Lecture 3 Rev 2

BIOCHEMISTRY REVIEWER
THE MOLECULES OF THE CELL

PROPERTIES OF WATER
• Water has a high heat capacity
✓ Calorie - A calorie is the amount of heat energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram
(g) of water by 1°C.
• Water has a high heat of vaporization

✓ gives animals in a hot environment an efficient way to release excess body heat
• Water is a solvent.
✓ Hydrophilic - Molecules that can attract water
✓ Hydrophobic - Nonionized and nonpolar molecules, such as oil, that cannot attract water
• Water Molecules are cohesive and adhesive

✓ Cohesion - refers to the ability of water molecules to cling to each other due to
hydrogen bonding.
✓ Adhesion - refers to the ability of water molecules to cling to other polar surfaces.
• Frozen water (ice) is less dense than liquid water.

✓ They are densest at 4°C
✓ They form regular crystal lattice at below 4°C including 0°C
ACIDS AND BASES

BUFFERS AND PH - A buffer is a substance that keeps pH within normal limits. Buffers resist pH
changes because they can take up excess hydrogen ions (H+) or hydroxide ions (OH–).
ORGANIC MOLECULES
Many of the organic molecules that you are familiar with, such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and
nucleic acids, are macromolecules (also called biomolecules)
Macromolecules (also called biomolecules) - meaning that they contain smaller subunits joined
together
Polymers - A polymer is a substance or material consisting of very large molecules linked together
into chains of repeating subunits.
Monomers - A monomer is a molecule that can react with other monomers to form polymers.
The chemical reactivity of an organic molecule is determined by the types and locations of functional
groups on the organic molecule.
FUNCTIONAL GROUPS - A functional group is a specific combination of bonded atoms that always
has the same chemical properties and therefore always reacts in the same way.
The R indicates the “remainder” of the molecule. This is the place on the functional group that
attaches to the carbon skeleton.
BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
Biological macromolecules are large molecules, necessary for life, that are built from smaller organic
molecules.
Four major classes of biological macromolecules:

1. Carbohydrates
2. Lipids
3. Proteins
4. Nucleic acid
SYNTHESIS OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES

Dehydration Synthesis- means to put together while losing water.
Hydrolysis - means “to split water,” a reaction in which a water molecule is used during the
breakdown.
CARBOHYDRATES
Carbohydrates provide energy to the body, particularly through glucose, a simple sugar that is a
component of starch and an ingredient in many staple foods.
The term carbohydrate (literally, carbonwater) includes single sugar molecules and chains of sugars.
Molecular Structure
• Carbohydrates (CH2O)n
• n - the number of carbons in the molecule.
• The ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen is 1:2:1 in carbohydrate molecules.
Monosaccharides - Monosaccharides (mono- = “one”; saccharide- = “sweet”) are simple sugars,

the most common of which is glucose. In monosaccharides, the number of carbons usually ranges
from three to seven. Most monosaccharide names end with the suffix -ose.
Examples of monosaccharides: pentoses( 5 carbons), hexoses( 6 carbons)
Glucose - is a hexose sugar found in our blood
Disaccharides - Disaccharides (di- = “two”) form when two monosaccharides undergo a

dehydration reaction (also known as a condensation reaction or dehydration synthesis).
• When glucose and fructose join, the disaccharide sucrose forms.

• Lactose is glucose combined with galactose.
Polysaccharides - A long chain of monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bonds is known as a

polysaccharide (poly- = “many”). +
• It contains long chains of glucose subunits.
• Due to their length, they are sometimes referred to as complex carbohydrates.
• Starch and glycogen are large storage forms of glucose found in plants and animals,
respectively.
LIPIDS - Lipids include a diverse group of compounds that are largely nonpolar in nature. This is
because they are hydrocarbons that include mostly nonpolar carbon–carbon or carbon–hydrogen
bonds. Non-polar molecules are hydrophobic (“water fearing”), or insoluble in water.
Fats and Oils

A fat molecule consists of two main components—glycerol and fatty acids.
Glycerol - Glycerol is an organic compound (alcohol) with three carbons, five hydrogens, and three
hydroxyl (OH) groups.
Fatty acids - Fatty acids have a long chain of hydrocarbons to which a carboxyl group is attached,
hence the name “fatty acid.”
Fats - tend to be of animal origin (e.g., lard and butter), and are solid at room temperature
Oils - which are usually of plant origin
•A fat molecule is sometimes called a triglyceride because of its three-part structure.
Trans Fats - Trans fats are unhealthy fats that can increase bad cholesterol and heart disease risk.
Omega Fatty Acids - Essential fatty acids are fatty acids required but not synthesized by the human
body. Consequently, they have to be supplemented through ingestion via the diet.
Waxes - Waxes are made up of long fatty acid chains esterified to long-chain alcohols.
Phospholipids - Phospholipids are major constituents of the plasma membrane, the outermost layer
of animal cells.
Diacylglycerol - Diacylglycerol is a lipid composed of glycerol and two fatty acids, and it can be
generated from phospholipids or triacylglycerols.
Steroids - steroids have a fused ring structure. Although they do not resemble the other lipids, they
are grouped with them because they are also hydrophobic and insoluble in water
PROTEINS
• Proteins are one of the most abundant organic molecules in living systems and have the most
diverse range of functions of all macromolecules.
• Proteins may be structural, regulatory, contractile, or protective; they may serve in transport,
storage, or membranes; or they may be toxins or enzymes.
• Proteins are polymers composed of amino acid monomers.
Amino Acid - An amino acid has a central carbon atom bonded to a hydrogen atom and three
functional groups.
TYPES AND FUNCTION OF PROTEINS

Enzymes - which are produced by living cells, are catalysts in biochemical reactions (like digestion)
and are usually complex or conjugated proteins.
Substrate - a reactant that binds to an enzyme
Hormones - are chemical-signaling molecules, usually small proteins or steroids, secreted by
endocrine cells that act to control or regulate specific physiological processes, including growth,
development, metabolism, and reproduction.
Amino Acids - Amino acids are the monomers that make up proteins. Each amino acid has the same
fundamental structure, which consists of a central carbon atom, also known as the alpha (α) carbon,
bonded to an amino group (NH2), a carboxyl group (COOH), and to a hydrogen atom. Every amino
acid also has another atom or group of atoms bonded to the central atom known as the R group.
Peptides - A polypeptide is a chain of amino acids that are joined to one another by a peptide bond.
NUCLEIC ACIDS
Nucleic acids are the most important macromolecules for the continuity of life. They carry the genetic
blueprint of a cell and carry instructions for the functioning of the cell.
DNA ( deoxyribonucleic acid ) - is the genetic material found in all living organisms, ranging from
singlecelled bacteria to multicellular mammals. It is found in the nucleus of eukaryotes and in the
organelles, chloroplasts, and mitochondria. In prokaryotes, the DNA is not enclosed in a membranous
envelope.
RNA ( ribonucleic acid) - a single-stranded nucleic acid molecule that differs from DNA in sugar
and base composition
Nucleotide - A nucleotide is an organic molecule that is the building block of DNA and RNA.
There are four different types of bases in DNA:

1. adenine (A)
2. thymine (T)
3. guanine (G)
4. cytosine (C).

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BIOCHEMISTRY REVIEWER

THE MOLECULES OF THE CELL

• Water has a high heat of vaporization

• Water Molecules are cohesive and adhesive

• Frozen water (ice) is less dense than liquid water.

ACIDS AND BASES

Four major classes of biological macromolecules:

SYNTHESIS OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES

Monosaccharides - Monosaccharides (mono- = “one”; saccharide- = “sweet”) are simple sugars,

Examples of monosaccharides: pentoses( 5 carbons), hexoses( 6 carbons)

Glucose - is a hexose sugar found in our blood

Disaccharides - Disaccharides (di- = “two”) form when two monosaccharides undergo a

• When glucose and fructose join, the disaccharide sucrose forms.

Polysaccharides - A long chain of monosaccharides linked by glycosidic bonds is known as a

Fats and Oils

TYPES AND FUNCTION OF PROTEINS

There are four different types of bases in DNA:

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