biomolecules

• BIOMOLECULES

  • Organic compounds that are produced and used by living organisms.
• The 4 main categories of biomolecules are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acid
• Carbohydrates:

  • Most abundant class of biomolecules
  • Primary function is to store energy and release it when needed by the cells of an organism
  • General formula: HCO
• Monosaccharides are the simplest carbohydrates
• A disaccharide (also called a double sugar ) is the sugar formed by two monosaccharides 
• Polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharides
• The three classifications of carbohydrates are monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides
• FUNCTIONS OF CARBOHYDRATES:

  • Good source of energy
  • Formation of nucleic acids
  • Synthesis of lubricants
• Lipids

  • Store energy and reserve for later use , unlike carbohydrates which provide instant energy to the cells.
• Lipids - Also contain carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen like carbohydrates, but the percentage of oxygen is much smaller than in carbohydrates
• Three levels of protein structure:

       Primary Structure

       Secondary Structure

       Tertiary Structure
• FUNCTIONS OF PROTEINS:

  • Formation of cytoplasm
  • Repair of worn – out body cells
  • Synthesis of enzymes, hormones and antibodies to combat diseases
• Carbohydrates control carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
• Nucleic Acids

  • Large biological molecule made from monomers called nucleotides
  • Found abundantly in living organisms because they are responsible for coding, transmitting and transmitting genetic information
  • Able to code hereditary traits by controlling the production of proteins
• Two most important Nucleic Acids:

  DNA

  RNA