The Chemistry of LifeWhat are living creatures made of? Why do we have to eat?

Elements of Life96% of living organisms is made of: carbon (C)oxygen (O)hydrogen (H)nitrogen (N)

Molecules of LifePut C, H, O, N together in different ways to build living organismsWhat are bodies made of?carbohydrates sugars & starchesproteinsfats (lipids)nucleic acidsDNA, RNA

Why do we eat?We eat to take in more of these chemicalsFood for building materialsto make more of us (cells)for growthfor repair Food to make energycaloriesto make ATP

ATP

Dont forget waterWater70% of your body is H2Owater is inorganic doesnt contain carbonRest of you is made of carbon moleculesorganic moleculescarbohydratesproteinsfatsnucleic acids

How do we make these molecules?We build them!2006-2007

Building large molecules of lifeChain together smaller moleculesbuilding block molecules = monomers

Big molecules built from little moleculespolymers

Building large organic moleculesSmall molecules = building blocks

Bond them together = polymers

What do we call these large molecules?MacromoleculesLarge molecules sometimes composed of a large number of repeating subunits

Building important polymerssugar sugar sugar sugar sugar sugar nucleotide nucleotide nucleotide nucleotideCarbohydrates = built from sugarsProteins = built from amino acidsNucleic acids (DNA) = built from nucleotides

A Few Definitions Anabolic reactions:Reactions that produce large molecules from smaller subunits

Condensation reactions:Reaction that creates a covalent bond between two interacting subunits linking them to each other

A Few Definitions Catabolic reactions:Reactions that break macromolecules into constituent individual subunits

Hydrolysis reactions:A catabolic reaction in which a water molecules is used to break a covalent bond holding subunits together

How to build large moleculesSynthesis (condensation rxn)H from one OH group and an entire OH from another molecule create water (condensation)Water is madeATP is stored

How to build large moleculesSynthesis (condensation rxn)building bigger molecules from smaller molecules (anabolic reaction) building cells & bodies (repair, growth, reproduction) +ATP

How to take large molecules apartDigestion (hydrolysis reaction)Reverse rxn of synthesisa water molecule is usedenergy is releasedtaking big molecules apart (catabolic reaction)

How to take large molecules apartDigestion (hydrolysis reaction)getting raw materialsfor synthesis & growthmaking energy (ATP)for synthesis, growth & everyday functions+ATP

Example of digestionStarch is digested to glucosestarchglucoseATPATPATPATPATPATPATP

Example of synthesisamino acids = building blockprotein = polymeramino acidsproteinProteins are synthesized by bonding amino acids

Penguins gone bad! Any Questions?

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