Chemistry Project

Donny Gonzalez. DMC

BIOCHEMISTRY OF THE MOLECULES OF LIFE

READ CH. IN TEXT: Review the characteristics of the biological molecules carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.

Biological Molecules
Inorganic compounds
1.
Usually lack carbon
2.
Generally dissolve in water or dissociate to produce ions
3.
Smaller in size than organic compounds
4.
Usually held together by ionic bonds
5.
Inorganic substances common in cells are water, oxygen, carbon dioxide,
inorganic salts.
Organic compounds
1.
Contain carbon atoms
2.
Most do not dissolve in water, those that will do not release ions
3.
Large complex compounds
4.
Covalent bonds
5.
Include carbohydrates, proteins, lipids
Carbohydrates
1.
Contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen with 1:2:1 ratio of C:H:O
2.
Three types: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides
3.
Monosaccharides (simple sugars)
a.
Contain 3 to 6 carbons
b.
Examples: glucose (6C), ribose (5C)
4.
Disaccharides
a.
Consist of 2 monosaccharides
b.
Examples: sucrose, lactose
5.
Polysaccharides
a.
Composed of many monosaccharides
b.
Examples: glycogen, starch
Proteins
1.
Composed of amino acids
2.
All amino acids contain an amine group, a carboxyl group, and a
variable radical (R).
3.
Twenty different amino acids in proteins
4.
Amino acids are joined together in chains by peptide bonds.
5.
Peptide bonds occur between the amine group on one amino acid and the carboxyl
group on the adjacent amino acid
6.

Proteins differ in the following ways:

a.
Types of amino acids

Chemistry Project
b.
c.
d.

Donny Gonzalez. DMC

Arrangement or sequence of amino acids

Number of amino acids
Shapes of the molecules - linear, coiled, folded

Lipids
1.
Triglyceride molecule composed of glycerol and three fatty acids
2.
Many different fatty acids occur in triglyceride forming many kinds of lipids.
3.
Lipids may be saturated or unsaturated.
a.
Saturated - carbons in fatty acids are joined by a single bond and to two H
atoms
b.
Unsaturated - adjacent carbons in fatty acids are joined by double covalent
bonds and each carbon lacks a hydrogen atom
c.
Polyunsaturated - contains many double bonds between carbons
4.
Phospholipids are composed of a glycerol, two fatty acid chains, and a phosphate
group.'
5.
Sterols, such as cholesterol, are larger and more complex.
Nucleic Acids

1.

DNA

In most living organisms (except for viruses), genetic information is stored in the
molecule deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA. DNA is made and resides in the nucleus of living
cells. DNA gets its name from the sugar molecule contained in its backbone
(deoxyribose); however, it gets its significance from its unique structure. Four different
nucleotide bases occur in DNA: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), and thymine (T).
2.

RNA

Ribonucleic acid, or RNA, gets its name from the sugar group in the molecule's backbone
- ribose. Several important similarities and differences exist between RNA and DNA. Like
DNA, RNA has a sugar-phosphate backbone with nucleotide bases attached to it. Like
DNA, RNA contains the bases adenine (A), cytosine (C), and guanine (G); however, RNA
does not contain thymine, instead, RNA's fourth nucleotide is the base uracil (U). Unlike
the double-stranded DNA molecule, RNA is a single-stranded molecule. RNA is the main
genetic material used in the organisms called viruses, and RNA is also important in the
production of proteins in other living organisms. RNA can move around the cells of living
organisms and thus serves as a sort of genetic messenger, relaying the information
stored in the cell's DNA out from the nucleus to other parts of the cell where it is used to
help make proteins.