This document provides an overview of macromolecules and digestion. It discusses the four main macromolecules - carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids - describing their monomers, polymers, functions, and examples. It also explains digestion, from mechanical and chemical breakdown of food in the mouth, stomach, and pancreas to absorption of nutrients in the small intestine and removal of waste in the large intestine. Key aspects like enzyme shape and role in chemical digestion are also summarized.

1. Biochemistry 2:
Macromolecules
& You
ppt. by Robin D. Seamon

2. 1. VIDEO: Amoeba Sisters: Biomolecules (8 min)
2. POGIL1
3. WS

3. LIFE CHEMISTRY: CHON
Carbon C
Hydrogen H
Oxygen O
Nitrogen N
Cells put these atoms together to make useful
molecules for food and energy.

6. VIDEO: Macromolecules/Classes and
Functions (3 min)
4 Macromolecules for LIFE:
1. Carbohydrates: (sugars)
2. Lipids: (fats & oils)
3. Proteins: (amino acids)
4. Nucleic acids: (DNA & RNA)

8. CARBOHYDRATES
• Smallest of organic molecules
• Has a ring shape
ribose,
deoxyribose
glucose
C
CC
C C
C C
C
C C
C
CHO

9. C A R B O H Y D R A T E S
• Sugars, starches,
cellulose, glycogen
• Have ‘ose’ on the end of
the word
• Made by plants through
photosynthesis.
OTHER WORDS FOR
SUGAR:
Glucose (grape sugar,
corn sugar, dextrose)
Fructose (honey)
Galactose (part of
milk… lactose)
Monomer:
(small organic blocks)
Monosaccharide
Polymer:
(large organic blocks)
polysaccharide

10. Monomer:
Monosaccharide
glucose
fructose (fruits)
Polymer:
Disaccharide
lactose (milk)
sucrose (fruits)
Polymer:
Polysaccharide
Glycogen
(animals)
cellulose (cell
walls- FIBER)C C
C
C C
C C C
C
C C
C C C
C
C C
C C C
C
C C
C C C
C
C C
C
STARCHglucose

11. • Provide quick energy
• Used for structure
• Starch- sugar storage for plants (seeds,
roots, tubers)
• Glycogen- sugar storage for animals (in
muscles & liver)

12. Blood sugar: Glucose

13. FOOD

14. LIPIDS
• Insoluble in water
• Provide energy storage, insulation,
protection for cells
• Large biomolecule
• Fats, oils, steroids, waxes
CHO
Glycerol
fatty acid
fatty acid
fatty acid

15. L I P I D S
• Made of fatty acids
• Fats, oils, steroids
• Hydro-phobic tails
(repel water)
• Energy storage
• Cushions & insulates
OTHER WORDS RELATED TO LIPIDS:
‘Bad’ fats
Saturated fats: (animal fats- bacon,
lard, butter)
*increase cholesterol level
Increase risk of heart disease
Polyunsaturated Oils: ‘trans fats’
*factory-made by adding H to liquid
veg. oil to make shortening &
margarine
Increases risk of heart disease BAD
‘Good’ fats
MonoUnsaturated Oils: (vegetable
oils- olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil)
*Decreases bad fats, increases good
fatsIn membranes
(Triglycerides)

16. Important Lipids:
• triglycerides- Energy storage in plants &
animals (fat)
• phospholipids- lipid bilayer in membranes
• steroids- animal hormones
• Estrogen, testosterone, cortisone
• Vitamin D forms when UV light hits
cholesterol

17. Monomer:
glycerol (backbone) PLUS fatty acids
Polymer: Triglyceride (natural fats & oils)

18. Glycerol +
Triglyceride: natural fats & oils
OR
3 Chains
3 Chains

19. Glycerol + 3 fatty acid chains
Triglyceride
• Most abundant lipid
• Storage for plants & animals

20. FOOD

21. C
CC
C C
P Nitrogen base
NUCLEIC ACIDS
CHONP
NUCLEIC ACIDS
• Complex biomolecule
• Stores cellular information in the form of a
code: A T C G
• Nitrogenous base + sugar + phosphate

22. N U C L E I C A C I D S
• made of nucleotides
• Make up macromolecules of DNA
• DNA inside nucleus: instructions for
making proteins
Monomer: nucleotide
Polymer: DNA, RNA, ATP

23. Polymer examples:
DNA
RNA
ATP- energy storage molecule
• DNA Replication (makes copies of itself)
• Encodes information (for proteins to be
made)
• Controls & instructs cells
• Mutations (molecule of heredity)
• Helps interpret the code

24. FOOD
• fish, organ meats (liver) beans, asparagus,
and mushrooms
• superfoods such as chlorella, spirulina,
and nutritional yeast.

25. CHON P R O T E I N S
• Made of amino acids
• Linked by peptide bonds
Peptide
bonds
Amino acid

26. P R O T E I N S
• Made of amino acids
• Most Complex
• Meat, hair, blood, insulin
• CLASSES
• Structure
• Enzymes
• Hormones
• Antibodies
• …more
• food

27. Monomer:
Amino acid
20 natural
Polymer:
Polypeptides
Large molecules
Examples:
• Insulin
• Hemoglobin
• enzymes

28. SHAPE

29. PROTEINS:
• Amino acid sequence
• Protein SHAPE
• Protein FUNCTION
Proteins must fold
into a working
structure
Insulin before
folding
Insulin after
folding

30. Enzymes
• Proteins that speed up (catalyze) reactions
Substrate
• molecule upon which the enzyme acts
Active site
• place where the enzyme bonds to the
substrate
SHAPES ARE
IMPORTANT

31. • Enzymes work by
lowering the
activation energy
to start a chemical
reaction
• Biological catalyst

32. Denatured Enzyme
• Temperature and pH affect an enzyme’s ability
to work
• When optimal conditions are not met, enzymes
denature (come apart)

33. Enzymes & TEMPERATURE
Enzymes & pH

34. hormone- chemical messenger to start a reaction
• A chemical substance produced in the body
that controls and regulates the activity of
certain cells or organs.
example:
insulin

35. Insulin- hormone
• Acts like a key that opens a door so that
glucose can enter your cells
Diabetes: a condition in which a person’s body
does not produce or respond to insulin, resulting
in too much glucose in the blood and not enough
in the cells

36. Hemoglobin
• Found in red blood cells
• Transports oxygen

37. FOOD

38. Biochemistry & You

41. DIGESTION
Digestion: process of breaking food down into
particles small enough to be absorbed in the
blood stream for cellular use
1. Mechanical digestion: Food is broken into
smaller pieces by your teeth/tongue while
saliva moistens it
2. Chemical digestion Amylase enzyme breaks
starch down into glucose

42. SHAPE MATTERS Enzyme fits the substrate
perfectly like a key in a lock
Continues until starch is broken
down into glucose molecules

43. DIGESTIVE ENZYMES
Enzyme: speeds up a reaction
Amylase- breaks starch into glucose
Protease- breaks protein into amino acids
Lipase- breaks fats into fatty acids & glycerol

44. DIGESTION (continued)
3. Mechanical digestion in the stomach: stomach
muscles contract & relax to break down food
4. Chemical digestion in the stomach:
-gastric juice: protease digests protein
- acid kills germs
5. Pancreas: neutralizes stomach acid with a
base
- produces digestive enzymes to break down
further for absorption

45. DIGESTION (continued)
6. Small intestine: 3 enzymes
- amylase: breaks starch down into glucose
- protease: breaks protein into amino acids
- lipase: breaks fats into fatty acids & glycerol
7. Small intestines:
- absorption: small particles are absorbed
through wall of small intestine into
bloodstream
- needs a large surface area

46. DIGESTION (continued)
8. Small intestines:
- tube is over 20
feet long
- Inner wall has
bends in it
- wall covered in villi
(small finger-like
structures)

47. DIGESTION (continued)
9. Large intestines:
- any indigestible food (fiber) passes into the
large intestines (colon)
- water is absorbed back into the body
- food becomes solid waste: feces
- feces stored in rectum & removed through
the anus

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