CELLULAR CHEMISTRY
Chemicals Matter—You’re Made of Them!
By: Heidi Hisrich
Examination
• Look at your hand. What do you see? What if you
zoomed in? What’s the smallest thing you could see?
• Your hand is made of cells, which are made of molecules, which
are made of atoms. But where did they all come from? How did
they get there?
Food!
• We are, quite literally, what we eat!
• Almost every atom in every molecule in every cell in our bodies
came from food (a little bit came from water and air), so what we
eat IS matter AND matters!
Molecules
• And the food we eat is made of molecules
• A molecule is a group of atoms that are stuck together and most
atoms are found in molecules
The 4 Types of Macromolecules
• There are 4 main kinds of molecules (besides water) in
the foods that we eat. They are all ORGANIC (alive).
What are they?
• Carbohydrates
• Lipids
• Proteins
• Nucleic Acids
Nucleic Acids
• Found in ALL living things—allow them to pass on traits
from parents to offspring (heredity)
• There are 2 kinds. What are they?
RNA (ribonucleic acid)
DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid)
RNA
Single stranded
Sugar is ribose
Bases are A, C, G & U
DNA
Double stranded
Sugar is deoxyribose
Bases are A, C, G & T
Function
Store genetic
info (DNA)
and transcribe
and translate
it into protein
(RNA)
Monomer that makes them up
nucleotides
Elements found in them
• Oxygen
• Hydrogen
• Carbon
• Phosphorus
• Nitrogen
Foods they’re in?
E
V
E
R
Y
T
H
I
N
G
!
Proteins
• What our bodies are mostly MADE OF—we are made of
protein, just like the animals we eat for protein are (cows,
chickens, fish, etc).
• What is the building block (monomer) that makes them up?
Sketch and label the parts
How many are there?
Only 20 in humans, but they
make up MILLIONS of different
proteins!
Amino Acids
Elements in proteins
Carbon
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Oxygen
What do they look like?
Most complicated
type of
macromolecule BY
FAR!!!
Examples of Proteins
Keratin
collagen
Indicator
• Biuret
Protein-Heavy Foods
From animal sources
From vegetable sources
4 Types of Proteins
• Transporting—hemoglobin moves oxygen
• Structural—collagen makes up skin
• Enzymatic—amylase breaks down starch
• Signaling—insulin tells cells to take in
sugar
Lipids (fats)
• Several kinds
• Unsaturated
• Saturated
• Trans fats
Which are healthiest? Least healthy??
HEALTHIEST—unsaturated
LESS HEALTHY—saturated
THE WORST!!!—trans fats
What it looks like
• Look for zig-zag TAILS (fatty acid chains)
Unsaturated Fats
• NOT saturated in hydrogen (at least one double bond)
Saturated Fats
• SATURATED in hydrogen (no double bonds in chains)
Trans Fats
Created in a LABORATORY—chemists turn liquid fats into more
stable solid fats
Unsaturated fats in foods
• Usually LIQUID at room temp
• Mostly from VEGETABLE SOURCES
Saturated fats in foods
• Usually SOLID at room temp
• Mostly from ANIMAL SOURCES (less legs is better!)
Trans fats in food
Look on label for “partially hydrogenated
oils”—0 g trans fats does NOT mean NO trans
trans fats!!!
Elements in Lipids
Hydrogen
Oxygen
Carbon
Function of Lipids
• Part of cell membrane
• Needed to make hormones
• Provide long term energy storage
Indicator
Carbohydrates
• Referred to as “carbs”—their ONLY job is to give you
energy—can be small/simple or much more complex
Monosaccharides (simple sugars)
• “one sugar”—each is a SINGLE RING
Examples of monosaccharides
GLUCOSE
FRUCTOSE
Indicator
Benedict’s
Dissacharides
• “Two sugars”—double rings