CARBON
The main ingredient of organic
molecules or macromolecules
And carbon comes in second!
• Other than water, most
molecules of cells are carbon
based
• Essential to life because
1. It can form high energy stable
covalent bonds
2. It can form up to 4 chemical
bonds
3. It can form multiple bonds
Two types of molecules
• Organic molecules,
are molecules that
are carbon based
– Example
• propane
• Inorganic molecules,
NOT carbon based
– Example
• ammonia
Macromolecules
1
2
3
4
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic Acids
Carbohydrates
• You may know them as
sugars
• organic compound
• contain the elements:
– CARBON
– HYDROGEN
– OXYGEN
• ratio of 1 carbon: 2
hydrogen: 1 oxygen =
CH2O
• Most ring shaped
Three types
• Monosaccharide - sugar
containing one sugar
unit, can be rings or
straight chain
• Examples
– Glucose
– Fructose
• Main fuel supply for
cellular work
Disaccharides
• Cells construct a
"double sugar," from 2
monosaccharides
• Example
– Sucrose - glucose and
fructose
• Must be broken down to
simple sugars
Polysaccharides
• Long polymer
chains made up of
simple sugar
monomers
• Both plants and
animals use as
energy source, but
must be broken
down to glucose
3 Types of polysaccharides
• (1) Starch,
polysaccharide in
plant cells that
consists of
glucose chains
– Potato
– Rice
– Starch is the fuel
store in plants
• (2) Glycogen,
polysaccharide in
animal cells
• Stored in muscle
and liver
• (3) Cellulose
protect cell and
stiffen the plant,
preventing it from
flopping over
• Cannot be
digested
• Known as fiber
Lipids
We know them as fats!
Lipids
• Known as fats,
waxes and oils
• Primary function
is energy storage
Fats
• Consist of
– Glycerol - three carbon backbone
– Three fatty acids - long hydrocarbon chains
• Both combine to make a fat molecule
Two types of food fats
• saturated fat: fat in
which all three fatty acid
chains contain the
maximum possible
number of hydrogen
atoms
• unsaturated fat: fat
with less than the
maximum number of
hydrogens in one or
more of its fatty acid
chains
Subset of lipids: Steroids
• Very different from fats
in function
– Chemical signals in
body
– Hormones
• Examples: steroids,
testosterone, estrogen
– Cholesterol - good and
bad
Proteins
The meat that we eat and some
plants too!
Proteins
• Protein uses in the body
– Muscles
– Cell communication
– Hair
• Atoms found in proteins
are:
–
–
–
–
–
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
sulfer
Healthy foods sources
Legumes
The Monomer
Amino End
• Smallest
subunit of this
molecule is
called an
amino acids
• Three parts:
Carboxyl End
Side Chain
Amino Acids
• There are 20
different ones
The polymer
• a chain constructed
from the set of 20
different amino acids is
a polypeptide
• Many different
combinations, 100s of
1000s
Amino acids
Polypeptide
• Chain of linked
amino acids
Denature
• loss of normal
shape of a protein
due to factors such
as:
• temperature
• pH
Nucleic Acids
• Atoms found in
–
–
–
–
–
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Nitrogen
Phosphorus
Smallest Subunit THE
MONOMER
• The smallest subunit
for a nucleic acid is
the nucleotide
• Three parts:
Uses in the body
• As genetic molecules
• They make you who
you are and how you
look.
Where are they located
• In all living organisms