Biochemistry &

Nutrients

objectives

Cells need nutrients to supply energy and matter

for synthesis (building up). These nutrients may
be organic or inorganic.
Organic nutrients are carbohydrates
(monosaccharides, disaccharides and
polysaccharides), protein, lipids (saturated and
unsaturated) and vitamins.
State the elements and building blocks that
make up carbohydrates, protein and lipids.

Organic vs. Inorganic

Organic
Molecules are always
large and a lot of them
Always contain carbon
Arranged

rings

in chains or

Usually contain
hydrogen and oxygen

Inorganic
Small molecules and
only a few atoms
May contain carbon
(but not large
numbers)
E.g. sodium chloride,
calcium carbonate,
copper sulphate

The 4 major groups of organic

compounds
1.

Carbohydrates

2.

Proteins

3.

Lipids

4.

Nucleic acid

1. Carbohydrates
Contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
Twice as many H atoms as O atoms
glucose = C6H12O6, sucrose C12H22O11

Terms you will comes across:

Simple sugars, Monosaccharide,
disaccharide and polysaccharide

Monosaccharide a simple sugar or

single-unit sugar
glucose,

Two monosaccharide molecules can be

joined together to form a Disaccharide
Sucrose,

fructose, galactose

maltose, lactose

A large number of monosaccharides can be

joined together to form Polysaccharides
Glycogen,

starch, cellulose

2. Proteins

Contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and

nitrogen.

Many also contain sulfur and phosphorus

Protein molecules are made up of large

numbers of smaller units called amino
acids

The bond between two amino acids is called a

peptide bond.

Two amino acids joined by a peptide bond are

know as a dipeptide

Ten or more amino acids joined by peptide

bonds are polypeptides

Proteins consists of 100 or more amino acids

joined by peptide bonds.

3. Lipids

Contain carbon, hydrogen and only a

small amount of oxygen

Each fat molecule is made up of one

molecule of glycerol and one, two or three
molecules of fatty acids.

Most fats insoluble in water

Fats with glycerol and one molecule of

fatty acid are called monoglycerides

Those with two fatty acids = diglycerides

three fatty acids = triglycerides (the form

of fat stored by the body).

4. Nucleic Acids

Large molecules containing

carbon, hydrogen, oxygen,
nitrogen and phosphorus.

The units that make up nucleic

acids are called nucleotides (each
with nitrogen base, sugar and
phosphate group)

Two main kinds: DNA and RNA