BiochemistryChemistry of Living Things

Organic = Living

•The element Carbon is the major component of living things

•Organic: living and made of Carbon

Macromolecules•Macromolecules: large molecules

formed by joining smaller organic molecules together

•Includes Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, and Nucleic Acids

•Polymers: made from repeating units of compounds called monomers

•Monomers: small units that are the building blocks of larger molecules

Polymer

•Ex: DNA or complex carbohydrates

Protein•Protein: A polymer made up of

amino acids

•Amino Acid: small monomer made up mostly of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, hydrogen

•There are 20 different amino acids that only vary slightly from each other

Amino Acid Structure

•Remember…carbon can bond four times

•An amino acid is a carbon with 4 things attached to it

•Hydrogen

•An amino group

•A carboxyl

•And a group that can change

Amino Acid

Protein Functions

•Proteins are essential to all living things, making up most of the structure of tissues and organs, help in cellular function

•15% of your body mass

•Ex: Muscles, skin, hair, enzymes to speed up chemical reactions

Proteins

Protein Structure

•Proteins are made up of strings of amino acids that are connected by peptide bonds

•These strings then fold up to create complex shapes that determine the function of a protein

Protein Structur

e

Biochemistry: Enzymes

Chemical Reactions

•Reactant + Reactant = Products

•Reactants are the starting materials

•Products result from the reaction

•Energy can be stored or released in the chemical reactions that “power” life

•ex: breaking down complex carbs or ATP

Activation Energy

•Activation Energy: the energy needed to start a chemical reaction

Enzymes•To help a chemical reaction get

past the activation energy “bump” an enzyme can be used

•enzymes lower the activation energy so the reaction can take place quickly and easily

•enzymes act as CATALYSTS to speed up a reaction

Enzymes

Enzymes

•enzymes help maintain life

•without enzymes, reactions would not occur quick enough to sustain life

Enzymes are Specific

•enzymes act on SUBSTRATES during a chemical reaction

•enzymes only act of specific substrates

•the enzyme knows which substrate to work on based on shape

Active sites

•The substrate with the right shape binds to the enzyme’s active site

•the reaction then takes place with the help of the enzyme

Enzyme Function

•enzymes must be the right shape to work

•enzymes are proteins so they can be denatured or pulled apart

•Temperature and change is pH can break down an enzyme

Denatured Protein/Enzyme

Enzyme Lab

•We will be investigating what can influence the effectiveness of enzymes

•We will be using an enzyme found in pineapple called Bromelain

What is Bromelain?

•Bromelain is an enzyme that helps break down some protein muscle fibers

•It is found in meat tenderizes and pineapple, similar enzymes are found in papaya fruit

What will we test?•We will test the whether or not the

canning process “denatures” the bromelain enzyme

•We will test fresh and canned pineapple as well as powdered meat tenderizer in plain gelatin

•gelatin is a mixture of proteins, some of which is collagen (a skin and connective protein) derived from animal by-product...don’t ask...

Set up•4 cups with gelatin

•one with fresh pineapple added

•one with canned pineapple added

•one with meat tenderizer added

•one with nothing but gelatin

•The cups will be set in an ice bath to help the gelatin set

Pre-Lab Questions

•What is the IV?

•What is the DV?

•What is our control?

•Write a hypothesis with your group about what you think will happen and why

Biochemistry: Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates

•Carbohydrates: a macromolecule made up glucose units

•Carbs are made up of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen

•Carbs are either sugars or starches

Carbohydrate Structure

•There are three types of carbohydrates

•Monosaccharides

•Disaccharides

•Polysaccharides

Monosaccharides

•Monosacchrides: single sugar unit molecules

•act as instant energy in the body

Disaccharides•Disaccharides: made of two sugar

units

•table sugar, sucrose

•milk sugar, lactose

Polysaccharides•Polysacchrides: made up of many

sugar units

•used for long term energy storage or structure in an organism

•glycogen is an animal storage starch

•cellulose is a structural starch in plants

•chitin is a starch found in the shells of insects and crustaceans

Polysaccharides

Biochemistry: Lipids

What are Lipids?

•Lipids: fats, oils, and waxes

•Contains a lot of carbon and hydrogen and some oxygen

•does not mix with water because they are nonpolar (water is polar)

What are Lipids used for?

•Lipids are used in the body for energy storage, insulation, and protective coatings like the waxy cuticle on a leaf

Lipid Structure•Lipids are

made of a glycerol and fatty acid chains.

•They are not a polymer like the other macromolecules

Saturated vs. Unsaturated

•Saturated Fats Saturated Fats – a lipid in which – a lipid in which there are no double bonds on there are no double bonds on the fatty acid chainsthe fatty acid chains

•Animal fats such as lard and butter.

•Solid at room temperature

Saturated vs. Unsaturated

•Unsaturated Fats Unsaturated Fats - a lipid that - a lipid that contains double bonds in the contains double bonds in the fatty acid chains causing the fatty acid chains causing the chain to “bend”chain to “bend”

–liquid at room temperature liquid at room temperature such as oilsuch as oil

Phospholipids

•a type of lipid that makes up the cell membrane

Steroids•include cholesterol and hormones

like testosterone and estrogen

Biochemistry: Nucleic Acids

What are Nucleic Acids?

•Nucleic Acids: macromolecules that store and transmit genetic information

•genetic information determines your characteristics

Nucleotides

•Nucleic Acids are made of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, phosphorus, hydrogen atoms

•Nucleic Acids are made up of nucleotides

Nucleic Acids•Include DNA and RNA

•The Nucleotide unit is made of a phosphate, sugar, and a base