Unit 1.

1 Molecules
Biology Department
Watford Girls Grammar School
Introduction
 For each of the following you should be
able to:
 Describe the properties
 Know the general formulae & structure
 Understand the role in animals & plants

•Water •Proteins
•Carbohydrates •Nucleic acids
•Lipids
 H +
Water - O
H +
 Water is a polar molecule
 It forms weak hydrogen bonds
 It remains a liquid over a wide
temperature range
 Water molecules stick to one another =
cohesion (surface tension)
 Water molecules stick to other
substances = adhesion (capillarity)
Water
 It has a high specific heat capacity – so
water can maintain a reasonably
constant temperature (homeostasis)
 It has a high latent heat of vaporisation
– so animals use water to cool
themselves
 It is less dense as a solid (ice)…
 … and ice is a poor conductor
 Water is a good solvent
Carbohydrates
 Contain the elements Carbon
Hydrogen & Oxygen
 There are 3 types:

 Monosaccharides
 Disaccharides
 Polysaccharides
Monosacharides
 (CH2O)n
 If n=3, triose (glyceraldehyde)
 If n=5, pentose (fructose, ribose)
 If n=6, hexose (glucose, galactose)
 Monosaccharides are used for
 Energy C
 Building blocks C O

C C

C C
Isomerism
 Theycan exist as isomers:
α & β glucose OH
β

α
OH
Disaccharides
 Formed from two monosaccharides
 Joined by a glycosidic bond
 A condensation reaction:

 glucose + glucose  maltose

 glucose + galactose  lactose

 glucose + fructose  sucrose

Condensation reaction
C C
C O C O

C C C C

C C OH OH C C
Condensation reaction
C C
C O C O

C C C C

C C OH OH C C
Condensation reaction
C C
C O C O

C C C C

C C O C C

H2O
Condensation reaction
C C
C O C O

C C1 4C C

C C O C C

A disaccharide
1,4 glycosidic bond
Polysaccharides
 Polymers formed from many
monosaccharides
 Three important examples:
 Starch

 Glycogen

 Cellulose
Starch
Insoluble store of glucose in plants
formed from two glucose polymers:

 Amylose  Amylopectin

α-glucose α-glucose
1,4 glycosidic bonds 1,4 and some 1,6
Spiral structure glycosidic bonds
Branched structure
Glycogen

 Insoluble compact
store of glucose in
animals
 α-glucose units
 1,4 and 1,6
glycosidic bonds
 Branched structure
 O O O
Cellulose O O
 Structural polysaccharide
in plants
 β-glucose
 1,4 glycosidic bonds
 H-bonds link adjacent
chains
Lipids
 Made up of C, H and O
 Can exist as fats, oils and waxes
 They are insoluble in water
 They are a good source of energy
(38kJ/g)
 They are poor conductors of heat
 Most fats & oils are triglycerides
Triglycerides
 Formed by esterification…
 …a condensation reaction between 3
fatty acids and glycerol:

H C O H

Glycerol
H C O H

H C O H
 Fatty acids
 Carboxyl group (-COOH)
 attached to a long non-polar
hydrocarbon chain (hydrophobic):

H H H H
O C H C H C H C H
C H C H C H C H
O
H H H
H
A saturated fatty acid (no double bonds)
 H H H H
O C C H C H C H
C H C C H C H
O
H H H
H
A monounsaturated fatty acid
H H H H
O C C C H C H
C H C C C H
O
H H H
H
A polyunsaturated fatty acid
 Esterification

H C O H

C O H H H
H
O C H C H
C H
H C O H C H C
O
H H
H

Glycerol Fatty acid

 Esterification

H C O H

C O H H H
H
O C H C H
C H
H C O H C H C
O
H H
H

Glycerol Fatty acid

 Esterification

H C O H

C O H H H
H
O C H C H
C H
H C O C H C
H H
O
H H
Glycerol Fatty acid
Esterification

H C O H

C O H H H
H
O C H C H
C H
H C O C H C
Ester bond H H

O
H H
water
 Esterification
 This happens three times to form a
triglyceride:

glycerol fatty acids

 Phospholipids
 One fatty acid can be replaced
by a polar phosphate group:

hydrophilic
phosphate

glycerol
Hydrophobic fatty acids
Functions of lipids
 Protection of vital organs
 To prevent evaporation in plants &
animals
 To insulate the body
 They form the myelin sheath around
some neurones
 As a water source (respiration of lipids)
 As a component of cell membranes
Proteins
 Made from C H O N & sometimes S
 Long chains of amino acids
 Properties determined by the aa
sequence proalpha

Amino acids R
H O
 ~20 aa N C C
H
 Glycine R=H O H
amine H
 Alanine R=CH3 carboxyl
Peptide bonding

R R
H O H O
N C C N C C
H OH H
H OH
H
Peptide bonding

R R
H O H O
N C C N C C
H OH H
H OH
H
Peptide bonding

R R
H O H O
N C C N C C
H
H H H OH
H
O
Peptide bonding

R R
H O H O
N C C N C C
H
H OH
H
Peptide bond

H H A condensation reactio
O
water
Peptide bonding

R O R
H O
N C C N C C
H H OH
H H

A dipeptide
Primary structure
 The sequence of aa is know as the
primary structure
 The aa chain is a polypeptide

Secondary structure
 H-bonding forms between the –COOH
and the -NH2 of adjacent aa
 This results in the chains folding:
Secondary structure

α-helix β-pleated sheet

Tertiary structure
 Bonding between R-groups
gives rise to a 3D shape
 H-bonds =O HN-
affected by temp & pH

 Ionic bonds –NH3-COO-

affected by pH

 Disulphide bridge
--CH2S-SCH2-
affected by reducing agents
Quaternary structure
 Some proteins have
more than one
polypeptide chain
 Each chain is held
together in a precise
structure
 eg Haemoglobin
Types of proteins
 Fibrous proteins
 e.g. collagen
 Insoluble
 structural

 Globular proteins
 e.g.enzymes
 Soluble
 3D shape
Functions of proteins
 Enzymes – Amylase
 Transport – Haemoglobin
 Movement – Actin & myosin
 Cell recognition – Antigens
 Channels – Membrane proteins
 Structure – Collagen & keratin
 Hormones – Insulin
 Protection – Antibodies
 Nucleic acids
 DNA & RNA
 Made up of nucleotides:

phosphate

base

pentose sugar
Nucleotides
2 types of base:

 Pyrimidines -
 Cytosine C
 Thymine T
 Purines
 Adenine A
 Guanine G
Complimentary base pairing
 Adenine will only bind with Thymine
 Cytosine will only bind with Guanine

T A C G
DNA structure

nucleotide

Condensation
polymerisation of the
deoxyribose nucleotid
 Replication
 During cell division the DNA must
replicate
 The DNA double helix unwinds
 The exposed bases bind to free floating
nucleotides in the nucleoplasm
 DNA polymerase binds the
complimentary nucleotides
 Replication is

semiconservative
The genetic code
 The sequence of nucleotide bases
forms a code
 Each ‘code word’ has three letter – a
triplet code
 Each codon codes for a specific amino
acid e.g:
 GGG = proline
 CGG = glycine
 ATG = tyrosine
 ACT = stop (no amino acid)
Protein synthesis
 The DNA codes for
proteins
 A copy of DNA
(mRNA) is made in
the nucleus
(transcription)
 The mRNA is used
to make a protein
(translation) in the
cytoplasm
Transcription
 The DNA polymerase
unwinds the DNA
 Free nucleotides join
onto complimentary
bases
 RNA polymerase links
adjacent nucleotides
 The completed mRNA
moves out of the
nucleus
Transcription
Amino acid activation
 transferRNA:

 tRNA binds onto a

specific amino acid
Translation
 mRNA binds to a ribosome
 tRNA carries an amino acid to the
ribosome
Translation
A second tRNA brings another aa
 The two aa’s bind
 The process repeats
Translation
A polypeptide chain forms
 Eventually a stop codon is reached
The Human Genome Project
 A multinational project aimed at sequencing
the entire human genome
 Visit the Human Genome Web site:

 www.ornl.gov/hgmis/project/about.html
 www.sanger.ac.uk
Acknowledgements
 Animated cell models used by kind
permission of The Virtual Cell website:

 Feel free to use this presentation for

educational non-profit making purposes.
Quiz
 1. Which of the following is not an
important property of water
b) Its polar nature
c) Its low specific heat capacity
d) Its high latent heat of vaporisation
e) Its low density in solid form
Quiz
 2. The general formula for a
monosaccharide is:
 (CH2O)n

 (CHO)n
 C(H2O)n
 CnH2On
Quiz
 3. Sucrose is made up of
b) glucose + fructose
c) glucose + galactose
d) glucose + glucose
e) galactose + fructose
Quiz
 4. Amylopectin is made up of:
 α−1,4 γλψχοσιδιχ βονδσ
 α−1,4 & β−1,4 γλψχοσιδιχ βονδσ
 β−1,4 & 1,6 γλψχοσιδιχ βονδσ
 α−1,4 & 1,6 γλψχοσιδιχ βονδσ
Quiz
 5. Formation of a triglyceride does
NOT involve:
b) A condensation reaction
c) Esterification
d) Polymerisation
e) A reaction between 3 fatty acids & glycero
Quiz
 6. The general formula of a saturated
fatty acid is:
 CnH2nO2

 Cn(H2O)n
 (CH2O)n
 (CH2)nO
Quiz
 7. Which of the following is not
responsible for a proteins tertiary
structure
b) ionic bonding
c) covalent bonding
d) hydrogen bonding
e) disulphide bonding
Quiz
 8. Which of these is not an amino
acid:
b) alanine
c) cysteine
d) glycine
e) cytosine
Quiz
 9. Which process involves tRNA:
b) transciption
c) translation
d) DNA replication
e) gene mutation
Quiz
 10. The formation of RNA does not
involve:
b) ribose sugar
c) thymine
d) removal of water
e) phosphate
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Answers
 That’s
right – water has a high specific
heat capacity

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Answers
 That’s right

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 That’s right

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 That’s right

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 That’s right, cytosine is an organic base

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 That’s right

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Answers
 That’sright, in RNA thymine is replaced
with uracil

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