Biochemistry is a branch of science

concerned with chemical and

physio-chemical processes and
substances which occur within living
organisms
 About 60-90 percent of an
organism is water

 Water is used in most

reactions in the body

 Wateris called the

universal solvent
Polarity

Cohesiveness

Adhesiveness

Surface Tension
 Although a cell is
mostly water, the rest
of the cell consists
mostly of carbon-
based molecules

 Organic chemistry is
the study of carbon
compounds
 Each type of organic
molecule has a unique
three-dimensional
shape

 The shape determines

its function in an
organism
 Large molecules are
called polymers

 Polymersare built
from smaller
molecules called
monomers

 Biologists
call them
macromolecules
 Proteins

 Lipids

 Carbohydrates

 Nucleic Acids
There are four categories of large molecules in
cells:

Carbohydrates

Lipids

Proteins

Nucleic Acids
Carbohydrates include:

Small sugar molecules in

soft drinks
Long starch molecules in
pasta and potatoes
Lipids are hydrophobic –”water fearing”

Includes fats,
waxes, steroids,
& oils

FAT MOLECULE
Fats store energy, which helps to insulate the
body, and cushion and protect organs
Proteins are polymers made of monomers
called amino acids

All proteins are made of 20 different amino acids

linked in different orders

Proteins are used to build cells, act as hormones

& enzymes, and do much of the work in a cell
Stores hereditary information

Contain information for making all the body’s

proteins
There are two types of nucleic acids
 DNA

 RNA
 Nitrogenous base
(A,G,C, or T)

Nucleic acids
are polymers
Phosphate Thymine (T)
of nucleotides group

Sugar
(deoxyribose)
Phosphate

Sugar Base

Nucleotide
Copyright Cmassengale 16