BIOLOGICAL MOLECULES
Chemical Elements
● Most of the molecules in living organisms fall into four categories:
carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and DNA
● These all contain carbon and so are described as organic molecules
Chemical Elements Table
Molecule Chemical Elements
Carbohydrate Carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
All contain carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, and
Protein nitrogen (and some contain small amounts of
other elements such as sulfur)
Lipid Carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
Carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and
DNA
phosphorous
Large Molecules are Made from Smaller Molecules
Carbohydrates
● Long chains of simple sugars
● Glucose is a simple sugar (a monosaccharide)
● When two glucose molecules join together maltose is formed (a disaccharide)
● When lots of glucose molecules join together starch, glycogen or cellulose
can form (a polysaccharide)
Carbohydrates in animals and plants diagram
Glycogen, cellulose and starch are all made from glucose molecules
Lipids
● Most lipids (fats and oils) in the body are made up of triglycerides
● Their basic unit is one glycerol molecule chemically bonded to three fatty acid
chains
● The fatty acids vary in size and structure
● Lipids are divided into fats (solids at room temperature) and oils (liquids at
room temperature)
Triglyceride diagram
Structure of a triglyceride with a glycerol and three fatty acids
Proteins
● Long chains of amino acids
● There are about 20 different amino acids
● They all contain the same basic structure but the ‘R’ group is different for each
one
● When amino acids are joined together a protein is formed
● The amino acids can be arranged in any order, resulting in hundreds of
thousands of different proteins
● Even a small difference in the order of the amino acids results in a different
protein being formed
Amino acid chemical structure diagram
General amino acid structure. The part that is different for each amino acid is
represented by the letter R.
Amino acids join together to form proteins
Amino acids are the monomers that join to form a peptide chain that folds into a
functional protein
DNA
● DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid, is the molecule that contains the instructions
for the growth and development of all organisms
● It consists of two strands of DNA wound around each other in what is called a
double helix
Structure of DNA in the cell diagram
DNA, chromosomes and the nucleus
● The individual units of DNA are called nucleotides
Nucleotide structure diagram
Food Tests
Test for starch using iodine
● We can use iodine to test for the presence or absence of starch in a food
sample
Iodine test for starch diagram
Use this image
Iodine turns blue-black in the presence of starch
● Add drops of iodine solution to the food sample
● A positive test will show a colour change from orange-brown to blue-black
Placing iodine on a potato diagram
Use this image
Testing a potato to prove the presence of starch
Test for glucose (a reducing sugar)
● Add Benedict's solution into sample solution in test tube
● Heat at 60-70 °C in water bath for 5 minutes
● Take test tube out of water bath and observe the colour
● A positive test will show a colour change from blue to orange or brick red
The Benedict's test for glucose diagram
Use this image
The Benedict's solution turns brick red when heated in the presence of glucose
Test for protein
● Add drops of Biuret solution to the food sample
● A positive test will show a colour change from blue to violet / purple
The Biuret test for protein diagram
Test for lipids
● Food sample is mixed with 2cm3 of ethanol and shaken
● The ethanol is added to an equal volume of cold water
● A positive test will show a cloudy emulsion forming
The ethanol emulsion test for lipids
The ethanol emulsion test shows a cloudy white positive result
