Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
ATOMS
Classes of macromolecules:
combine through
CHEMICAL BONDS
such as
IONIC
forming
COMPOUNDS
carbohydrates
and
COVALENT
without
CARBON
are
with
CARBON
are
INORGANIC
ORGANIC
such as:
lipids
proteins
nucleic acids
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview

found in cell walls of plants, external
skeletons of insects

provide quick energy.

contain the elements C, H and O; they
dissolve in water and are thus polar.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
 include simple single sugars called
monosaccharides, like glucose;
disaccharides like fructose and long
chains of many sub-units (monomers)
that are called polysaccharides.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
 made of the elements C, H and O: they
do not readily dissolve in water and are
thus non-polar.
 found as fats, waxes and oils
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
 make up most of cell membranes, provide
long-term energy storage and are useful
‘chemical messengers’ (hormones) such
as cholesterol and testosterone.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
 often made of monomers called fatty acids,
which in turn are often bonded in groups
of three to a glycerol molecule to form a
triglyceride.
glycerol
3 fatty acids
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
If the carbons in the chain are only surrounded
by single bonds, we say they are saturated, since
they are bound to as many hydrogens as
possible!
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
If, on the other hand, more
than one carbon has a
double bond, we say that
they are unsaturated.
Saturated fats (like butter)
tend to pack more efficiently
and are thus solid at room
temperature, whereas
unsaturated fats (like
vegetable oils) tend to be
liquid.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
 are based on the elements C, H, O and N.
 are formed from sub-units (monomers)
called amino acids.
 are often very large and come in an almost
unlimited number of different
shapes,
which allow proteins to have
many
different functions.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
 There are at least twenty used by all
living things

consist of an amine (NH2) group, a
carboxylic acid (COOH) group, and a
variable ‘R’ group
amine group
carboxylic acid group
variable ‘R’ group
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
amine group
carboxylic acid group
variable ‘R’ group
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview

are put together in a sequence, and it is the
order of these amino acids that determines
the shape of the folded chain.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
 composed of the elements C, H, O and N
 store information in the nucleus
 made of sub-units (monomers) called
nucleotides
 include DNA and RNA
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
•
are divided into two groups:
catabolism and anabolism
•
catabolic reactions break down
macromolecules into their smaller
component parts, releasing energy and
maintaining a pool of ‘building blocks’
( monomers ), for . . .
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
•
. . .anabolic reactions, which use the
energy and the monomers to
construct new macromolecules
•
the sum total of all anabolic and
catabolic reactions is an
organism’s METABOLISM.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
the sum total of all anabolic and
catabolic reactions is an
organism’s METABOLISM.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
catabolism
anabolism
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
The sum total of all
anabolic and catabolic reactions is an
organism’s METABOLISM.
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Energy is STORED in a
chemical bond
formed by the
removal of water
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overview
Chapter 2 Chemistry of Life Overviewv
Energy is RELEASED
when the addition of
water breaks a
chemical bond