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The building blocks of life

Water
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins

The study of the structure and function of

biological molecules forms an important branch
of biology known as molecular biology.

Molecular biology is closely linked with

biochemistry, which looks at the chemical
reactions in biological molecules.

The sum total of all the biochemical reaction in

the body is know as metabolism.
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Question
Describe the two main types of metabolic
reactions which takes place in cells.

The four most common elements in living

organisms are hydrogen, carbon, oxygen
and nitrogen.

They account for more than 99% of the

atoms found in all living things.

Carbon is particularly important because

carbon atoms can join together to form long
chains or ring structures.
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Chemical compounds which make up the

cells, tissues and organs of living
organisms are divided into two groups:
Organic compounds
Inorganic compounds

Carbon atoms can be thought of as the basic

skeletons of organic molecules to which
groups of other atoms are attached.

Organic molecules always contain carbon.

The main organic compounds found in living

organisms are carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins, nucleic acids, (which are
macromolecules) and vitamins
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The main inorganic compounds found in

living organisms are:
Water
Mineral

Water is arguably the most important

biochemical of all.

Without water life would not exist on this planet.

It is important for two reasons:

(1) it is a major component of cells
(2) it provides an environment for those
organisms
that live in water.
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POLARITY

Many of water's biological functions stem from its

chemical structure.

In the water molecule ( H2O) the hydrogen and oxygen

atoms share electrons to form a covalent bond, but
these atoms do not share the electrons equally.

The oxygen atom, because of its 8 protons and

hydrogen's single proton, pulls the shared electrons
towards its nucleus and away from the hydrogen atom.
As a result, the electrical charge is unevenly
distributed in the water molecule.
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Although the total electrical charge on a

water molecule is zero, the region of the
molecule where the oxygen atom is
located has a slight negative charge (2-),
while the regions of the molecule where
each of the two hydrogen atoms are
located each have a slight positive charge
(+).
Because of this uneven pattern of
charge, water is a polar molecule. All
molecules with an uneven charge like this
are polar molecules.

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It is this that makes water such a good

solvent of other polar molecules - such as
salts, sugars and proteins.

An ionic compound dissolved in water

tends to dissociate into ions. This
breaking up of an ionic compound means
the ions can participate in many biological
reactions.

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HYDROGEN BONDING
The polar nature of water also causes
water molecules to be attracted to one
another or stick together.

This attraction between water molecules

is caused by hydrogen bonding.

A positive region of one water molecule

is attracted to the negative region of
another water molecule.
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Hydrogen bonds are

weak bonds that
can
be
easily
broken particularly
if bent.

Hydrogen
bonds
can also be formed
between hydrogen
and nitrogen atoms
(only).

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The hydrogen bonds in water exert a

significant attractive force, causing water to
cling to itself (Cohesion) and to other
surfaces (Adhesion).

Together, adhesion and cohesion enable

water molecules to move upwards through
narrow tubes against the force of gravity - a
property of water known as capillarity.

Water moves up a plant stem through

cohesion-tension in the xylem only
possible because of the hydrogen bonds.
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Water must gain or lose a large amount of

energy for its temperature to change which
makes it a stable environment to live in
(homeostasis).

Water's ability to absorb large amounts of

energy (= high specific heat capacity)
helps to keep cells at an even temperature
despite changes to the external temperature.

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Solvent.
Because it is charged, (the positively charged
hydrogen atoms and a negatively charged
oxygen atom) water is a very good solvent.

Charged or polar molecules such as salts,

sugars, amino acids dissolve readily in water
and so are called hydrophilic ("water loving").

Uncharged or non-polar molecules such as

lipids do not dissolve so well in water and are
called hydrophobic ("water hating").
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Specific heat capacity or thermal

properties.

A substances specific heat capacity is the

amount of energy in joules required to raise the
temperature of 1 gram of that substance by 10C.

Water has a specific heat capacity of 4.2 J g-1 C1, which means that it takes 4.2 joules of energy
to heat 1 g of water by 1C.

This is unusually high and it means that water

does not change temperature very easily. This
minimizes fluctuations in temperature inside
cells, and it also means that sea temperature is
remarkably constant.
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Latent heat of vaporisation.

Water requires a lot of energy to change
state from a liquid into a gas, and this is
made use of as a cooling mechanism in
animals (sweating and panting) and
plants (transpiration- the loss of water by
evaporation from the surface of leaves).
As water evaporates it extracts heat
from around it, cooling the organism.
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Latent heat of fusion.

Water requires a lot of heat to change

state from a solid to a liquid, and must
loose a lot of heat to change state from a
liquid to a solid. This means it is difficult
to freeze water, so ice crystals are less
likely to form inside cells.

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Density or Water freezing properties

Water is unique in that the solid state (ice) is

less dense that the liquid state, so ice floats on
water.

As the air temperature cools, bodies of water

freeze from the surface, forming a layer of ice
with liquid water underneath.

This allows aquatic ecosystems to exist even

in sub-zero temperatures.
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Cohesion or Surface tension of water

Surface tension is the force that causes the

surface of a liquid to contract so that it occupies
the least possible area.

Water molecules "stick together" due to their

hydrogen bonds, so water has high cohesion.

This explains surface tension, which allows small

animals to walk on water.
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Transparency

This feature is very important biologically.

The present of light facilitate photosynthesis in

oceans and other aquatic environment thus
providing for a community of living organism.

It is also of great importance to animals living in

water, for it allows them to see.

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State the property of water that allows

each of the following to take place and,
in each case, explain its importance.
(a) The cooling of skin during sweating.
(b) The survival of fish in ice-covered lakes.
(c) The ability of insects, such as pond
skater, to walk on water.
(d) The transport glucose and ions in a
mammal.
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Water is important within bodies

where it forms a large part of the mass
of cell.

It is also an environment in which

organisms can live.

As a result of extensive hydrogen

bonding, it has unusual properties that
are important for life.
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It is liquid at most temperatures on the

Earths surface;

Its highest density occurs above its

freezing point so that ice floats and
insulates water below from freezing air
temperatures;

It acts as a solvent for ions and polar

molecules and causes non-polar
molecules to group together;
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It has a high surface tension which

affects the way it moves through narrow
tubes and forms a surface on which some
organisms can live.

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Read
Chapter 2, pp 11-13: Advanced Biology by
Roberts, Reiss & Monger (2000).

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All of the many compounds discovered

can be classified into two broad
categories: organic (= contain
carbon atoms covalently bonded to
other carbon atoms) and inorganic
compounds.

Other elements found in most organic

molecules are hydrogen, oxygen, and
nitrogen.
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A carbon atom has 4 electrons in its outermost

shell, and to be stable a carbon atom needs 8
electrons in its outer shell, so carbon atoms
therefore readily form 4 covalent bonds with
other elements.

Carbon also readily bonds with other carbon

atoms, forming chains or rings.

This tendency of carbon to bond with itself

results in the enormous variety of organic
compounds.
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Carbon can also share two pairs of

electrons with another carbon atom:
- Single Bond - A bond formed when
two
atoms share one
pair of
electrons.
- Double Bond - atoms share two
pairs
of electrons.

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In most organic compounds, clusters of

atoms, called functional groups, influence
the properties of the molecule they compose.

The functional group is the structural

building block that determines the
characteristics of that compound.

One functional group important to living

things is the hydroxyl group (represented
by OH-).
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An alcohol is an organic compound with

a hydroxyl group attached to one of its
carbon atoms.

The hydroxyl group makes alcohols (e.g.

sugars) polar molecules that have some
properties similar to water, including the
ability to form hydrogen bonds.

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Large carbon compounds are built up from

smaller simpler molecules called monomers.

Monomers can bind to one another to form

complex molecules known as polymers.

A polymer consists of repeated, linked units,

forming (very) large polymers called
macromolecules.

Monomers link to form polymers through a

chemical reaction called a condensation
reaction. During the formation of polymers,
water is released it is a by-product of the
reaction.
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Example - during the formation of the sugar maltose, two

molecules of glucose combine.

In this condensation reaction, one glucose molecule

releases a hydroxide ion, OH-, and the other molecule
releases a hydrogen ion, H+. The OH- and H+ ions that are
released then combine to form water.

This bond (between the 1- carbon of the first glucose and

the 4- carbon of the second), is known as a 1:4 Glycosidic
bond and it is also found in starch, glycogen and cellulose.

The breakdown (= digestion) of these complex molecules,

occurs through the reverse process known as hydrolysis. 8.
Hydrolysis requires the addition of one water molecule, to
break each bond within the polymer and so break the bonds
that hold them together.
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All carbohydrates contain the elements

carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

The second half of the name comes from

the fact that hydrogen and oxygen
atoms are present in the ratio of 2:1, as
they are in water (hydrate refers to
water).

The general formula for a carbohydrate

can therefore be written as CX(H2O)y.
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Sugars, starch, glycogen and cellulose are all

carbohydrates.

Carbohydrate are divided into three main

groups, namely:- monosaccharide (e.g. glucose, fructose,
galactose),
- disaccharides (e.g. maltose, sucrose, lactose)
- polysaccharide (e.g. starch, glycogen,
cellulose)
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Monosaccharides are sugars.

They dissolve easily in water to form

sweet solutions.

Monosaccharides have the general

formula (CH2O)n and consist of a single
sugar molecule (mono means one).

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The main types of monosaccharide, if

they are classified according to the
number of carbon atoms in each
molecule, are:
- Triose (C3H6O3)
- Pentose (C5H10O5)
- Hexose (C6H12O6).

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Glucose, Fructose, and Galactose are all

hexoses, with the same molecular
formula, but their differing structures
determine the different properties.

Compounds like these sugars, with a

single chemical formula but different
forms, are called isomers.

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Disaccharides, or double sugars, are formed

when two single sugars (or monosaccharides)
condense together to form a disaccharide and
a molecule of water.

The bond between the two parts of the

disaccharide is known as a glycosidic bond.

Common disaccharides include maltose (glucose + -glucose) sucrose (-glucose +

fructose), and lactose (-glucose +
galactose).
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Polysaccharides are carbohydrates made

of long chains of sugars.

Starch, which is found in plants only, is a

polysaccharide.

Starch actually consists of two different

molecules: amylose (a long chain of poly
maltoses, thus only having -1:4 glycosidic
bonds) and amylopectin (which has a
branched structure, containing both -1:4
glycosidic bonds and -1:6 glycosidic bonds).
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Animals store -glucose in the form of the

polysaccharide glycogen in their liver and
muscles, (where it is regulated by the hormones
insulin and glucagon).

Glycogen keeps the blood glucose concentration

roughly constant throughout the day. It consists
of tens of thousands of glucose molecules in a
highly branched structure similar to amylopectin
(i.e it has both -1:4 glycosidic bonds and -1:6
glycosidic bonds and can thus be digested by
amylase).
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Plants make cellulose - also a

polysaccharide to form the main
component of their rigid cell walls.

Cellulose makes up about 50 percent

of wood and consists of very long,
unbranched chains of -glucose.

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Top = amylose; -1:4 glycosidic bonds.

Note: all 6-carbons on the top
Lower = cellulose; -1:4 glycosidic bonds Note: alternate 6-carbons
on top and bottom
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