1. "THE BIG 4"
MACROMOLECULES
There are four classes of biological macromolecules: Proteins, lipids, carbohydrates and nucleic acids

2. Macromolecule Polymer Monomer
Before you can understand the topics in this unit there are some key vocabulary terms you need to know.
Macromolecule
Polymer
Monomer

3. What is a
MACROMOLECULE

4. What do these words mean?
Micro
MACRO

5. So What Is A Macromolecule?
A very large molecule, such as a polymer or protein, consisting of many smaller structural units linked together.

6. Biological Macromolecule
All biological macro-molecule are made up of a small number of elements: Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sulfur

7. Elements of Life 96% of living organisms is made of: carbon (C)
oxygen (O)
hydrogen (H)
nitrogen (N)
phosphorus (P)

8. Next Word…..
Polymer

9. "Poly"
Polygons
Polyester
Polygamy
Means...

10. MANY
POLY means

11. What does “Mono” mean? 1

12. A Polymer EXAMPLE of POLYMER MONOMER A TRAIN ? A NECKLACE
Here are some analogies to better understand what polymers and monomers are….
EXAMPLE of POLYMER
MONOMER
A TRAIN ?
A NECKLACE
If the train is the whole polymer, what would be the small groups that make up the train? If the necklace is the polymer, what are the monomers that make up the necklace?

13. A Polymer EXAMPLE of POLYMER MONOMER A TRAIN THE CARS A NECKLACE
Here are some analogies to better understand what polymers and monomers are….
EXAMPLE of POLYMER
MONOMER
A TRAIN
THE CARS
A NECKLACE
EACH PEARL
If the train is the whole polymer, what would be the small groups that make up the train? If the necklace is the polymer, what are the monomers that make up the necklace?

14. Now you and a buddy need to think of at least 2 other analogies for a polymer and its monomers.

15. The Big Four

16. Molecules of Life
Put C, H, O, P, and N together in different ways to build living organisms
What are bodies made of?
carbohydrates
sugars & starches
proteins
fats (lipids)
nucleic acids
DNA, RNA

17. Don’t forget water Water Rest of you is made of carbon molecules
65% of your body is H2O
water is inorganic
doesn’t contain carbon
Rest of you is made of carbon molecules
organic molecules
carbohydrates
proteins
fats
nucleic acids

18. Keep the following in mind when studying this material:
Nucleic Acids What they look like
Carbohydrates What they do/Where are they
Lipids What are they made up of-
at the level of atoms
Proteins
Keep the following in mind when studying this material:

19. Carbohydrates Function: Examples quick energy energy storage structure
cell wall in plants
Examples
sugars
starches
cellulose (cell wall)
glucose C6H12O6
sucrose
starch

20. Cellulose Cell walls in plants herbivores can digest cellulose well
most carnivores cannot digest cellulose
that’s why they eat meat to get their energy & nutrients
cellulose = roughage
stays undigested
keeps material moving in your intestines
Cross-linking between polysaccharide chains = rigid & hard to digest
The digestion of cellulose governs the life strategy of herbivores.
Either you do it really well and you’re a cow or an elephant or a horse (spend a long time digesting a lot of food with a little help from some microbes & have to walk around slowly for a long time carrying a lot of food in your stomach)
Or you do it inefficiently and have to supplement your diet with simple sugars, like fruit and nectar, and you’re a gorilla.

21. Different Diets of Herbivores Cow
can digest cellulose well; no need to eat other sugars
Gorilla
can’t digest cellulose well; must add another sugar source, like fruit to diet

22. Helpful bacteria How can cows digest cellulose so well?
BACTERIA live in their stomachs & help digest cellulose-rich (grass) meals

23. CARBOHYDRATES
MADE UP OF...
Carbohydrates are chains (polymers) made of monomers. The most common monomer of carbohydrates is…
GLUCOSE

24. The shape of Glucose is a hexagonal ring

25. Each carbohydrate is made up of… Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen
CARBOHYDRATES
AT THE ATOM LEVEL
Each carbohydrate is made up of…
Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen
THINK: “CHO”

26. Building carbohydrates
Synthesis
1 sugar = monosaccharide
2 sugars = disaccharide |
glucose |
glucose |
maltose

27. BIG carbohydrates Polysaccharides large carbohydrates starch glycogen
energy storage in plants
potatoes
glycogen
energy storage in animals
in liver & muscles
cellulose
structure in plants
cell walls
chitin
structure in arthropods & fungi
exoskeleton

28. Building BIG carbohydrates
glucose + glucose + glucose… =
polysaccharide
starch
(plant)
energy storage
glycogen
(animal)

29. PROTEINS WHAT DO THEY DO?
They are the major structural molecules in living things for growth and repair : muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, hair, skin, nails…IN FACT ALL CELL MEMBRANES have protein in them
They make up antibodies in the immune system
They make up enzymes for helping chemical reactions
They makeup non-steriod hormones

30. Proteins:
Multipurpose molecules

31. Proteins insulin pepsin collagen (skin) Examples muscle
skin, hair, fingernails, claws
collagen, keratin
pepsin
digestive enzyme in stomach
insulin
hormone that controls blood sugar levels
pepsin
collagen (skin)

32. Proteins Function: many, many functions hormones movement
signals from one body system to another
insulin
movement
muscle
immune system
protect against germs
enzymes
help chemical reactions

33. Proteins variable group —N— H | —C— C—OH || O Building block =
amino acids
amino
acid –
20 different amino acids
There’s 20 of us…
like 20 different letters in an alphabet! Can make lots of different words
—N— H |
—C—
C—OH || O
variable group

34. Amino acid chains Proteins Each amino acid is different
amino acids chained into a polymer
amino acid
Each amino acid is different
some “like” water & dissolve in it
some “fear” water & separate from it

35. Water-fearing amino acids
Hydrophobic
“water fearing” amino acids
try to get away from water in cell
the protein folds

36. Water-loving amino acids
Hydrophillic
“water loving” amino acids
try to stay in water in cell
the protein folds

37. For proteins: SHAPE matters!
Proteins fold & twist into 3-D shape
that’s what happens in the cell!
Different shapes = different jobs
growth hormone
hemoglobin
pepsin
collagen

38. It’s SHAPE that matters!
Proteins do their jobs, because of their shape
Unfolding a protein destroys its shape
wrong shape = can’t do its job
unfolding proteins = “denature”
temperature
pH (acidity)
unfolded “denatured”
folded

39. PROTEINS THINK: “CHONS” Each protein is made up of…
AT THE ATOM LEVEL
Each protein is made up of…
Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen,
Nitrogen and sometimes Sulfur
THINK: “CHONS”

40. Lipids Function: energy storage cell membrane cushions organs
very concentrated
twice the energy as carbohydrates!
cell membrane
cushions organs
insulates body
think whale blubber!

41. Lipids Examples fats oils waxes hormones sex hormones
testosterone (male)
estrogen (female)

42. LIPIDS
MADE UP OF...
Lipids are not polymers. But they are created by the same process that creates polymers.
The most common lipids are…
TRIGLYCERIDES

43. The Shape of a triglyceride is like the letter
This is a triglyceride molecule

44. Structure of Fat not a chain (polymer) = just a “big fat molecule”

45. Saturated fats Most animal fats Limit the amount in your diet
solid at room temperature
Limit the amount in your diet
contributes to heart disease
deposits in arteries

46. Unsaturated fats Plant, vegetable & fish fats
liquid at room temperature
the fat molecules don’t stack tightly together
Better choice in your diet

47. Saturated vs. unsaturated

48. Other lipids in biology
Cholesterol
good molecule in cell membranes
make hormones from it
including sex hormones
but too much cholesterol in blood may lead to heart disease

49. Other lipids in biology
Cell membranes are made out of lipids
phospholipids
heads are on the outside touching water
“like” water
tails are on inside away from water
“scared” of water
forms a barrier between the cell & the outside

50. LIPIDS THINK: “CHOP” Each lipid is made up of…
AT THE ATOM LEVEL
Each lipid is made up of…
Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen…
and sometimes phosphorus
THINK: “CHOP”

51. The 4th type of biochemical macromolecules are the NUCLEIC ACIDS
The types of Nucleic Acids
DNA (DeoxyriboNucleic Acid)
RNA (RiboNucleic Acid)

52. Nucleic Acids DNA Function: genetic material stores information
genes
blueprint for building proteins
DNA  RNA  proteins
transfers information
blueprint for new cells
blueprint for next generation
DNA
proteins

53. DNA RNA Where are they found? Inside the nucleus of a cell
Inside the nucleus and in the cytoplasm

54. Nucleic Acids are made of…
DNA and RNA are polymers of 4 different nucleotides (monomers)
Each nucleotide is composed of three parts:
a nitrogen base
DNA: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), thymine (T)
RNA: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G), uracil (U)
a five-carbon sugar
Deoxyribose (DNA)
Ribose (RNA)
a phosphate group
DNA is double-sided
RNA is single-sided

55. Nucleic acids
phosphate
sugar
N base

56. Phosphate, Hydrogen, Oxygen,
DNA and RNA
AT THE ATOM LEVEL
Phosphate, Hydrogen, Oxygen,
Nitrogen, and Carbon
Think “PHONC”

57. Building large molecules of life
Chain together smaller molecules
building block molecules = monomers
Big molecules built from little molecules
polymers

58. Building large organic molecules
Small molecules = building blocks
Bond them together = polymers

59. Building important polymers
Carbohydrates = built from sugars
sugar – sugar – sugar – sugar – sugar – sugar
Proteins = built from amino acids
amino
acid –
Nucleic acids (DNA) = built from nucleotides
nucleotide – nucleotide – nucleotide – nucleotide

60. How to build large molecules
Synthesis
building bigger molecules from smaller molecules
building cells & bodies
repair
growth
reproduction +
ATP

61. How to take large molecules apart
Digestion
taking big molecules apart
getting raw materials
for synthesis & growth
making energy (ATP)
for synthesis, growth & everyday functions +
ATP

62. Example of digestion Starch is digested to glucose starch glucose ATP

63. amino acids = building block
Example of synthesis
amino acids
protein
Proteins are synthesized by bonding amino acids
amino acids = building block
protein = polymer

64. ATP Why do we eat? We eat to take in more of these chemicals
Food for building materials
to make more of us (cells)
for growth
for repair
Food to make energy
calories
to make ATP
ATP

65. What do we need to eat?
Foods to give you more building blocks & more energy
for building & running bodies
carbohydrates
proteins
fats
nucleic acids
vitamins
minerals, salts
water