1-6 Vocabulary

Macromolecule

A molecule made of a very large number of

atoms.

Monomer- Small repeating subunits such as

glucose which join together to form a polymer.

Polymer- Very long, repeating chains of

monomers such as glucose.

Condensation Reaction- The chemical reaction

which forms a polymer, through the removal of
a water molecule from the two connecting
monomers.

Carbohydrate- A category of food molecules

which is used as an energy source.
Monosaccharide- Simple carbohydrates
consisting of one sugar, such
as glucose and fructose.

Disaccharide- Carbohydrates which contain

two sugar molecules joined by a glycosidic
bond.

Polysaccharide- Large carbohydrates which

contain many sugars joined together as either
branched or unbranched chains.

Lipid- A category of food molecules which are

rich in energy and are used for insulation and
to build cell membranes and hormones.

Fatty acid- Molecules which are used to build

lipids.

Amino Acid- The small subunits which make

up proteins.
Enzyme- Proteins which are responsible for
speeding up or slowing down reactions in the
cell.

Hormone- Chemical messengers which are

transported to other parts of the body to
control cell growth or activity.

Protein- Large molecules which are made of

amino acids joined together with a peptide
bond.

Nucleic acid- A long chain of nucleotides

joined together by a phosphate backbone.
DNA- The double stranded molecule which is
found in the nucleus of the cell and contains the
instructions which determine how it functions.

RNA- The smaller, single-stranded molecule

which is able to move from the nucleus of the
cell to the ribosome to manufacture proteins.

Nucleotide- The small subunits which bond

together to form RNA and DNA.