BCLN – Rev. July, 2015
BIO 12 UNIT 02: Biological Molecules
Name: ___________________
Project 1: Chemical Processes Cartoon
Potential Credits:
/20
Project Goals:
 to expand upon and demonstrate your understanding of the following terms and how they
are related to each other:
o anabolism
o catabolism
o metabolism
o monomer
o polymer
o hydrolysis
o dehydration synthesis
Background:
You have probably heard the expression "you are what you eat". Obviously this does not mean
that if you are a pizza fiend or an ice cream fanatic that you are going to end up walking around as
a big slice of pizza or as an oversized ice cream cone. However, what it means is that our body
can only build itself from the food that we put into it. To do this, our bodies must first break down
the food we put into it into small chemical building blocks, called monomers, and then it must reassemble the chemical building blocks into larger molecules, called polymers, that have the
appropriate forms and functions for the our bodies. The breaking down of food molecules to
monomers is called catabolism while the building of polymers for the body is called anabolism.
Together the combined processes of catabolism and anabolism is known as metabolism and it
allows us to maintain our health and body if we eat the appropriate foods.
Memory Trick:
 For Catabolism think of CATastrophes or playful CATS that are always breaking things
apart.
 For Anabolism think of anabolic steroids which are used to build muscles.
 Catabolism + Anabolism = Metabolism
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BCLN – Rev. July, 2015
BIO 12 UNIT 02: Biological Molecules
One key way that the body breaks down food molecules is through hydrolysis reactions.
Hydrolysis literally translates as "water breaking" as water is used to break apart the chemical
bonds in polymers to form smaller monomers.
General Example of a Hydrolysis Reaction (a Catabolic Reaction)
+ H2O 
H + HO
polymer
monomer
One key way that the body builds molecules is through dehydration synthesis reactions. In a
dehydration synthesis a bond is formed by "dehydrating" or essentially removing water from two
monomers such that a bond is formed between them to form a polymer. To form this bond a
hydrogen atom is removed from one of the monomers while a hydrogen and oxygen atom is
removed from another monomer. The hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms then come together to
form water while the monomers come together to form a polymer (water and the polymer are the
products of a dehydration synthesis). Remember, in a dehydration synthesis water must be formed
just as we form sweat (water) as a product when we become dehydrated.
General Example of a Dehydration Synthesis Reaction (an Anabolic Reaction)
H + HO
monomer

monomer
+ H2O
polymer
Instructions:
 Please read through the Unit 2 Lesson, Introduction, paying particular attention to the terms
monomer and polymer and the concepts of dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis.
 Please carefully read the background section given above.
 Please create one or several comic strips that illustrates the differences and connections
between:
o anabolism, catabolism and metabolism
o monomer and polymer
o hydrolysis and dehydration synthesis.
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BCLN – Rev. July, 2015
BIO 12 UNIT 02: Biological Molecules
 You may combine all of the concepts into one comic or break them down into several
separate comics.
 Please be sure that the comics represent the terms in a creative yet accurate way (refer to
the exemplar below). Please clearly label or explain what each part of the comic is
representing. For example, if you used a kindergarten class to represent monomers and
polymers then all the little kids running around separately should be labeled as monomers
and all the little kids lined up holding hands should be labeled as a polymer.
 Please note that you will not be graded on your artistic ability (stick figures are fine) but
rather on the accuracy, creativity and clarity of your concept.
Marking Guide:






catabolism, anabolism and metabolism
monomer and polymer
hydrolysis and dehydration synthesis
connections between the various terms are clear
comic(s) is/are creative and show evidence of critical thinking
concepts are clearly represented/labelled/explained
Total =
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/6
/4
/4
/2
/2
/2
20
BCLN – Rev. July, 2015
BIO 12 UNIT 02: Biological Molecules
Exemplar:
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