Senior Department

Biology

Senior 1

Unit 1
Chemical basis of life

unit 1 |
Biology is life senior 1

Unit 1: chemical structure of living organisms

Bodies of living organisms consist of:

Group of systems
(ex: digestive system – respiratory system - … etc)

Group of organs
(ex: respiratory system composed of lungs, trachea, … etc)

Group of Tissues
(ex: lungs consist of epithelial tissue – support tissues, .. etc

Group of cells
(ex: epithelial tissue composed of cells)

Group of molecules
(cell organelles composed of several molecules such as carbohydrates)

Group of atoms
(carbohydrates consist of carbon atom, oxygen and hydrogen atom)

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There are two types of molecules inside bodies of living organisms which are:

Inorganic molecules Organic molecules

molecules don’t contain hydrogen and They are big molecules containing
carbon basically ( may contain carbon hydrogen and carbon basically.
and hydrogen or not)
Example:
Example: Biological macromolecules
 water  carbohydrates
 mineral salts  lipids
 protein
 nucleic acids

Biological macromolecules
They are organic molecules containing hydrogen and carbon basically and they
are also called polymers

Polymerization process Polymers

it is a process by which monomers they are large molecules which resulted
(small molecules) bind together to form from binding of smaller molecules called
polymers (large molecules) monomers during polymerization process

These molecules are classified into four groups according to their molecular
structure and function which are:

 carbohydrates
 lipids
 proteins
 nucleic acids

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Definiti on

They are biological macromolecules (polymers) which

consists of smaller molecules (monomers) called
Monosaccharide.

 They include sugars, fibres and starches

 Their general formula is (CH2O)n
n= number of carbon atoms
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Classification
Carbohydrates are divided according to their structures into:-

 Simple sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides)

 Complex sugars

Simple sugars:
A Simple sugar whose polymers consist of only one molecule or 2 molecules
one monomer called (monosaccharide)
two monomers called (disaccharide)
Common properties of simple sugars:-
1. Soluble in water
2. They have small molecular weights
3. They have sweet tastes
How to detect simple sugars in food:-
We can detect simple sugars in food by using Benedict reagent; simple sugars
change its colour from blue to orange.

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1. Monosaccharide:-

 A molecule composed of a series of carbon atoms, each one of them is

bound with an oxygen atom and a carbon one in a certain way.
 The no. of carbon atoms in a monosaccharide ranges from 3 to 6 atoms
 Examples:-
1. Glucose (Grapes sugar)
2. Fructose (Fruits sugar)
3. Ribose ( 5- carbon sugar)
4. Galactose (synthesize in mammary gland)

 Role of monosaccharides in energy transfer processes inside living

organisms:-
Living organisms release the energy stored in monosaccharides such as
glucose as the following:-
1- Glucose is oxidized inside mitochondria in cells
2- The energy stored in glucose gets released in the form of chemical bonds
3- The chemical bonds are stored in compounds called Adenosine
Triphosphate ( ATP)
4- ATP transports to other parts of cell using its stored energy in all the
biological processes in cell

2. Disaccharides:-

 Structure: Two molecules of monosaccharides bound together

 Examples:-
1- Sucrose (sugar cane): It consists of Glucose + Fructose
2- Lactose (milk sugar): It consists of Glucose + Galactose
3- Maltose (malt sugar): It consists of Glucose + Glucose

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Complex sugars:
They are carbohydrates which consist of group of monosaccharides, Complex
sugars are also called Polysaccharides
Common properties of simple sugars:-
1. Insoluble in water
2. They have heavy molecular weights
3. They don't have any taste
Examples:-
1. Cellulose
2. Starch
3. Glycogen
How to detect starch in substances
Starch changes the colour of iodine solution to blue
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Importance

1. Getting energy: carbohydrates are the main and quickest source of energy
in living organisms

2. Storing energy: carbohydrates store energy in living organisms till they

need it, as plants store carbohydrates in the form of starch, whereas animals
and humans store them in the form of Glycogen in liver and muscles

3. Building cells: the basic component of some parts of cell such as cellulose
in the cell walls of plant cells, protoplasm and cellular membranes.

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Definition
They are biological macromolecules (polymer) which consist of
smaller units (monomer) called fatty acids.

 Lipids dissolve in non polar solvents such as carbon tetrachloride and

benzene, but don't dissolve in polar solvents such as water.
 Lipids are formed from 3 fatty acids bound to a glycerol molecule
( glycerol is an alcohol having 3 hydroxyl OH groups)

How to detect lipids in substances

Sudan IV reagent is used to detect lipids, as lipids can dissolve in it changing its
colour to red
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Classification

Lipids classified according to their chemical structure into:

Simple lipids (oil – fat – wax)
Complex lipids (phospholipids)
Derivative lipids (some hormones)

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1. Simple lipids:
They are classified according to the saturation of fatty acids into oils, fats and
waxes.
Lipid Composition Example
Oils  They are liquid lipids Some birds' feathers are
 Formed from the reaction covered with oils to
of unsaturated fatty acids protect them from water
with glycerol. which disable their
movement
Fats  They are solid lipids there are fats in some
 Formed from the reaction animals stored under their
of saturated fatty acids skin that work as heat
with glycerol. insulator

waxes  They are formed from the
reaction of fatty acids with
heave molecular weights
with monohydroxy
alcohols (alcohols having
one hydroxyl OH group).
Wax covers the leaves of
plants (especially desert
plants) to decrease the
amount of water they lose
by transpiration process

2. Complex lipids:

 They are formed from oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, sulphur and phosphorus
 Example: Phospholipids
1. Its structure is like that of fats, but phosphate group PO4 replaces the
third fatty acid.
2. It occurs in the membranes of plant and animal cells

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3. Derivative lipids:-

 They are lipids which are derived from complex and simple lipids by
Hydrolysis process
 Examples:-
1- Cholesterol
2- Hormones
3- Steroids
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Importance

1. Source of energy: The energy released from lipids is more than that
released from carbohydrates. Human body begins releasing energy from
lipids when it runs out of carbohydrates.

2. Building cells: as it is the main component of cell membranes and they

make up 5% of the organic compounds forming living cells.

3. Heat insulator: Some animals (polar bears, penguins, and seals) store
lipids under their skins to protect them from low temperatures.

4. Protective layers: They work as protective layers in some plants and

animals.

5. Hormones: Some of them (steroids) work as hormones.

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Definition
It is biological macromolecules (polymer) which consists of smaller
molecules (monomer) called amino acids.

 Amino acids: composed of a carbon atom linked with:-

- An acidic functional group called amine
NH2
- A basic functional group called
carboxyl COOH
- R Group (side group) which differs
according to the type of amino acid

 They link together by peptide bond.

* two amino acids join together called Dipeptide
* many amino acids join together called Polypeptide

 Proteins are formed from the same 20 amino acids, but with different
arrangements such as:
a. Alanine
b. Glycine
c. Valine

How to detect proteins in substances:

We detect proteins by using Biuret reagents, proteins change the colours of
these reagents from blue to purple.

Classification
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Simple proteins Associated proteins
They consist of only amino They consist of amino acids associated with other
acids elements
Ex: Phosphorus + protein
Phosphoproteins ex: Casein – milk protein
Albumin, which is found in
blood plasma, leaves and Thyroxin Iodine + protein
seeds of plants
Blood hemoglobin Iron + protein

Nuclear-associated Nucleic acid + protein

proteins

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Importance
1. The basic component of cell membranes, ligaments and tendons

2. They form muscles, fingernails, hair, organs, glands

3. They form liquids in human body such as lymph and blood

4. They are necessary for human growth

5. The main component of chromosomes

6. They form enzymes and hormones

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Definition
They are biological macromolecules (polymers) which consist of
smaller units (monomers) called Nucleotide.

 Nucleotide: it consists of three units which are:

1. Pentose (5 carbon) sugar
2. phosphate group (PO4) PO4
3. Nitrogenous base Base
they are 5 types which are Adenine (A), CH2OH
Thymine (T), Cytosine (C), Guanine (G)
and Uracile (U)
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Classification
P.O.C DNA RNA
Type of sugar Deoxyribose (lake oxygen) Ribose

Type of Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine Guanine, Cytosine, Adenine

nitrogen bases and Thymine and Uracile
place inside nucleus transcript from DNA inside
nucleus and move to cytoplasm
No. of strands double strands single strand

Importance 1. It is from the basic It copies the information of

components of chromosomes. DNA , then it transports to
cytoplasm to be used in
2. It is responsible for carrying making proteins which are
and transferring hereditary responsible for the appearance
traits through generations. of hereditary traits and
organization of biological
processes

Lesson 3: chemical reaction inside organisms’ bodies

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Biochemical reactions that take place inside living organisms’ bodies called
Metabolism, these reactions are necessary for growth, get energy, build tissues
and sustain life.
Metabolism reactions divided to:

Catabolism Anabolism
A process by which energy is being A process by which simple
released from the chemical bonds in molecules are used to build complex
some molecules such as glucose. macromolecules through a group of
chemical reactions which consume
energy.

Example: Example:
Cells break up glucose to release Building proteins from amino acids
energy from it. is an example on anabolism.

 Chemical reactions need high activation energy to occur. To decrease the

energy used by cell in biochemical reactions occurring inside it, we need
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catalysts to decrease activation energy needed for the reaction to occur,
these catalysts are enzymes.
Enzymes

Enzymes: Biological catalysts formed Activation energy: The

from proteins molecules which speed minimum energy required for
up chemical reactions occurring a chemical reaction to occur
within living organisms

The properties of enzymes:

1- They resemble chemical catalysts, as they only speed up the chemical
reaction without taking part in it.
2- Enzymes are affected by the concentration of hydrogen ions (pH) and
temperature.
3- Enzymes are different from other catalysts because every enzyme is
specialized for only one reactant substance (called substrate) and a small
no. of reactions (ex: hydration)
4- Enzymes decrease the activation energy needed for chemical reactions to
occur

Factors affecting the work

of enzymes:
1
Temperature:

 Enzymes are very sensitive to temperature

due to protein nature of enzymes
(increasing of temperature leads to
changing in the shape of protein).
 So the action of it is affected by narrow range of temperatures.

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 every enzyme has different optimum temperature (the temperature at

which the enzyme becomes most active)

 When the temp. of an enzyme becomes less than its optimum temperature,
its activity also decreases gradually. Enzyme activity stops at 0◦C (but it
become active again when its temperature increases).

2 Power of hydrogen (pH):

It's the measurement which determines the concentration of hydrogen

ions H+ in a solution, and determines if the solution is acidic, alkaline or
neutral

14 7 0

base Neutral acid

 Each enzyme has its own pH on

which it becomes most active, this
degree of pH is called "Optimum
pH"

 If the pH of an enzyme decreased or

increases, its activity decreases
gradually till it stops.

 Most enzymes works at pH of 7.4

 Example:
- Pepsin enzyme works at acidic pH (less than 7)
- Trypsin enzyme works at basic pH (more than 7)

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1- Choose the correct answer:

1. Which of the following is not belonging to organic biological molecules?
a. Nucleic acid b. Carbohydrates c. water d. proteins

2. the sugar which is known as malt sugar is ………………….

a. maltose b. sucrose c. lactose d. galactose

3. When the two molecules of glucose combines, a molecule of …. is formed

a. lactose b. maltose c. ribose d. sucrose

4. from the examples of disaccharides is the …………

a. glucose b. fructose c. galactose d. sucrose

5. Glycogen monomers are consisting of ………….

a. fructose b. glucose c. galactose d. ribose

6. Carbohydrates are absorbed in the intestine in the form of …………..

a. monosaccharides b. disaccharides c. polysaccharides

7. The Benedict’s reagent is used for detecting ………………..

a. glucose b. glycerol c. starch d. cellulose
8. Which of the following molecules is consists of glycerol and fatty acids?
a. sugars b. starch c. lipids d. nucleic acids

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9. The liquid lipids formed by reaction of saturated fatty acids with glycerol
are ………..
a. oils b. fats c. waxes d. cholesterol

10. From the example of complex lipids are the ………..

a. fats b. phospholipids c. oils d. waxes

11. Which of the following is not a monomer?

a. glucose b. amino acids c. Nucleotides d. protein

12. The building blocks of protein are ……………..

a. fatty acids b. amino acids c. nucleic acids d. glucose

13. Which of the following statement is correct?

a. simple sugar is composed of polysaccharides
b. protein is composed of amino acids
c. glycerol is composed of fatty acids
d. nucleotides are composed of nucleic acids

14. …………….. are from examples of amino acids.

a. Alanine b. Fibrinogen c. Glycine d. (a)& (c)

15. Albumin protein is found in ………………

a. root of plant b. plant’s leaves c. human plasma d. all the pervious
16. The sugar that enters in the structure of RNA molecules is ……..
a. galactose b. ribose c. deoxyribose d. maltose

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17. The macromolecules that contain hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon and
phosphorus are the …………….
a. proteins b. lipids c. carbohydrates d. nucleic acids

18. Which of the following isn’t function of proteins?

a. Maintenance and transmission of genetic information
b. controlling the rate of reactions
c. resistance of diseases
d. movement of materials inside and outside cells

19. The nitrogenous base that doesn’t present in RNA is ………..

a. Adenine b. Thymine c. Guanine d. Cytosine

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Write the scientific term:

1. Biological macromolecule made up of combination of smaller molecules

through polymerization process (…………………………………….)
2. Biological macromolecules are composed of several smaller molecules of
monosaccharides (……………………………………..)
3. Sugars are formed of one molecule that consist of 3:6 carbon atoms
(………………………………………)
4. Sugars soluble in water, have low molecular weight and have sweet taste
(………………………………………)
5. Polymers insoluble in polar solvent as water, but soluble in non-polar
solvent (……………………………………..)
6. Substance which is formed by reaction of high molecular weight fatty acids
with monohydric alcohol (……………………………………..)
7. Substances enter in composition of some hormones.
(……………………………………..)

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8. the temperature at which the enzyme is more active
(……………………………………..)

Give reasons for:

1. Monosaccharides are responsible for energy transferring.
2. Glucose sugar is considered from monosaccharides
3. Benzene is used for removing greasy spots from clothes.
4. Some animals can maintain their own temperature in severe cold regions.
5. Feathers of water birds are covered by oils.
6. Leaves of desert plants are covered with a layer of wax.
7. Sudan – 4 reagents is used for detecting fats.
8. Iodine solution is used in detecting starch.
9. The catalysis of protein albumin produces amino acids only
10. There are millions of protein compounds although the number of
amino acids is 20.
11. Importance of DNA molecule in cells.
12. DNA is different in structure from RNA.

Compare between:
1. Simple sugar and complex sugar
2. Nucleic acid DNA and nucleic acid RNA

Illustrate by fully labeled drawing only:

1. Structure of nucleotide.
2. Structure of amino acid.

What is meant by?

1. polymers
2. polymerization process

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3. Carbohydrates
4. Simple sugars
5. lipids
6. oils
7. waxes
8. Phospholipids
9. dipeptide compound
10. amino acids
11. Nucleotide

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