Name: _____________________________
AP Biology
Activity for Macromolecules and Chapter 5
Your groups should have at least the following in you molecule kits. After each step be sure you have the
appropriate pieces. At the end be sure to also have a complete kit. If your kit is lacking you will lose 3 points.
6 Carbons
14 Hydrogen
6 Oxygen
Black with 4 holes
White with 1 hole
Red with 2 holes
2 phosphates
Purple with 3 holes
Sulfur
Tan with 6 holes
bonds and other things
With your groups work to create the following and answer the questions.
1. Inorganic molecules
a. water
b. carbon dioxide
c. methane
Q: Why are the above inorganic molecules?
2. Build some of the functional groups.
a. Hydroxyl
(0H)
c. Carbonyl
(C=0)
e. Phosphate
PO4
b. Carboxyl
d. Amino
(C0OH)
NH2
Q. Why are functional groups important in biology?
3. Construct a monosaccharide of
a. glucose
4. Find another group that has glucose. Join your molecules together to create a disaccharide.
Q. What molecule did you remove?
Q. What was the reaction that occurred?
Draw the reaction in the space below. Label the glycolytic bond.
5. Build an amino acid. NH2CHRCOOH (R should be a functional group from above)
Draw it below and label the amino and carboxyl groups.
6. Make a dipeptide from your amino acid and one from another group.
Q. What molecule was created in the reactions? What type of reaction did you mimic?
Draw the dipeptide and label the peptide bond.
6. As a class link the chains together to create a polypeptide, and multiple water molecules.
7. After the polypeptide chain has been created, groups will break the polymer down into monomers one group
at a time.
Q: What was needed to break the peptide bonds?
What type of reaction breaks these bonds?
7. Working with another group construct a fat molecule. Include a saturated and unsaturated fatty acid.
8. Remove one of the fatty acid side chains and replace it with a phosphate group.
Q: What properties do the side chains give to the fat molecule?
Q. When you replace one of the fatty acids with a phosphate, how did that change the way the molecule acts?