Lecture 2: Composition of Living Matter
CEE 210 ENVIRONMENTAL
BIOLOGY FOR
ENGINEERS
Instructor: L.R. Chevalier
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Objectives
Investigate the composition of living matter
 Describe the importance of carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins and nucleic acid
 Explain how DNA and RNA handle biological
information

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Biology for
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Composition of Living Things
Organic Compounds
Carbohydrates
Nucleic
acid
Lipids
Proteins
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Biology for
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Composition of Living Things
Organic Compounds
Carbohydrates
Nucleic
acid
Lipids
These form the
majority of the cell
Proteins
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___________.
They are important
for structural material,
energy metabolism
and other metabolic
functions
Composition of Living Things
Organic Compounds
Carbohydrates
Nucleic
acid
Nucleic acid is
responsible for
Lipids
Proteins
______________
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Composition of Living Things
Carbon - The essential element
Carbon (Atomic Number 6)
6p
6n
Organic molecules contain carbon backbones. Every carbon atom
will form 4 covalent bonds with other atoms, specifically other carbon
atoms as well as hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen and sulfur atoms.
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By linking together of many smaller molecules, carbon is able to form
very large polymers (macromolecules) many of which are important
to human physiology.
Composition of Living Things
Carbohydrates


These carbon-based molecules are the major source of
energy for the body
Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen in a set proportion
◦ ______________________


Carbohydrates are easily soluble in water due to the
polar hydroxyl (OH-) groups
Carbohydrates
Ingested as sugars and starches
Nucleic
acid
Lipids
Proteins
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Composition of Living Things
Three types of carbohydrates

_____saccharides are the simplest sugars
◦ Glucose (C6H12O6) is the most abundant (found in fruit)
◦ Also fructose, galactose, ribose

_____saccharides are carbohydrates composed of two
monosaccharides linked together.
◦ Sucrose is composed of glucose and fructose (table sugar)
◦ Maltose is composed of glucose and glucose chains (found in beer
and malt liquor)
◦ Lactose, milk sugar, is composed of glucose and galactose

_____saccharides are formed when many monosaccharides
link together into long chains
◦ Generally not sweet
◦ Glycogen in animal cells and starch in plant cells are both composed
of thousands of glucose molecules linked together.
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Composition of Living Things
Carbohydrate
Energy from the bonding of C, H, and O
Body uses the carbohydrate to generate glucose
Glucose is broken down to produce adenosine triphosphate,
or ATP, the fundamental unity of energy
Glucose can come from amino acids of
protein if carbohydrate supply is low
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Composition of Living Things
Proteins
Carbohydrates
Nucleic
acid
Composed of C, O, H and N
 Uses

◦
◦
◦
◦

Lipids
Proteins
Source of energy
Substrate for tissue growth and maintenance
Biological functions
Major component of bone and muscle
Formation of Proteins
◦ Combination of 20 common amino acids
◦ 10 are essential for humans to obtain from food, since we
cannot produce them
 8 through life
 2 essential during periods of rapid growth (infancy)
◦ Plants can produce all 20 amino acids
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Biology for
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Composition of Living Things
Amino Acids
http://www.johnkyrk.com/aminoacid.html
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Composition of Living Things
Lipids


Lipids are predominantly composed of hydrogen and carbon atoms
linked together by neutral covalent bonds.
Carbohydrates
Lipids have two distinct regions
◦ Long non-polar (hydrophobic) hydrocarbon chain
◦ Hydrophilic carboxylic acid group

Types of lipids
◦ Fat
◦ Steroids
◦ Wax



Nucleic
acid
Lipids
Proteins
The most important function of lipids is _________________
This membrane facilitates the transport of molecules in and out of
the cell
Also known in layman’s term as fat
◦ Valuable food source
◦ Each molecule of fatty acid can be converted into twice the number of ATP
molecules as glucose
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Biology for
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Composition of Living Things
On-line reference for Lipids
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Biology for
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http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP13204
Composition of Living Things
On-line reference for
Carbohydrates
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Biology for
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http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP13104
Composition of Living Things
On-line reference for Proteins
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Biology for
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http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP13304
Composition of Living Things
On-line Interactive: Construction of
the Cell Membrane
This on-line resource shows how some proteins are used in the
construction of the cell membrane.
Be prepared to
answer questions
in-class.
http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP1101
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Composition of Living Things
Carbohydrates
Nucleic Acid

The molecules that
carry genetic
information
Nucleic
acid
Lipids
Proteins
◦ DNA (deoxyribonucleic
acid)
◦ RNA (ribonucleic acid)

Travel to the tiny
world of DNA
beginning with the
body and ending with
the atoms that make
up a single DNA base
◦ NOVA: Journey into
DNA by Rick Groleau
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Biology for
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http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genome/dna.html
Composition of Living Things
Biological Information Handling
http://www.biologyforengineers.org/about.php
2005 Premier Award for Excellence in Engineering Education Courseware
by the National Engineering Education Delivery System (NEEDS).
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Biology for
Engineers
Composition of Living Things
Additional Resource on Replication
of DNA
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Biology for
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Composition of Living Things
Codon Wheel Table
AG
C
U
G
A
C
U
G
A
C
U
G
A
C
U
G
A
C
U
UC
UC
U
A G
C
C
G U
A C
U
G
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Biology for
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A G U C AG
A
C
GA
CU
U
G
G A
CU G A
AG
A
U
C
A
G
U
C
A
G
U
C
A
G
U
C
A
G
G
U
C
A
G
CU
A
U
C
Inner circle
signifies first
nucleotide in
codon, second
circle signifies
second
nucleotide in
codon, outer
circle signifies
third nucleotide
in codon.
Composition of Living Things
Objectives
Investigate the composition of living matter
 Describe the importance of carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins and nucleic acid
 Explain how DNA and RNA handle biological
information

Environmental
Biology for
Engineers
Composition of Living Things
References

Environmental Biology for Engineers and Scientists (Textbook)
◦ Chapter 3.6 Composition of Living Things

Visionlearning
◦ http://www.visionlearning.com/

Chemical Composition of the Body
◦ http://www.biology-online.org/9/1_chemical_composition.htm

Amino acid demonstration
◦ http://www.johnkyrk.com/aminoacid.html

Cell biology animation
◦ http://www.johnkyrk.com/aminoacid.html

Biomolecules: The Lipids, Wisconsin On-Line, Barbara Liang
◦ http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP13204

Biomolecules: The Carbohydrates, Wisconsin On-Line, Barbara Liang
◦ http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP13104
Environmental
Biology for
Engineers
Composition of Living Things
References

Biomolecules: The Proteins, Wisconsin On-Line, Barbara Liang
◦ http://www.wisc-online.com/Objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP13304

Construction of the Cell Membrane, Wisconsin On-Line, Barbara Liang
◦ http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP1101

NOVA: Journey into DNA by Rick Groleau
◦ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/genome/dna.html

Biology for Engineers
◦ http://www.biologyforengineers.org/about.php

Codon Wheel Table from DNA 2.0 (adapted from)
◦ https://www.dna20.com/index.php?pageID=251

Cellupedia
◦ http://library.thinkquest.org/C004535/introduction.html
Environmental
Biology for
Engineers
Composition of Living Things
Sources of photographs and images
in sidebar

Human brain
◦ http://www.healthnak.com/mind/

X-rays images
◦ http://martingallerycharleston.com/index.html

Cold Virus (altered in Photoshop)
◦ http://medphoto.wellcome.ac.uk/
Environmental
Biology for
Engineers
Composition of Living Things
About the Instructor
Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering
 Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
 Diplomat, Water Resources Engineering, American
Academy of Water Resources Engineering (AAWRE)
 Board Certified Environmental Engineer, American
Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE)
 Licensed Professional Engineer, State of Illinois

Environmental
Biology for
Engineers
Composition of Living Things