CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
– MUST CONTAIN THE
ELEMENT CARBON
– MOST CONTAIN THE
ELEMENT HYDROGEN
– MANY CONTAIN OXYGEN
AND NITROGEN
• INORGANIC
COMPOUNDS
– IF A SUBSTANCE IS NOT
ORGANIC, THEN…
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• WHAT DO YOU THINK IS
THE MOST IMPORTANT,
AWESOME, AMAZING
INORGANIC
COMPOUND THAT
MATTERS THE
MOSTEST?
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• WATER – THE IMPORTANT INORGANIC
COMPOUND
– THE MAJORITY OF BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES CAN
OCCUR ONLY IN WATER!!
– UNDERSTANDING THE PROPERTIES OF WATER
BECOMES ESSENTIAL TO UNDERSTANDING THE
PROPERTIES OF LIFE
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• WATER IS A POLAR MOLECULE
– REGIONS WITH PARTIAL
POSITIVE AND PARTIAL
NEGATIVE CHARGES
• BECAUSE OF THIS
POLARITY, WATER HAS
SOME UNIQUE PROPERTIES
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• WATER PROPERTIES
INCLUDE
–
–
–
–
COHESION
SURFACE TENSION
ADHESION
CAPILLARITY (CAPILLARY
ACTION)
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• STRUCTURE AND TYPES OF ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS
– CARBON OFFERS
INCREDIBLE
FLEXIBILITY IN THE
FORMATION OF
COMPOUNDS
– THERE ARE 4 MAJOR
GROUPS OF ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• FOUR MAJOR GROUPS OF ORGANIC
COMPOUNDS
– CARBOHYDRATES
– LIPIDS
– PROTEINS
– NUCLEIC ACIDS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• CARBOHYDRATES
– COMPOUNDS OF
CARBON, HYDROGEN,
AND OXYGEN
– ALWAYS HAVE THE SAME
RATIO OF HYDROGEN TO
OXYGEN (2:1)
– MONOSACCHARIDES
(SIMPLE SUGARS)
– CHEMICAL NAMES OF
SUGARS ALMOST
ALWAYS END IN “-OSE”
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• DEHYDRATION
SYNTHESIS
– THE PROCESS BY WHICH
MOLECULES CAN BE
BONDED TOGETHER
– OCCURS THROUGH THE
REMOVAL OF A WATER
MOLECULE AND FUSING
THE RESULTING
SUBSTANCES TOGETHER
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• DEHYDRATION SYNTHESIS
– WHEN JOINING TWO MONOSACCHARIDES
TOGETHER, THE RESULTING MOLECULE IS CALLED
A DISACCHARIDE
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• DEHYDRATION
SYNTHESIS
– WHEN MULTIPLE SIMPLE
SUGARS ARE JOINED
TOGETHER THE
RESULTING MOLECULE IS
CALLED A
POLYSACCHARIDE
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• IF MOLECULES CAN BE FUSED TOGETHER,
THEY MUST ALSO BE ABLE TO BE BROKEN
APART
• THIS PROCESS IS CALLED HYDROLYSIS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• LIPIDS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• LIPIDS
– CONSIST OF THE SUBSTANCES COMMONLY
CALLED FATS, OILS, AND WAXES
– CONSIST OF CARBON, HYDROGEN, AND
OXYGEN…HOWEVER, NOT IN THE SAME RATIO AS
CARBOHYDRATES
– FORMED THROUGH THE FUSION OF GLYCEROL
AND FATTY ACID MOLECULES
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• LIPIDS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• LIPIDS
– SATURATED VS UNSATURATED FATS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• LIPIDS
– CHOLESTEROL
• A SPECIAL TYPE OF LIPID
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• NUCLEIC ACIDS
– DNA VS RNA
– SUBUNITS ARE CALLED
NUCLEOTIDES
– WILL DISCUSS THIS
MORE IN FUTURE
CHAPTERS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• PROTEINS
– COMPOUNDS THAT
CONTAIN NITROGEN,
ALONG WITH CARBON,
HYDROGEN AND
OXYGEN
– THE BUILDING BLOCKS
OF PROTEINS ARE
CALLED AMINO ACIDS
(A.K.A. PEPTIDES)
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• PEPTIDES CAN BE FUSED TOGETHER BY…
• DEHYDRATION SYNTHESIS
– RESULTS IN
DIPEPTIDES
– RESULTS IN
PEPTIDE
BONDS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• SINCE THERE ARE 20 AMINO ACIDS, AND THEY
CAN BE PUT TOGETHER IN ANY COMBINATION
WHEN FORMING POLYPEPTIDES, THE
NUMBER OF POSSIBLE PROTEINS IS HUGE!!
• THEREFORE, THEY SERVE ENDLESS
FUNCTIONS!!
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT FUNCTIONS OF
PROTEINS IS WHEN THEY ACT AS ENZYMES!!!!!!
• ALL ENZYMES ARE PROTEINS, BUT NOT ALL
PROTEINS ARE ENZYMES.
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• ENZYMES
– PROTEINS THAT ARE
NECESSARY FOR MOST
OF THE CHEMICAL
REACTIONS THAT OCCUR
IN LIVING CELLS
– ACT AT ORGANIC
CATALYSTS
• A CATALYST IS A
SUBSTANCE THAT SPEEDS
UP A CHEMICAL
REACTION WITHOUT
BEING CHANGED ITSELF
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• ENZYMES
– THE SUBSTANCE THAT
THE ENZYME REACTS
WITH IS CALLED THE
SUBSTRATE
• WHAT DO YOU NOTICE
ABOUT THE
RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THE ENZYME
AND SUBSTRATE?
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• HOW ENZYMES WORK?
– ACTIVE SITE
• SPOT ON ENZYME WHERE
SUBSTRATE BINDS
– TWO THEORIES ON
ENZYME ACTION
• LOCK-AND-KEY MODEL
• INDUCED FIT MODEL
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• LOCK-AND-KEY MODEL
– SUBSTRATE’S SHAPE
MATCHES EXACTLY
WITH ACTIVE SITE OF
ENZYME
– THEREFORE, ONLY
ONE SUBSTRATE CAN
EVER REACT WITH
AN ENZYME
– THEY ARE HIGHLY
SPECIFIC!!
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• INDUCED-FIT MODEL
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• ENZYMES ARE ESSENTIAL FOR LIVING THINGS
BECAUSE THEY MAKE METABOLIC PROCESSES
POSSIBLE
• SO, WE SHOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT
ENZYMES!!
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• FACTORS THAT AFFECT
ENZYME ACTION
– CONCENTRATION OF
EITHER SUBSTRATE OR
ENZYME
– TEMPERATURE
– PH
– PRESENCE OF
COENZYMES
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• FACTORS THAT AFFECT ENZYME ACTIVITY
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• REMEMBER, ORGANIC COMPOUNDS ARE THE
BUILDING BLOCKS OF LIFE!!
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• THERE MAY BE MILLIONS OF BUILDING
BLOCKS
CHEMICAL COMPOUNDS OF LIFE
• BUT ONLY PUTTING
THE RIGHT ONES
TOGETHER IN
THE RIGHT WAY,
WILL BUILD A
LIVING THING!!
• UP NEXT, LEARNING
ABOUT WHAT THOSE
BUILDING BLOCKS
HELP MAKE!!