BIOLOGY EXAM 2 NOTES
• Biological Macromolecules
o Polymers (macromolecule): chain of individual units strung together
o Monomer: single units that make up polymer, building blocks
▪ Ex: pearl necklace
o 4 basic categories
▪ Carbohydrates
• Monomers: simple sugars or monosaccharides
• Polymers: complex carbs or polysaccharides
▪ Lipids
• Monomers: has building block form, storage form which involves
fatty acids + glycerol molecule
• Fatty acid bound to glycerol make up polymer of lipids
▪ Proteins/polypeptides
• Monomers: amino acids
o There are hundreds of amino acids, but we only use 20. All
organisms (except bacterial like organisms) use the exact
same 20 which suggests we have a common ancestry
▪ ancient pathway deep in our cells that we share with
all organisms that doesn’t require oxygen suggest
we have a common ancestor
• Polymers: polypeptides (sequence of amino acids in proteins)
▪ Nucleic acid
• Monomers: nucleotides
• DNA, RNA
o All 4 classes of macromolecules use the same kind of chemical reaction to
undergo polymerization (=to make a polymer, grow)
▪ The chemical reaction that bonds them together is called a condensation
reaction or dehydration reaction
• The cell will remove OH (hydroxyl group) from one molecule and
H from another and will produce H2O to create an opening for the
chemical bonds to link monomers together
• Cell will take a polymer and take the next monomer
• Carbohydrate: basic chemical formula is CH2O
o Glucose is a monosaccharide (simple sugar) - repeating units
, Starch (amylose): a polysaccharide, made of long chains of glucose
▪
molecules
• Enzymes that are produced in your mouth and the thing pancreas
secretes to breakdown molecules is amylase
o Amylase breaks down amylose
• Cellulose, made up of the same sugar but is NOT digestible
o Cellulase breaks down cellulose
o Ex: tree bark
• When you covalently bond 2 sugars together, it creates a chemical
bond called glycosidic (sugar) linkage
o Alpha 1.4 linkage: bond angle where oxygen is down the
valley
▪ Glucose in body tissues
▪ Enzymes in digestive tract can wrap around bond
angle and cleave off one sugar at a time to release
into your blood for energy
o Beta 1.4 linkage: structure where each sugar gets higher –
act as a step
▪ Cellulose, plants tree bark
▪ Enzymes can’t wrap around bond angle properly –
makes it nondigestible
• This is how we make long chains of glucose - when a bunch of
them do it, then we get a polysaccharide
o Two major functions of carbohydrates:
▪ major energy source
• Two major source of energy are fats and carbohydrates, but if you
don’t have any you will be forced to break down proteins
(muscles)
▪ important components of cell walls with plants and bacteria
▪ Makes up cell markers-how blood determines what is of the body and
▪ what is a foreign invader
• Lipids
, o Monomers: fatty acid glycerol
o Polymers: diglycerides, triglycerides
o Types of lipids: fats, phospholipids, steroids
o Fats
▪ Two major components: fatty acid and glycerol molecule
▪ When fatty acid and glycerol molecules combine -> storage form, a sort of
like a polymer
▪ Fatty acid
• Fatty acids are mostly nonpolar because they’re mostly made up of
carbon and hydrogen (carboxyl group)
o Mostly nonpolar because they’re mostly made up of carbon
and hydrogen
• Fatty acids are acids because they contain a carboxyl group
o Acid: release a proton in a solution
• Fatty acid tail could be 10-30 carbons long
• Most have an even number of carbons because body breaks down
carbon in pairs
▪ Saturated and Unsaturated fats
• Saturated fat: every carbon uses two of its bonds to hold onto the
chain, backbone is completely saturated with the maximum
number of hydrogens that a chain can hold
o Bad for health- animals fats
o No double bonds, only single = packs very densely
o Solid at room temperature ex: butter, lard
• Biological Macromolecules
o Polymers (macromolecule): chain of individual units strung together
o Monomer: single units that make up polymer, building blocks
▪ Ex: pearl necklace
o 4 basic categories
▪ Carbohydrates
• Monomers: simple sugars or monosaccharides
• Polymers: complex carbs or polysaccharides
▪ Lipids
• Monomers: has building block form, storage form which involves
fatty acids + glycerol molecule
• Fatty acid bound to glycerol make up polymer of lipids
▪ Proteins/polypeptides
• Monomers: amino acids
o There are hundreds of amino acids, but we only use 20. All
organisms (except bacterial like organisms) use the exact
same 20 which suggests we have a common ancestry
▪ ancient pathway deep in our cells that we share with
all organisms that doesn’t require oxygen suggest
we have a common ancestor
• Polymers: polypeptides (sequence of amino acids in proteins)
▪ Nucleic acid
• Monomers: nucleotides
• DNA, RNA
o All 4 classes of macromolecules use the same kind of chemical reaction to
undergo polymerization (=to make a polymer, grow)
▪ The chemical reaction that bonds them together is called a condensation
reaction or dehydration reaction
• The cell will remove OH (hydroxyl group) from one molecule and
H from another and will produce H2O to create an opening for the
chemical bonds to link monomers together
• Cell will take a polymer and take the next monomer
• Carbohydrate: basic chemical formula is CH2O
o Glucose is a monosaccharide (simple sugar) - repeating units
, Starch (amylose): a polysaccharide, made of long chains of glucose
▪
molecules
• Enzymes that are produced in your mouth and the thing pancreas
secretes to breakdown molecules is amylase
o Amylase breaks down amylose
• Cellulose, made up of the same sugar but is NOT digestible
o Cellulase breaks down cellulose
o Ex: tree bark
• When you covalently bond 2 sugars together, it creates a chemical
bond called glycosidic (sugar) linkage
o Alpha 1.4 linkage: bond angle where oxygen is down the
valley
▪ Glucose in body tissues
▪ Enzymes in digestive tract can wrap around bond
angle and cleave off one sugar at a time to release
into your blood for energy
o Beta 1.4 linkage: structure where each sugar gets higher –
act as a step
▪ Cellulose, plants tree bark
▪ Enzymes can’t wrap around bond angle properly –
makes it nondigestible
• This is how we make long chains of glucose - when a bunch of
them do it, then we get a polysaccharide
o Two major functions of carbohydrates:
▪ major energy source
• Two major source of energy are fats and carbohydrates, but if you
don’t have any you will be forced to break down proteins
(muscles)
▪ important components of cell walls with plants and bacteria
▪ Makes up cell markers-how blood determines what is of the body and
▪ what is a foreign invader
• Lipids
, o Monomers: fatty acid glycerol
o Polymers: diglycerides, triglycerides
o Types of lipids: fats, phospholipids, steroids
o Fats
▪ Two major components: fatty acid and glycerol molecule
▪ When fatty acid and glycerol molecules combine -> storage form, a sort of
like a polymer
▪ Fatty acid
• Fatty acids are mostly nonpolar because they’re mostly made up of
carbon and hydrogen (carboxyl group)
o Mostly nonpolar because they’re mostly made up of carbon
and hydrogen
• Fatty acids are acids because they contain a carboxyl group
o Acid: release a proton in a solution
• Fatty acid tail could be 10-30 carbons long
• Most have an even number of carbons because body breaks down
carbon in pairs
▪ Saturated and Unsaturated fats
• Saturated fat: every carbon uses two of its bonds to hold onto the
chain, backbone is completely saturated with the maximum
number of hydrogens that a chain can hold
o Bad for health- animals fats
o No double bonds, only single = packs very densely
o Solid at room temperature ex: butter, lard
