MADE BY THE BLACKROCK EDUCATION CENTRE TEACHER DESIGN
TEAM
MARY BELTON, JOHN LOUGHMAN, CAROL O’ NEILL
This booklet has been compiled with a view to helping the
less able students in biology classes to make sense of some
of the terms encountered in the nutrition section of the
syllabus.
The assistance of the Biology Support Service and of
Blackrock Education Centre is gratefully acknowledged.
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AMINE GROUP – nitrogen-containing part (NH2) of an amino acid.
AMINO ACID – is the basic building block of protein. There are 20
common amino acids. They contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), Oxygen (O)
and nitrogen (N).
AMYLOSE – is another word for starch. It is made of many sugar units found in bread, rice, and pasta.
ANABOLIC – a chemical reaction where small molecules join together to
make larger molecules e.g. photosynthesis.
ANALYSE – to carry out a study or to investigate something.
ANTIBODY – a protein made by our white blood cells that defend us from
infection.
APPARATUS – laboratory equipment.
ATOM – is the smallest part of an element.
BIOMOLECULES – are chemicals that make up living things. They are
made up of elements such as carbon (C), hydrogen (H), oxygen (O) and
nitrogen (N).
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CALCIUM – Symbol (Ca). It is an element needed to make bones, teeth,
plant cell walls and in clotting blood.
CARBOHYDRATES – are chemicals such as sugars and starches that give
energy to living things. They contain carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen
(O). [Formula Cx (H2O) y].
CARBON – Symbol (C). It’s an element that is found in all living things.
(The burned bit on toast!)
CARBOXYLIC ACID GROUP – is the acid part of an amino acid (COOH).
CATABOLIC – a chemical reaction where larger substances are broken
down into smaller molecules e.g. digestion.
CATALYST – is a chemical that speeds up chemical reactions without
being used up.
CELLULOSE – is a large carbohydrate. It makes plant cell walls and is
very strong walls.
CHEMICAL BOND – the link that binds/joins two atoms.
CHLORINE – Symbol (Cl). An element found in table salt. [Sodium
Chloride (Na Cl)].
CHLOROPHYLL – is the green colour (pigment) in a plant leaf. It traps
light from the sun for photosynthesis.
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COMPLEX – a complicated chemical e.g. complex carbohydrate that
contains many parts.
COMPONENT – a part/piece of something e.g. an element in a compound.
[Chlorine (Cl) is a part of Sodium Chloride (table salt) NaCl]
CONCEPT – another word for an idea.
CONCLUSION – the meaning of the result of an experiment.
e.g. Iodine Test
Result: bread + iodine
blue/black colour.
Conclusion: Therefore starch is present.
CONTOL EXPERIMENT – this is an experiment where something is
allowed to happen in the normal way so that another experiment which has
one thing changed compared to it.
COPPER- Symbol (Cu). It is a trace element.
DEFICIENCY – means a lack of something e.g. A lack of (deficiency of)
iron (Fe) causes anaemia.
DISACCHARIDE – is a substance that has two sugar units e.g. maltose is
made up of two glucose units.
ELEMENT – a pure substance that is made up of one kind of atom only
from the Periodic Table.
ENERGY – is the ability to do work. All living things need energy to work
and grow. We get most of our energy from glucose (C6H12O6).
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ENZYME- a special chemical that helps speed up reactions in cells without
getting used up. They are catalysts.
FAT – is a solid lipid. E.g. butter. It gives us energy, stores it and keeps
us warm.
FATTY ACIDS – are long carbon (C) chains found in fats (usually three) .
FIBRE – (roughage) is cellulose. We cannot digest it [keeps the faeces
(poo!!) moving] e.g. found in fruit and vegetables (plant cell walls).
FIBROUS – means made of fibres e.g. keratin found in hair, nails and bird
feathers.
FORMULA – a chemical formula gives the number and type of atoms in a
molecule of a substance e.g. (C6H12O6) - glucose formula.
FRUCTOSE – is a simple sugar. It is found in fruits and coca cola.
GALACTOSE - is a simple sugar. (It’s the “gal” in galaxy bars!)
GLOBULAR – globular proteins are long proteins that fold to form round
(globe) shapes e.g. albumen protein in egg white.
GLUCOSE – a simple sugar (C6H12O6). It is the main supplier of energy in
the body.
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GLYCEROL – is a short carbon (C) chain found in fats (only one per fat).
GLYCOGEN – is a stored polysaccharide (chain of sugar units) found in
animal cells e.g. muscle cells.
HORMONE – a special chemical messenger that helps control the
chemical reactions in the body e.g. testosterone (male sex hormone).
HYDROGEN – Symbol (H). An element found in all the important
molecules of life.
IRON – Symbol (Fe). It is an important part of haemoglobin (red pigment)
in blood – lack of iron (Fe) in the blood causes anaemia.
LACTOSE – is a sugar molecule made up of one galactose unit and one
glucose unit (disaccharide). It is found in milk.
LIPID – is another word for fats, oils and waxes.
3-DIMENSIONAL (3-D) - this is a way of saying that something has
length and width and height. e.g. a picture is two dimensional (length and
width) but a statue is three dimensional.
MAGNESIUM - Symbol (Mg). An element needed to make chlorophyll.
MALTOSE - a sugar molecule made up of two glucose units
(disaccharide). [It is the “malt” in maltesers!]
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METABOLISM - means all of the chemical reactions which take place in
any living thing.
MINERAL - the minerals on our course are usually dissolved salts. They
are needed for healthy bodies e.g. calcium salts help form bones.
MOLECULE – is two or more atoms joined together e.g. H2O is a molecule
of water.
MONOSACCHARIDE - is the simplest form of sugar made up of one
sugar unit e.g. glucose.
NITROGEN - Symbol (N). It makes up about 80% of the air but is of
little use as gas. It is needed to make proteins and DNA.
NUTRIENTS - these are the chemicals needed to enable living things to
live and grow.
NUTRITION -this means getting and using food to carry out all the
activities needed to live and grow.
ORGANIC - in science this means the chemistry of carbon compounds. In
everyday terms it means that something is allowed to grow in its natural
way without adding artificial chemicals.
OXYGEN - Symbol (O). It is a gas which makes up 20% of the air. It is
produced by plants in photosynthesis and is used by plants and animals in
respiration. It is also part of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins.
PEPTIDE – a small chain of amino acids – a small part of a protein.
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PHOSPHORUS - Symbol (P). It is an element which is needed to make
bones, ATP and DNA.
PHOTOSYNTHESIS - is how energy from light is used to make food in
green plants.
POLYPEPTIDE - is a chain of many peptides (“poly” means many).
POLYSACCHARIDE – is a substance that has many sugar units (“poly”
means many) e.g. starch is a large molecule made up of many glucose
sugars.
POTASSIUM - Symbol (K). It is an element needed for chemicals in the
blood, nerves and bone.
PROCEDURE - this means the things you must do in the correct order to
make something happen
PROTEIN - is a long chain of amino acids folded up to form 3-D shapes.
Each protein has a different job.
RESPIRATION - in everyday language usually means breathing but in
biology it means the breaking down of food to give energy to every cell.
ROUGHAGE - (fibre) is cellulose. We cannot digest it. It keeps faeces
(poo!!!) moving e.g. found in fruit and vegetables.
SACCHARIDE - another name for sugar
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SAMPLE - a small amount of something to be studied
SEQUENCE - is the order in which one thing follows another e.g. a
sequence of amino acids is a list of the amino acids one after the other.
SODIUM - Symbol (Na). It is an element found in table salt. It affects
our water balance and nerves.
SOLUTE - is something which dissolves in a liquid e.g. if sugar dissolves
in water then sugar is the solute.
SOLVENT - is the liquid in which something dissolves e.g. If sugar
dissolves in water then water is the solvent.
STARCH - this is a food molecule where large numbers of sugar
molecules have been joined together.
SULPHUR - Symbol (S). It is an element which is part of some amino
acids. It helps in the folding of proteins.
TOXIC - another word for poisonous.
TRACE ELEMENTS - these are elements which are necessary for health.
They must be present but are needed in very tiny amounts. Iron (Fe),
copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are on our course.
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VARIABLE - in biology, this is something which can change or can be
changed during an experiment while the other conditions are kept the
same e.g. temperature or pH may be changed.
VITAMIN - is a chemical which is essential for life but which a living
organism cannot make for itself. Vitamins must be obtained from food
usually in very small amounts.
WATER SOLUBLE - anything that dissolves in water is said to be water
soluble e.g. salt or sugar.
ZINC - Symbol (Zn). It is a trace element. It has many uses but in
biology can be part of many active sites on enzymes. Sometimes used in
first aid plasters to speed up healing.
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