materials needed for cell survival (biological molecules)

• Organic compounds

  • All contain carbon but not all carbon containing molecules are organic
• In bodies of organisms:

  • Carbohydrates
  • Lipids
  • Proteins
  • Nucleic acids
• Carbohydrates

  • contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
  • Energy source for organisms
  • Monosaccharides: Single sugar units
• monosaccharides are single sugar units and are building blocks of carbohydrates
• disaccharides are made of two sugar units e.g. lactose
• Polysaccharides are made of many sugar units e.g. starch
• inorganic compounds -important for cells

  • Water
  • Oxygen
  • carbon dioxide
  • minerals
• Lipids

  • Contain C,H,O and phosphorus or nitrogen
  • Most are insoluble in water and hydrophobic
• Two important groups of lipids:

  Triglycerides and phospholipids
• Triglycerides are made of three fatty acids and one glycerol

  • Fats (animals)
  • oils (plants)
• Phospholipids are made of two fatty acids, one glycerol and one phosphate group.
• Proteins

  • Contains C,H,O,N and usually sulfur
  • Very complex
  • Made up of amino acids that are joined together by peptide bonds to form long peptide chains (proteins)
• types of proteins

  • Structural proteins
  • Enzyme
  • Hormones
  • carrier molecules
• Nucleic Acids

  • Genetic material of organisms
  • Carry "instructions" to make proteins
  • Made up of nucleotides
  • Types of nucleic acids: DNA AND RNA
• Ions


  Various ions and minerals are required for normal cellular functions