BIOL 1103

Foundations of Biology I
Unit 1 – Module 2: Life’s molecules pt.I

• An introduction to the molecules of life (Ch. 5.1)

Iain McKinnell – Dept. of Biology

 Life’s molecules
All organisms contain the same macromolecules.

• Carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic

acids.

• Core of these macromolecules is carbon

◦ Earths organisms are 18% carbon

• Carbon must flow from the atmosphere

to photosynthesizers to organisms
◦ Use carbon to build up tissues &
power activities
Organic molecules: hydrocarbons
plus functional groups

• A carbon skeleton is a chain of carbon atoms

bonded to hydrogen.
• Most organic molecules are not simple
hydrocarbons however.
• An organic compound has unique properties that
depend upon the functional groups attached to it.
• A functional group affects a biological molecule’s
function in a characteristic way.
◦ Often impart charge/polarity, changing the
bonding capacity.
Cells make a huge number of large molecules
from a limited set of small molecules

• There are four classes of molecules important to organisms:

◦ carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, nucleic acids.
• Each of these complex molecules comes from simple building blocks
◦ They are polymers built by joining monomers
◦ e.g. Carbohydrates are built through the joining of
monosaccharides-disaccharides-polysaccharides
• A cell makes a large number of polymers from a small group of
monomers:
◦ proteins are made from only 20 different amino acids
◦ DNA is built from just four different nucleotides
Monomers are linked together to form
polymers through dehydration reactions

• Joining two monomers together

(or adding a monomer to a
polymer)  synthesis

• A molecule of water is formed/

released, or can think of it as
being removed = dehydration

• covalent bond is formed between

the monomers.
 Monomers are linked together to form
polymers through dehydration reactions

• Under biological conditions reactions of this sort are mediated by

enzymes, which speed up chemical reactions in cells.
• Two H and one O are atomically rearranged and split off (note the –
OH functional group)
◦ Resulting in a molecule of H2O

Supplementary Resources – Dehydration synthesis

 Polymers are broken apart by hydrolysis

• Hydrolysis = break with H20

• The addition of a H20 molecule to a

bond  rearrangement of atoms
and breaking apart of the bond.