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Biological Molecule

The major biological molecules that make up living things are water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Water makes up about 80% of the human body and is essential for metabolic reactions and transport. Carbohydrates include sugars and starches, and serve functions like energy storage. Proteins are made of amino acid chains and are required for cell structure, enzymes, antibodies, and more. Fats contain fatty acids and glycerol and provide energy storage as well as insulation. Common tests can identify these molecules in foods and tissues.

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28 views14 pages

Biological Molecule

The major biological molecules that make up living things are water, carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. Water makes up about 80% of the human body and is essential for metabolic reactions and transport. Carbohydrates include sugars and starches, and serve functions like energy storage. Proteins are made of amino acid chains and are required for cell structure, enzymes, antibodies, and more. Fats contain fatty acids and glycerol and provide energy storage as well as insulation. Common tests can identify these molecules in foods and tissues.

Uploaded by

Raidioactiveguy
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Biological molecule

objectives

At the end of the lesson, the students should be able to:

Mention the major biological molecules of life


Discuss the structure of major biological molecules.
The bodies of all living things are made of many different kinds of chemicals. Most of our bodies
are made up of water. We also contain carbohydrates, proteins and fats.
Water
Almost 80% of the body is made up of water. cytoplasm is a solution of many different substances
in water. chemical reactions take place in the body called metabolism. Metabolic reactions can
only take place if the chemicals which are reacting are dissolved in water. If cells dry out, the
reactions stop, and the organism dies.
Water is also needed for other reasons. For example, plasma, the liquid part of blood, contains a lot
of water, so that substances like glucose can dissolve in it. Water is also needed to dissolve
enzymes and nutrients in the alimentary canal, so that digestion can take place. We also need water
to help us to get rid of waste products. The kidneys remove the waste product, urea, from the body.
The urea is dissolved in water, forming urine.
Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates include starch and sugars. Their molecules contain three kinds of atom — carbon (C),
hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). A carbohydrate molecule has about twice as many hydrogen atoms as
carbon or oxygen atoms. Carbohydrate is made up of simple sugars and polysaccharides
Sugars
The simplest form of carbohydrate is monosaccharides or simple sugar. Glucose is a simple
sugar. A glucose molecule contains six carbon atoms, twelve hydrogen atoms, and six oxygen
atoms. To show this, its molecular formula can be written C6 H12 O6. they are very small, soluble
in water, and taste very sweet.
If two simple sugar molecules join together, a larger molecule called a complex sugar or
disaccharide is made. Two examples of complex sugars are sucrose (the sugar we use in hot
drinks, or on breakfast cereal, for example) and maltose (malt sugar).
Polysaccharides
If many simple sugars join together, a very large molecule called a
polysaccharide is made. Some polysaccharide molecules contain thousands
of sugar molecules joined together in a long chain. The cellulose of plant cell
walls is a polysaccharide and so is starch, which is often found inside plant
cells. Animal cells often contain a polysaccharide called glycogen. Most
polysaccharides are insoluble, and they do not taste sweet.
Functions of carbohydrates

Used for energy(One gram of carbohydrate releases 17kJ (kilojoules) of energy)


Used for respiration in plants and animals
Transported around animals and plants in form of glucose by plasma or
sucrose by phloem respectively
Stored in form of starch and glycogen
The polysaccharide cellulose is used to make the criss-crossing fibres from
which plant cell walls are constructed.
Testing for carbohydrates

test for the presence of sugars: we can do this


by adding Benedict's solution to a food, and
heating it. If the food contains reducing sugar
(such as glucose or maltose) , then a brick-red
colour will be produced. The mixture changes
gradually from blue, through green, yellow and
orange, and finally brick red If there is no
reducing sugar, then the Benedict's solution
remains blue.
Test for starch: The test for starch is
easier, as it does not involve heating.
You simply add iodine solution to a
sample of the food. If there is starch
present, a blue-black colour is obtained.
If there is no starch, the iodine solution
remains orange-brown.
Fats

Fats are also known as lipids. Like


carbohydrates, fats contain only three kinds of
atom — carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. A fat
molecule is made of four smaller molecules glycerol molecule fatty acid molecule
joined together. One of these is glycerol.
Attached to the glycerol are three long
molecules called fatty acids.
Fats are insoluble in water. Fats that are liquid
at room temperature are called oils.
fat molecule
Functions of fats

Like carbohydrates, fats and oils can be used in a cell to release energy.
A gram of fat gives about 39kj of energy.
Excess fats is stored under the skin in a layer called the adipose tissue.
Adipose tissue also helps to keep heat inside the body — that is, it
insulates the body.
Many plants store oils in their seeds — for example, peanut, coconut and
castor oil. The oils provide a good store of energy for germination.
Testing for fats and oils

There are several different tests for fats. One of the best is the ethanol
emulsion test.
Firstly, you chop the food and shake it up with ethanol. Although fats will not
dissolve in water, they do dissolve in ethanol. Next, you pour the ethanol into
water. If there was any fat in the food, then the fat—ethanol mixture breaks up
into millions of tiny droplets when it is mixed with the water. This mixture is
called an emulsion. It looks white and opaque, like milk. If there was no fat in
the food, the mixture of water and ethanol remains transparent.
Proteins

Proteins contain Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen,


Nitrogen and a small amount of Sulfur. Like
polysaccharides, protein molecules are made
of long chains of smaller molecules joined end
to end. These smaller molecules are called
amino acids.
Each protein is made of molecules with amino
acids in a precise order. Even a small
difference in the order of amino acids makes a
different protein, so there are millions of
Structure of a protein molecule.
different proteins which could be made.
Functions of protein

Soluble protein such as haemoglobin helps in the transportation of


oxygen
Insoluble protein such as keratin help to form some body parts such
as fingernails and hair.
Proteins are used in making new cells and repair damaged cells. cell
membranes and cytoplasm contain a lot of protein.
Proteins are also needed to make antibodies.
Enzymes are also proteins.
Testing for proteins

The test for protein is called biuret test. This


process is done by mixing the food in water
and then adding dilute copper sulfate
solution then dilute pottasium hydroxide
solution is gently added (a mixture of both
solution is called the biuret reagent). A
purple colour indicates the presence of
protein. If it remains blue, protein is not
present in the food.

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