Biological molecules
carbon is an element present in all biological
molecules. carbon atoms can join to form chains or
ring structures, so biological molecules can be very
large. they are often built of repeating sub-units
(monomers). oxygen and hydrogen are other
elements that are always present. nitrogen is
sometimes present. when molecules are made of
long chains of monomers held together by chemical
bonds, they are called polymers (poly means ‘many’).
examples are polysaccharides (chains of single sugar
units like glucose) and proteins (chains of amino
acids).
chemical elements
most of the molecules in living
organisms fall into three
categories: carbohydrates, proteins
and lipids
these all contain carbon and so are
described as organic molecules
large molecules are made from smaller
molecules
carbohydrates
-long chains of simple sugars
- glucose is a simple sugar ( a monosaccharide)
-when 2 glucose molecules join together
maltose is formed (a disaccharide)
-when lots of glucose molecules join
together starch, glycogen or cellulose can form
(a polysaccharide)
fats are a solid form of a group of molecules.
when fats are liquid they are known as oils. fats
and oils are made from carbon, hydrogen and
oxygen only. a molecule of fat (or oil) is made
up of three molecules of an orgarnic acid called
a fatty acid, joined with one molecule of glycerol
fats form part of the cell membrane
and the internal membranes of the cell
like the nuclear membrane. droplets of
fat or oil form a source of energy when
stored in the cytoplasm.
proteins:
protein is a molecule made up of amino
acids. some proteins are part of structures in
the cell, some are enzymes and carriers in
the membrane of the cells , in the special
vacuoles and in the fluid part of the
cytoplasm
haemoglobin
muscles
tendons
ligaments
hair
antibodies
skin
Structure of a DNA
Molecule: Extended
• DNA, or deoxyribonucleic acid,
is the molecule that contains
the instructions for growth
and development of all
organisms
• It consists of two strands of
DNA wound around each
other in what is called
a double helix
pairs of each strand a
nucleotide
all nucleotides contain the same
phosphate and deoxyribose sugar,
but differ from each other in
the base attached
there are four different
bases, adenine (a), cytosine (c),
thymine (t) and guanine (g)
the bases on each strand pair up
with each other, holding the two
strands of dna in the double helix
the bases always pair up in the
same way:
adenine always pairs with
thymine (a-t)
cytosine always pairs with
guanine (c-g)
dna base pairs
• the phosphate and sugar
section of the nucleotides
form the ‘backbone’ of the
dna strand (like the sides of
a ladder) and the base
connect to form the rungs
of the ladder.
•
•
FOOD TESTS
TEST FOR GLUCOSE (A
REDUCING SUGAR)
add benedict's solution into sample
solution in test tube
heat at 80 - 100 °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
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 IODINE TEST FOR
STARCH
add drops of iodine solution to
the food sample
a positive test will show a colour
change from orange-brown to
blue-black
TEST FOR LIPIDS
3
food sample is mixed with 2cm of
ethanol and shaken
the ethanol is added to an equal volume
of cold water
a positive test will show a cloudy
emulsion forming
TEST FOR VITAMIN C
3
add 1cm of dcpip solution to a test
tube
add a small amount of food sample
(as a solution)
a positive test will show the blue
colour of the dye disappearing
