chemical formula as the fructose and glucose (simple sugars). These simple
sugars belong to a group called monosaccharaides, the monomer form of a carbohydrate. When
two of these molecules are synthesized, they form a disaccharide like sucrose. The function of
carbohydrates is providing quick energy. The process of joining together two saccharides is
known as dehydration synthesis and breaking apart is hydrolysis.
Glycine is a monomer for amino acids or proteins. All amino acids have amine (NH2) and a
carboxyl (COOH) as a functional group. In total, there are about 100 amino acids and there are
about 20 amino acids in the human body. Nitrogen is found in amino acids but not in sugar.
Amino acids are monomers that form together to make polypeptides. These polypeptides come
together to create proteins. Fundamentally, proteins are the building blocks for life as they build
muscle, provide structure, are receptors, catalyze reactions, and are used for the regeneration of
our cells. Amino acids are combined through dehydration synthesis and are broken down through
hydrolysis.
In a fatty acid, there are long chains of carbon atoms with attached hydrogen atoms. The main
difference between these two saturated fats is that saturated fats have hydrogen atoms filling up
the long carbon chains, while unsaturated has double bonds. The three main elements that make
up fatty acids are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. However, the carbohydrate polymers have the
same elements as fatty acids but completely different functions. This is because of the difference
in the structure and arrangement of the bonds and elements creating a completely new
characteristics and functions. Lipids are not normally soluble in water because of the differences
in polarity making them hydrophobic.

A nucleic acid is one of the macromolecules and is a class of compounds used for storing genetic
information through genes specifically. The two main types of nucleic acids are
deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Nucleic acids are composed of
carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, and oxygen. In DNA, the three other nitrogen bases are adenine,
thymine, and guanine. Together with a sugar and a phosphate, they form nucleotides, the
monomer of a nucleic acid. Cytosine is a pyrimidine base. Pyrimidine is a six-membered ring of
carbon and nitrogen atoms, while purines are larger with a six-membered ring fused to a fivemembered ring.
In conclusion, both hypotheses proved to be true. I learned information about the four
macromolecules, and I now know more about these crucial compounds to life than I did before
executing this lab. In addition, carbohydrates and lipids both are composed of the same elements
have slightly different functions due to their structure and composition of the bonds and atoms.
This is the case in many scenarios. Both supply energy, but the difference is the time period of
that energy. However, both are necessary for sustaining life. This is the case in many scenarios.
Another example of this is the comparison between cellulose and starch. They are both polymers
of glucose, but the main difference is the bondage. Starch has alpha linkages, while cellulose has
beta linkages. This slight difference completely changes the properties of the two compounds.
Starch is slightly soluble and is digestible, while cellulose is insoluble and indigestible. The
change of one element, the arrangement, or bonds can change a molecules function completely
and bring out different, new characteristics.