CHAPTER 2 CHEMISTRY

Chemistry (Chapter 2) is about… the different types of macromolecules (big molecules) in all living things. Carbohydrates LipidsProteins Provide energy or structure Made of C, H, O Examples are sugars such as glucose, sucrose and more complex starch, cellulose, and glycogen Building blocks are called sugar or glucose Provide energy and protection Made of C, H, O Examples are phospholipids & steroids Building blocks are fatty acids & glycerol Diverse shapes provide regulation, defense, movement… Made of C, H, O, N, and usually S Examples are enzymes, insulin, antibodies, hemoglobin… Building blocks called amino acids So what? These molecules make up our bodies and all living things. We eat to get what we need to make our own molecules & maintain homeostasis. The different shapes/forms make them function uniquely. Nucleic Acids Used as genetic code Made of C, H, O, N, & P Examples are DNA & RNA Building blocks called nucleotides

Chemistry vocabulary Element – Substance that can’t be broken down into simpler substances. Carbon - the element of life; must have 4 bonds. Monomers – small subunits (building blocks) of large molecules Polymer- made of many molecules. Monosaccharide – single sugar, example glucose. Polysaccharide – large molecule formed from many sugars, example starch, cellulose, or glycogen. Disaccharide – molecule made from 2 sugars, example sucrose (table sugar is made from glucose and fructose).

Carbohydrates are made of sugar and used for energy or structure. Simple sugarsStarch Cellulose Glycogen Glucose is used for energy or as building blocks for the complex carbohydrates Ribose is used as a building block for nucleotides in DNA or RNA Made of >1,000 glucose molecules Found in plants as energy storage Made of 1,000’s of glucose molecules in straight rows that make it indigestible by most mammals Used as structure as it is found as the cell wall of plants Made of 1,000’s of glucose molecules in branches Used by mammals as energy storage in muscles and liver So what? All of these carbs are made from glucose or some combination of sugars to provide quick energy, energy storage, or structure in the case of cellulose. All stuff we need to live.

Enzymes are proteins that speed up reactions by lowering the activation energy (energy needed to get the reaction going). Characteristics of enzymes:enzymes Affected by pH and temperature Re-useable Specific 3D shape based on amino acid folding Due to shape, specific to substrate