1. Section 3: The Building Blocks of Life
Organisms are made up of carbon-based molecules. K
What I Know W
What I Want to Find Out L
What I Learned

2. Essential Questions What is the role of carbon in living organisms?
What are the four major families of biological macromolecules?
What are the functions of each group of biological macromolecules?
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The Building Blocks of Life

3. Vocabulary Review New organic compound macromolecule polymer
carbohydrate
lipid
protein
amino acid
nucleic acid
nucleotide
The Building Blocks of Life
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4. Organic Chemistry
Organic chemistry is the study of organic compounds – compounds that contain carbon.
Carbon is a component of almost all biological molecules.
Carbon atoms bond together to form a variety of important organic compounds.
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The Building Blocks of Life

5. Macromolecules
Macromolecules are large molecules that are formed by joining smaller organic molecules together.
Polymers are molecules made from repeating units of identical or nearly identical compounds called monomers.
Macromolecules are organized into four major categories:
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic acids
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The Building Blocks of Life

6. Add link to interactive table from page 167 (Table 1) here.
Biological Macromolecules
Interactive Table
FPO
Add link to interactive table from page 167 (Table 1) here.
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Water and Solutions

7. Macromolecules Carbohydrates
Compounds composed of a ratio of 1 carbon :2 hydrogen :1 oxygen are called carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates have a general formula of (CH2O)n where n indicates the number of CH2O units in the chain.
Carbohydrates are a central energy source in organisms, as well as functioning as cellular support in plants, fungi, and animals.
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The Building Blocks of Life

8. Macromolecules Lipids
Lipids are molecules made mostly of carbon and hydrogen that make up the fats, oils, and waxes.
A lipid’s primary function is to store energy, but they are also used to prevent water loss in plants and form the honeycomb in beehives.
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The Building Blocks of Life

9. Macromolecules Proteins
Proteins are compounds made of smaller carbon compounds called amino acids.
All amino acids are made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen, and sometimes sulfur and share the same general structure.
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The Building Blocks of Life

10. Macromolecules Proteins
There are 20 different amino acids, and proteins are composed of various combinations
Proteins are responsible for structural support in cells, transporting substances within and between cells, signaling within and between cells, speeding up chemical reactions, and controlling cell growth.
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The Building Blocks of Life

11. Add link to interactive table from page 170 (Figure 29) here.
Peptide Bonds
Animation
FPO
Add link to interactive table from page 170 (Figure 29) here.
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Water and Solutions

12. Macromolecules Nucleic acids
Nucleic acids are complex macromolecules that transmit and store genetic information.
Nucleic acids are composed of smaller repeating subunits composed of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, and hydrogen called nucleotides.
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The Building Blocks of Life

13. Macromolecules Nucleic acids
There are two types of nucleic acids in living organisms:
Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA)
Ribonucleic acid (RNA)
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The Building Blocks of Life

14. Review Essential Questions Vocabulary
What is the role of carbon in living organisms?
What are the four major families of biological macromolecules?
What are the functions of each group of biological macromolecules?
Vocabulary
macromolecule
polymer
carbohydrate
lipid
protein
amino acid
nucleic acid
nucleotide
The Building Blocks of Life
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