MACROMOLECULES

MACROMOLECULES (POLYMERS)

• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic Acids
• (The subunits that make up these polymers are called monomers.)

CARBOHYDRATE COMPOUND

• Made up of subunits called monosaccharides (simple sugars like glucose, fructose, and galactose)
• Monosaccharides link together through dehydration synthesis
• Bond between two monosaccharides is known as a glycosidic bond
• Two monosaccharides linked together is a disaccharide (such as sucrose)
• More than two monosaccharides linked together is a polysaccharide (such as cellulose and chitin)

CARBOHYDRATE COMPOSITION

• Monosaccharides composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
• Carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen occur in a 1:2:1 ratio
• Simple sugars have the same chemical formula but different structural formulas

CARBOHYDRATE FUNCTION

• Carbohydrates provide quick energy for organisms
• Cellulose provides structural support for the cell walls of plants
• Chitin makes up the hard exoskeleton of insects and crustaceans

EXOSKELETONS

POTATOES

LIPID COMPOUND

• Lipids are non polar organic molecules
• Simplest lipids are known as fatty acids
• Categorized into three groups based on structure:
• Triglyceride, phospholipid, or wax
• Saturated fats have only single bonds between carbons and unsaturated fats have at least one double bond

LIPID COMPOSITION

• Composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
• Carbon and hydrogen are more prevalent than oxygen
• A fatty acid has a long, straight carbon chain with a carboxyl group at one end
• Carbon chain is non polar whereas carboxyl group is polar

LIPID FUNCTION

• Amphipathic property of phospholipids allows them to form the cell membrane
• Acts as cuticle, a waxy covering, on the leaves of plants
• Efficient energy-storage molecules
• Capable of storing twice the amount of energy as proteins and carbohydrates
• Cholesterol stabilizes the cell membrane

BUTTER

VEGETABLE OIL

PROTEIN COMPOUND

• Composed of subunits called amino acids
• There are 23 amino acids, 20 of which are common to all organisms
• Joined together when dehydration synthesis occurs between the...
• ...amine and carboxyl groups of two separate amino acids
• Bond linking amino acids is called a peptide

PROTEIN COMPOSITION

• Amino acids made up of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen
• All amino acids have an amine and carboxyl group attached to a central carbon atom
• Proteins are simply chains of amino acids, with any slight change altering the protein dramatically
• Protein structures can be folded or twisted, a change called denaturing

PROTEIN FUNCTION

• Proteins can act as enzymes to help in metabolic reactions
• Provide energy to living systems
• Used to build cell
• Do much of the work inside organisms

HAIR

LIGAMENTS

NUCLEIC ACID COMPOUND

• Conposed of subunits called nucleotides
• DNA and RNA are types of nucleic acids
• DNA contains inherited genetic information

NUCLEIC ACID COMPOSITION

• Nucleotides are composed of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorous
• DNA is arranged in a double-helix
• RNA is arranged in a single helix

NUCLEIC ACID FUNCTION

• DNA holds genetic information
• DNA contains the information to make all proteins needed by an organism
• RNA copies and transfers this information to aid in protein synthesis

DNA

RNA