Structure and Functions of Organic Compounds
Objectives:
- Students will be able to large biological molecules are formed and broken down.
- Students will be able to give examples of macromolecule monomers and polymers.
- Students will be able to describe the parts of amino acide and nucleotide structures.
- Students will be able to recognize the four levels of protein structure.
There are special types of organic molecules called large biological molecules that are important to life. The four types of large biological molecules are:
- Carbohydrates
- Lipids
- Proteins
- Nucleic Acids
Three of the four types of large biological molecules can be classified as macromolecules. Macromolecules are polymers (chains of smaller subunits) made up of many smaller molecules, or monomers (subunit molecules that bind together to form polymers). The three types of large biological molecules that are macromolecules are carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids.
| Macromolecules | Monomer |
|---|---|
| Carbohydrates | Sugars |
| Nucleic acids | Nucleic acids |
| Proteins | Amino acids |
The fourth type of large biological molecules are lipids are not considered macromolecules because they are not polymers. Lipids are not true polymers, but are large, complex molecules that are essential to life such as steroids and fats. We will look at lipids in the Lipids section.
Video 1. Macromolecules (opens Youtube in new window)
