BIO.

110 Class Notes

February 28, 2022

There are 4 main biomolecules/macromolecules:

Carbohydrates (CHO) Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen

Breads and pastas and potatoes are a good source of carbohydrates. It’s a type of fast energy
(pasta loading) Monomer = monosaccharide. Cellulose (complex carb) Glucose (simple carb)

Simple sugars monosaccharides like glucose (found in sports drinks) and fructose (sometimes
called fruit sugar is also found in honey)

Disaccharides (two monosaccharides joined). Examples include sucrose (table sugar), lactose
(milk sugar), maltose used for brewing and malt candies.

Polysaccharides (many monosaccharides) plants put together starch (curvy) and cellulose
(straight) from glucose

Glycogen (stored in the liver as granules and in muscle cells availability of about 24 hours), and
chitin (forms the exoskeletons of bugs and is similar to cellulose, but it also contains a little
nitrogen appendage)

Lipids (fats) (CHO) Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen

Two types of building blocks glycerol and fatty acids. Great for insulating. A long-term energy
source can store for a long time. Make up cell membranes. Coconut, cholesterol are examples of
lipids. Energy storage, cushioning, insulation, membrane function, hormone regulation.
Margarine, butter, oils, and red meats.

Cell membranes are made by stacking two layers of a molecule called a phospholipid.

Cholesterol maintains fluidity of the cell membrane (in between the membrane) in most animal
cell membranes, synthesizes several important lipid hormones, is produced from the body or
taken in from food.

A typical dietary fat consists of a molecule called a triglyceride store energy. A triglyceride is one
glycerol joined to three fatty acids. Triglycerides make up most of a calorie.

Steroids are a type of lipid. Cholesterol is an example of a steroid. Steroids differ because their
carbon skeleton is bent to form four fused rings. Estrogen and testosterone are types of
steroids. Men and women both produce testosterone and estrogen, but women produce more
estrogen while men produce more testosterone.
Proteins (CHON) Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen Nitrogen

Monomer = amino acids. Acts as enzymes and repairing the immune system. Hexokinase is an
enzyme. The most divers molecule of these four. The shape affects its function. Fish, beans,
meat, eggs are good sources. Proteins are polymers made by joining many amino acids together
by a peptide bond. There are 20 kinds of aa.

A polypeptide (4 chains make up a hemoglobin molecule) is a long chain of aa joined by peptide

bonds.

A ton of tasks: (keratin) is used for hair skin and nails. (Hemoglobin) is transport, defense
(antibodies) enzymes (lactase) breaks down milk sugar [“-ase” is always an enzyme.] (Actin)
enables the muscles to contract.

Hydrolysis is what happens in the digestive system to break down protein.

Nucleic Acids (CHONP) Carbon Hydrogen Oxygen Nitrogen Phosphorous

DNA (hereditary material) and RNA (messenger between DNA and other parts of the cell).
Monomer = nucleotide. Any type of life must contain nucleic acids.