Biomolecules

• Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms, and are made up of sugar units called saccharides.
• Carbohydrate groups, also known as sugars, are a source of dietary carbohydrates and provide energy, fibre, and a sense of fullness.
• Starches are a type of carbohydrate that are made up of long chains of glucose molecules.
• Monosaccharides are single sugar units that contain 3-7 carbon atoms and can be found in foods like honey, oats, and dried fruit.
• Disaccharides are made up of two monosaccharides joined through a covalent bond called a glycosidic linkage.
• Mercury is the closest planet to the Sun and the smallest one.
• Jupiter is a gas giant and the biggest planet in the Solar System.
• Polysaccharides are carbohydrate molecules made of long chains of monosaccharides.
• The main functions of polysaccharides are storing energy, providing structure, and sending cellular communication signals.
• Pyrimidines and purines are organic bases that aid in the synthesis process of DNA and RNA.
• Pyrimidines are one-carbon nitrogen ring bases, including cytosine and thymine.
• RNA contains the sugar ribose, while DNA contains the slightly different sugar deoxyribose, which lacks one oxygen atom.
• RNA has the nucleobase uracil while DNA contains thymine.
• Pyrimidines and purines are the nitrogenous bases that hold DNA strands.
• Purines are two-carbon nitrogen ring bases, including adenine and guanine.
• The three phosphate groups in ATP are high energy bonds, which supply energy.
• ATP is considered a nucleic acid because it is made up of a nitrogenous base, a 5-carbon ribose sugar, and three phosphate groups.
• Pyrimidines and purines are vital for the development of genes and chromosomes.
• ATP generates energy for cellular processes like DNA and RNA synthesis and muscle contractions.
• The main types of polysaccharides are starch, glycogen, cellulose, and chitin.
• Chitin is a type of carbohydrate that is different from other carbohydrates as it has an amine group (Nitrogen), resulting in more internal H-bonds.
• Isomers are molecules with the same molecular formula but different structures.
• Lipids are composed of mainly Carbon and Hydrogen, and a few Oxygen atoms, which results in a high proportion of non-polar carbon-hydrogen bonds, making them hydrophobic.
• The structure of lipids typically includes a glycerol backbone, 2 fatty acid tails and a phosphate group.
• Oils are triglycerides that are liquid at 25°C and can decrease “bad” cholesterol and have anti-inflammatory properties.
• Phospholipids are the main component of the cell membranes of all living organisms.
• Cis fats have both hydrogen atoms located on the same side of the double bond, are typically found in natural foods, and are considered healthy fats.
• The functions of proteins depend on their highly specific three-dimensional structures.
• Trans fats have the two hydrogen atoms on opposite sides of the double bond, are typically found in unhealthy foods where long shelf life is important, and are achieved by hydrogenating vegetable oil.
• The phosphate group on phospholipids is hydrophilic as it is negatively charged and polar, while the fatty acid chains are non-polar and uncharged which are hydrophobic.
• In the body, lipids warmth, make the cell membrane (phospholipid bilayer), and assist with message transmission (smaller lipid molecules can pass through the hydrophobic cell membrane and bond to intracellular receptors to deliver messages directly to the contents of each cell).
• In plants, lipids assist with pollination by either attracting pollinators or deterring predators (terpenes), and also help with pigments and flavouring (terpenes again).
• Proteins are molecules made of amino acid monomers linked by covalent bonds (Polypeptides), with monomers being molecules that bind chemically with other molecules and form a long chain.
• There are 20 common amino acids that make up most proteins, 8 of which are essential which cannot be produced by the human body and must be consumed in the diet.
• Fats are composed of esters glycerol and 3 fatty acids, with oxygen, hydrogen and carbon.
• Unsaturated fats are generally liquid at temperature and are generally found in plants, with the exceptions of coconut oil and palm oil which are saturated fats as well.
• Phospholipids form a lipid bilayer that acts as the cell membrane, with their hydrophilic heads exposed to the aqueous solution on either side of the layer, and the hydrophobic tails face each other, so they are not exposed to the aqueous solution.
• Steroids and terpenes are long chains of cyclohexanes, one benzene, and one cyclopentane, and are simple hydrocarbon structures.
• The difference between the structure of cis and trans fats completely changes the way the molecule acts in your body, and therefore your overall health.
• A protein consists of a polypeptide backbone with attached side chains (R groups).