BIOMOLECULES Polysaccharides are long chains of single sugars.

Some important polysaccharides include Starch (also

called amylose), Glycogen, Cellulose (found in
MACROMOLECULES
plants cell walls, the "fiber" that you see on food
All living things are made up of of 4 classes of large
labels) and Chitin.
biological molecules: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins,
and nucleic acids.
LIPIDS
Oils, Fats, Phospholipids, Waxes, and Steroids
MONOMER VS. POLYMER
•Polymer- a long molecule consisting of many
Fats:
similar building blocks
 Two components: Glycerol and 3 Fatty acids
•Monomer- the building block
 The major function of fat is energy storage
MONOMER BIOMOLECULE •Saturated fatty acid have the maximum number
(POLYMER) of hydrogen atoms possible and no double bonds
Monosaccharide Carbohydrates Ex. Pork, beef, butter, cheese, laid cream, and some
Fatty Acids Lipids processed foods
Nucleotides Nucleic Acid
Amino Acids Proteins •Unsaturated fatty acids have one or more double
bonds
CREATING AND BREAKING DOWN Ex. Oils
POLYMERS
•Dehydration/condensation reaction- two Phospholipids
monomer bond together through the loss of a  Phospholipids are the major component of
water molecule all cell membranes
•Hydrolysis- two bonded monomers split apart using  The two fatty acid tails are hydrophobic,
a water molecule but the phosphate, glycerol, and choline
form a hydrophilic head
CARBOHYDRATES
•Simplest carbohydrates monomers are Steroids
monosaccharides  Steroids are lipids characterized by a
•More complex carbohydrate polymers are called carbon skeleton consisting of 4 fused rings.
polysaccharides  Cholesterol, an important steroid, is a
•Monosaccharides have molecular formulas that component in animal cell membrane.
are usually multiples oh CH2O
•Glucose (C6H12O6) is the most common The steroid is very important for regulating
monosaccharide metabolism, immune response, reproduction, and
other essential biological processes.
Some common carbohydrates monomers:
 Fructose- Fruit Sugar PROTEINS
 Galactose- Milk Sugar Proteins are polymers made up of Amino acids.
 Ribose- Component of RNA There are 20 different amino acids.
 Deoxyribose- Component of DNA 11 Non Essential Amino Acids
9 Essential Amino Acids
Two Monosaccharides bond together using a
dehydration reaction to create a Disaccharide. Different proteins have specific functions
including: Structure, Movement, Defense,
 Sucrose = Glucose + Fructose Storage, Communication, or Assisting in chemical
 Maltose = Glucose + Glucose reactions.
 Lactose = Glucose + Galactose
 ENZYMES
•Enzymes are special proteins that assist in
(catalyze) chemical reaction. Each enzymes has
one specific job, can carry out that job over and
over again.
•The reaction takes place in small part of the
enzyme called the active site

 Cofactor- Molecules or ions that are

necessary for the catalytic action of enzymes.
This includes metals or small organic
molecules.

 Coenzymes- Organic molecules (non-

protein) necessary for the catalytic action of
enzymes. Many are derivatives of vitamins.

 Substrate- a molecule upon which an

enzymes acts

 Active site- A 3 dimensional cavity of the

enzyme with specific chemical properties that
enable it to accommodate the substrate

 Inhibitor- A compound that binds to an

enzyme and lowers it activity

 Apoenzyme- An enzyme that requires a

cofactor but does not have one bound. An
apoenzyme is an inactive enzyme, activation
of the enzyme occurs upon binding of an
organic or inorganic cofactor.

 Holoenzyme- An apoenzyme together with

its cofactor. A holoenzyme is complete and
catalytically active. Most cofactors are not
covalently bound but instead are tightly
bound.

NUCLEIC ACID
•Nucleud acids are the molecules that code the
genetic information of organisms.
•DNA and RNA are polymers made up of monomers
called Nucleotides.