1. Synthesis Hydrolysis and Nucleic Acids

2. Nucleic acids
Nucleic acids is the group of macromolecules that includes RNA and DNA (genetic material) They are made of molecules called nucleotides.
One single nucleotide is made of a sugar, phosphate and a nitrogen base. (DNA nitrogen bases include: guanine, adenine, cytosine and thymine. RNA has the same bases EXCEPT it had uracil instead of thymine)
Many nucleotides together form a long chain (RNA), and two long chains linked to make a ladder like structure (DNA)

3. Nitrogen Bases
Some nitrogen bases are purines (which have two rings in their structure). Some nitrogen bases are pyrimidines (which have one ring in their structure)
In a strand of DNA guanine and cytosine pair together, and adenine and thymine pair together

5. Hydrolysis
When food is eaten all the proteins, carbs, fats and nucleic acids are usually in their most complex forms (complete proteins and triglycerides, long polysaccharides and complete DNA strands)
For our bodies to use these macronutrients it first needs to break them down into their smallest bits, (monomers), such as amino acids, fatty acids, glycerol, monosaccharides and nucleotides.
The process of breaking them down is called hydrolysis (translated from Greek this means “to break apart using water”)

6. Ex 1: hydrolysis of a polypeptide
Ex 2: hydrolysis of a Disaccharide

7. Dehydration Synthesis
Our cells use the monomers of different macronutrients to build all kinds of things (cell membranes, body cells, organelles, hormones, different tissues and pretty much everything in a body)
New polymers (complete proteins, complete lipids, polysaccharides and complete DNA/RNS strands) are built through a process called dehydration synthesis (translated: to create by removing water)
The products of this process are a new polymer AND water molecules.

8. Ex 1: dehydration synthesis of a disaccharide
Ex 2: dehydration synthesis of a triglyceride

9. ATP
Many processes in the body require the addition of energy. Our bodies use a special molecule called Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP for short) as batteries to power things in our bodies.
When the phosphate bonds in the molecules are broken energy is released that the body can use many different ways (such as in chemical reactions and transport across cell membranes.)