There are only four classes of

compounds in any living

things:
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic acids

2
 4.1 What are you made of?
 The bodies of all living things are made of
many different kinds of chemicals.
 Most of our bodies are made up of water.
 We also contain carbohydrates, proteins and
fats.
 These substances are what our cells are made
of. Each of them is vital for life.
 Water
 In most organisms, almost 80% of the body is
made of water.
 We have seen that cytoplasm is a solution of
many different substances in water.
 The spaces between our cells are also filled
with a watery liquid.
 Water is an important solvent.
 This is one reason why water is so important
to living organisms.
 If their cells dry out, the reactions stop, and the
organism dies.
 Water is also needed for other reasons. For example, plasma,
the liquid part of blood, contains a lot of water, so that
substances like glucose can dissolve in it.
 These dissolved substances are transported around the body.
 Water is also need to dissolve enzymes and nutrients in the
alimentary canal, so that digestion can take place.
 We also need water to help us to get rid of
waste products. As you will see in Chapter 12,
the kidneys remove the waste product, urea,
from the body.
 The urea is dissolved in water, forming urine.