Macromolecules Danny Morejon P.5

Carbohydrate Molecular Structure o Carbohydrates are made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.

Lipids Molecular Structure o Lipids are nonpolar molecules that include fats, oils, and cholesterol.

Protein Molecular Structure o Proteins are polymers of amino acid monomers.

Nucleic acids Molecular Structure Nucleic acids are polymers of monomers called nucleotides.

Carbohydrates Primary Functions o When carbohydrates are consumed the body breaks them down into glucose. Then the glucose moves into your bloodstream and goes to your organs and tissues, where it is used to fuel cellular activity. o Simple carbohydrates occur when there is more glucose in the body than your cells need, it is converted to glycogen for storage in the liver and muscles, or into fat.

Lipids Primary Functions o Triglycerides provide you with energy during aerobic metabolism and are stored in your fat tissues. o Within cells lipids regulate the fluid balance within the cell and its external fluid environment. o Fats in your body cushion your organs from shock and blunt trauma and stores energy for future use.

Proteins Primary Functions o Protein provides a source of carbon for energy- yielding reactions. Certain amino acids can be converted to glucose and metabolized to provide ATP, while others can be stored as fat. o Protein is an important compound in controlling fluid volume and osmolality in the blood and body tissues. This function is a major controlling factor in maintaining water balance. o Proteins form enzymes that are involved in digestive and other cellular processes that create needed chemical end products.

How Enzymes Speed Up o An enzyme acts as a catalyst for biochemical reactions. It lowers the activation energy needed for a reaction to occur, which then speeds up the reaction. o Since specific enzymes only react with certain molecules, they help choose which reactions occur in the cells.

Enzyme Activity o Anything from the weather to the temperature of a room, it’s all an outcome on how your body exhales the enzymes to make your body warmer or cooler. o As the enzyme concentration increases the rate of enzyme activity increases up to a level where it becomes constant. o Changes in pH may not only affect the shape of an enzyme but it may also change the charge properties of the substrate so that either the substrate cannot bind to the active site or it cannot undergo catalysis. Extremes in pH can denature enzymes. o Increasing temperature means the molecules gain more kinetic energy and move faster resulting in more chances of successful collisions of enzymes and substrates forming enzyme-substrate molecules.