SELF-PREPARATION FOR THE

BIOLOGY ASSESSMENT TEST

MODULE 2:
MACROMOLECULES
What are Macromolecules?

Macromolecules are very large molecules

important to living organisms.

Most macromolecules are built by joining

smaller molecule subunits, often called
“monomers”.
 Types of Macromolecules
There are 4 classes of macromolecules:
 Carbohydrates
 Lipids
 Proteins
 Nucleic Acids

Let’s look at each of these individually.

 Carbohydrates
Carbohydrates may be used for energy
storage or for structure.

Carbohydrates come in different sizes. Large

carbohydrates (polysaccharides) are long
chains of smaller carbohydrates
(monosaccharides).
 Carbohydrates
 Made mostly of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
 Small carbohydrates are called monosaccharides,
single or simple sugars.
 Most common monosaccharide is glucose: C6H12O6
 In cells, glucose looks like: C6

C5
C4 C1

C3 C2
The Condensation or Dehydration Reaction
 Monosaccharides are joined to form polysaccharides by
removing water, creating a covalent bond between them.

+ H2O
 This is a common link between C1 of a glucose molecule
and C4 of a second glucose.
 Storage Polysaccharides: Starch
• Many glucose molecules connected C1 to C4 with C6
always sticking up (“α” orientation) will make the
plant starch amylose:

• Sometimes there will be a branch point made by

attaching glucoses C1 to C6, like
amylopectin (another plant starch):

Plants use the carbohydrate starch for long-term

energy storage, often in seeds such as wheat,
corn or rice, or in tubers such as potatoes.
Storage Polysaccharides: Glycogen
 Animals will make long chains of glucose similar to
plant starch, but with more branching

 The resulting polysaccharide is called glycogen

Animals use glycogen as short-term energy storage,

stockpiling it in the liver and muscles.
 Structural Polysaccharides: Cellulose
 Plants cells can make chains of “β” glucose molecules to form
cellulose

 The glucose molecules in the chain are arranged so that they

alternate their orientation, as shown above. This gives
cellulose a very straight structure.

Plant cell walls are composed of cellulose.

Animals cannot break down cellulose (we call it fiber) and

depend upon microbes to do this.
Structural Polysaccharides: Chitin
• Glucose may be modified by adding a nitrogen-containing group
to C2

• Chitin is the polysaccharide made by joining many of these

modified glucose molecules

• Chitin is in the exoskeletons of insects, spiders, crabs and other

animals.

• Chitin is also found in fungi, such as mushrooms.

• Surgical thread made of chitin dissolves over time.

 Summary of Carbohydrates
 Smallest carbohydrates are called monosaccharides.
Glucose is a common monosaccharide.
 Polysaccharides are made by joining many
monosaccharides, forming covalent bonds between them
by condensation or dehydration reactions
 Storage Polysaccharides
 Starch in plants
 Glycogen in animals
 Structural Polysaccharides
 Cellulose in plants
 Chitin in animals & fungi
 Lipids

Lipids are a diverse group of

macromolecules.

Most lipids are hydrophobic

(“water hating”).
 Types of Lipids
 There are many types of lipids

 We will focus on 3 important lipids:

 Fats (also known as triacylglycerols or triglycerides)
 Phospholipids
 Steroids
 Fats
 Consist of:
 Glycerol, a 3-carbon molecule
H
H-C-OH
H-C-OH
H-C-OH
H

 3 fatty acids, each 8 – 22 carbons long

CH3CH2CH2CH2CH2CH2…COO- A SATURATED FATTY ACID

CH3CH2CH=CHCH2CH2…COO- AN UNSATURATED FATTY ACID

 Saturated Fatty Acids
 Saturated fatty acids
 Contain only single covalent bonds between carbons
 Simplified structure can be shown as:

 Fats with saturated fatty acids are solid at room

temperature.
Examples: Butter, lard, margarine, animal fat
Saturated fats can collect in the blood vessels and cause
heart disease.
 Unsaturated Fatty Acids
 Contain at least 1 double covalent bond

 Cis unsaturated fatty acids

 Double covalent bonds make kinks in fatty acid:
 Liquid at room temperature (Example: Cooking oil)
 Cause fewer heart problems

 Trans unsaturated fatty acids

 Double covalent bonds present, but arranged without kinks:

 Solid at room temperature, like saturated fats

 Cause heart problems like saturated fats
 Fat structure
 The 3 fatty acids are attached to glycerol using
condensation reactions.
An example of a fat with two unsaturated fatty acids:
-C-O-C-

-C-O-C-
-C-O-C-

Fats are used for long-term energy storage in plants and

animals.
 Phospholipids
 Consist of:
 Glycerol
 A phosphate group Water-loving “head”
 A nitrogen-containing group
 2 fatty acids Water-hating “tails”

Hydrophobic or water-hating
tails
Hydrophilic or water-loving
head
 Phospholipids Make Membranes
 Membranes of all cells consist of a double layer of
phospholipids, called a phospholipid “bilayer”
 Hydrophilic heads are pointed away from each other
 Tails form hydrophobic core

Phospholipids make strong, flexible membranes

like those around the yolk of an egg.
 Steroids
 Steroids are a class of lipids that include
 Cholesterol
 Sex hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen
 They have a common structure of 4 interconnected
rings, as seen in cholesterol:

cholesterol
 Functions of Steroids
 Cholesterol maintains the flexibility of a cell membrane
 We make cholesterol in our livers and eat it in our food.

 Steroid hormones direct our cells to do specialized tasks.

 Sex hormones affect the growth and function of
reproductive organs
 Cortisone is active in carbohydrate metabolism and is used
to treat allergic reactions.
 Summary of Lipids
 Fats, made of glycerol and 3 fatty acids, are used for
long-term energy storage. Saturated and trans fats are
unhealthy.

 Phospholipids have a hydrophilic head and 2

hydrophobic tails. Cell membranes consist of a bilayer
of phospholipids.

 Steroids consist of 4 interconnected rings. Cholesterol

and the sex hormones are examples of steroids.
 Proteins
Proteins are macromolecules consisting of
long chains of subunits called amino acids.

They do a number of jobs in organisms,

including acting as enzymes, hormones,
membrane channels, and receptors.
 Amino Acids
 There are 20 possible amino acids
 Have amino (-NH2) and carboxyl (-COOH) group
connected to a central (“α”) carbon
 Different amino acids have different “R” groups (also
called side groups or side chains) attached to the α
carbon
 R groups may be nonpolar, polar, acidic or basic
H
H O
Amino N C C Carboxyl
Group Group
H OH
R
R group
 Making Polypeptides
 Amino acids are joined by condensation (dehydration)
reactions
 Joins the amino group of an amino acid to carboxyl group of
another amino acid
 The covalent bond that is formed is called a peptide bond
 As with all condensation reactions, water is removed
H H
H H
H O H O
H O H O
N C C N C C
N C C N C C
H OH
+ H OH
H peptide OH
R bond R
R R
 Levels of Protein Structure I
 Primary (1o) structure
 Sequence of amino acids
 Determined by gene DNA
 Held together by covalent (peptide) bonds

 Secondary (2o) structure

 Folding of regions of polypeptide
 May be α helix or β pleated sheet
 Held together by hydrogen bonds
 Levels of Protein Structure II
 Tertiary (3o) structure
 Folding of the entire protein into a characteristic shape
 May be globular (enzymes) or fibrous (hair proteins)
 May be held together by covalent, ionic, hydrogen bonds
(and sometimes other possible ones)

 Quaternary (4o) structure

 Association of 2 or more proteins
Example:
Hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying protein in blood,
consists of a complex of four globin proteins
 Summary of Proteins
 Subunits are amino acids

 Amino acids are joined by condensation reactions that form peptide

bonds

 The amino acid sequence is a protein’s primary structure. The primary

structure can also be called a polypeptide.

 Local folding of a polypeptide is a protein’s secondary structure

 Tertiary structure is the additional folding of the protein into its

characteristic shape

 The Quaternary structure is the association of two or more proteins

 Nucleic Acids

Nucleic acids are macromolecules that

store and transmit inherited
information. DNA and RNA are two types
of nucleic acids.

DNA and RNA are long chains of subunits

called nucleotides.
 Nucleotides
 A nucleotide consists of:

 A monosaccharide
 DNA nucleotides: Deoxyribose
 RNA nucleotides: Ribose

 At least one phosphate group

 A nitrogenous base, a ring structure that contains nitrogen

 The pyrimidines are have only 1 ring
Cytosine and Thymine are pyrimidines
In RNA, Uracil is in place of Thymine

 The purines have 2 rings

Adenine and Guanine are purines

 A forms 2 hydrogen bonds with T A = T (In RNA, A bonds with U)

G forms 3 hydrogen bonds with C G=C
 Backbone of DNA and RNA
 Nucleotides are joined so that the backbone consists of alternating
phosphate groups and monosaccharides
 Nucleotide strands have ends: 5’ and 3’ (’ = “prime”)

 DNA is double stranded, RNA is single stranded

5’ end

3’ end
DNA is a Double Stranded Helix
5’ end 3’ end

T A Note that the 2 nucleotide

strands in DNA are oriented
in opposite directions.

G C This is called an antiparallel

arrangement.

C G
3’ end 5’ end

• A forms 2 hydrogen bonds with T A=T

G forms 3 hydrogen bonds with C G=C
 DNA Locations and Functions
 DNA is located
 In the cytosol of bacteria
 In the nucleus of the cells of eukaryotes, such as humans

 Some DNA functions

 Act as genes: Stored information to make proteins
 Is passed from one generation to the next
 RNA Structure
5’ end
 RNA nucleotides contain
 Ribose instead of deoxyribose
 Uracil instead of Thymine

 RNA is
 Single stranded instead of double stranded
 Smaller than DNA
3’ end
 Summary of Nucleic Acids
 Nucleic acids are macromolecules used as
information storage and can be passed from one
generation to the next. DNA and RNA are the two
major types of nucleic acids.

 Nucleotides are the subunits of DNA and RNA

 DNA is a double stranded molecule

 RNA is a single stranded molecule

SELF-PREPARATION FOR THE
BIOLOGY ASSESSMENT TEST

END OF MODULE 2:
MACROMOLECULES