 Are organic compounds that contain carbon.  Formed by joining together monomers in a process called polymerization.

 Used to supply quick energy to the cell  (break down sugar to make ATP (energy)  Also used for structural purposes  Groups include:  Monosaccharides = simple sugars (like glucose)  Disaccharides = two sugars  Polysaccharides = many sugars  Carbohydrates are found in foods like pastas, breads, fruits, candy, potatoes

 Used for long-term energy storage  Used for waterproofing  Important parts of cell membranes  Includes oils, fats, waxes, & steroids  Can be found in foods like butter, vegetable oil, crisco.

 Used to store & transmit genetic information  Made of nucleotides  Includes DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) & RNA (ribonucleic acid)

 Used to control the rate of reactions (enzymes)  Helps form cell structures, helps transport substances in & out of cells, & helps fight disease  Used to build muscle tissue  Made of amino acids  Found in foods like steak, chicken, fish, eggs

 A chemical reaction is a process that changes, or transforms, one set of chemicals into another.  Some occur slowly while other occur quickly  Chemical reactions involve changes in the chemical bonds that join atoms together in compounds.

 Activation energy is the energy needed to get a reaction started.

 A catalyst is a substance that speeds up the rate of a chemical reaction.  They work by lowering the activation energy

 Enzymes are proteins that act as biological catalysts.  They speed up chemical reactions that take place in the cells of living things.  Enzymes usually end in “ase”

 They lower the activation energy needed to get a reaction to happen

 Temperature  Most human enzymes work best at normal body temp.  pH  Enzymes need the correct pH to function ▪ Ex. Stomach enzymes that help with digestion need a very acidic pH  Regulatory molecules  Signals to turn the enzymes on or off

 An example is the action of the enzyme sucrase hydrolysing sucrose into glucose and fructose  (breaking down a disaccharide into simpler sugars)

 The substrate is like the key and the enzyme is like the lock.  Only one type of substrate can fit into the active site of an enzyme, just like only one key can fit into a lock.  They have very specific bonding sites.