Chapter 4

Bio-molecules
Dr. Gulsaz Shamim
 HOW DID LIFE ON EARTH START?
• Living cells are made up of special types of molecules that are not often found in non-
living things.
• Scientists think that these molecules may have formed from simpler substances when
the Earth was still very young, perhaps 4 billion years ago.
• The mixture of chemicals that we know existed in the seas and atmosphere at that time,
and the energy provided by volcanic eruptions and lightning strikes, could possibly
explain how these molecules of life were first produced.
• Another possibility is that at least some of these molecules arrived on Earth from outer
space. Meteorites are rocks that arrive on Earth from space.
• They come from the asteroid belt, far away towards the edge of the solar system.
• Some meteorites contain amino acids, which are what proteins are made of.
• Did amino acids, delivered to Earth from space, perhaps contribute to the origin
of life?
• Many scientists are researching these questions.
• If we can understand how life first arose on Earth, this can help us to answer
another important question – is there life anywhere else in the universe?

• Discussion questions
• Most scientists think that all life on Earth today comes from other life. Suggest why
scientists think it is unlikely that life could arise from non-living things today.
• Recent discoveries on Mars suggest that there used to be liquid water there. It is
possible that simple life once existed on Mars. In your opinion, what precautions
should we take if we send humans to Mars one day?
 4.1 Carbohydrates, fats and proteins
• The most abundant compound in our bodies is
water, which makes up around 62% of our total
body mass.
• About 16% is protein, another 16% is fat, and
around 1% is carbohydrate.
• The remaining 6% is calcium and phosphorus
(mostly in bones) and some other elements
such as potassium, sodium, phosphate and
chloride ions.
• DNA makes up less than 1% of our mass.
• Carbohydrates include starch, cellulose and
sugar.
Carbohydrates
• Carbohydrate molecules are made from three
elements – carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
• One molecule of carbohydrate contains about
twice as many hydrogen atoms as carbon or
• oxygen atoms.
• The simplest types of carbohydrate, with the
smallest molecules, are sugars.
• Sugars taste sweet. They are soluble in water.
• A glucose molecule is made of six carbon
Glucose molecules are
atoms, twelve hydrogen atoms and six oxygen
quite small and have a
atoms. Its formula is C6H12O6.
hexagon shape.
• These atoms are arranged to form a hexagon
shape.
• Glucose is the way that carbohydrates are transported around the human body.
• Glucose dissolves in blood plasma, which delivers it to every cell.
• Cells need glucose for energy.
• Glucose molecules can link together in chains, to form much larger molecules.
• In animals, the large molecules that are formed are glycogen.
• The liver helps to keep the concentration of glucose in the blood constant.
• If there is too much glucose in the blood, the liver links glucose molecules
together to make glycogen.
• Glycogen is stored in the liver cells. It can be broken down to form glucose again
when the body needs it.
• In plants, glucose molecules are linked together in a slightly different way, to
• make starch.
• Starch is stored in plant cells. It can be broken down to form glucose again when
the plant needs it.
Figure 4.2: This is a small part of a starch
molecule. It is made from many
glucose molecules linked together in a long
chain, which coils into a spiral
shape.
• Plants also make another
carbohydrate, called cellulose.
• Cellulose molecules are also made
of many glucose molecules linked
in a chain, but they form straight
lines instead of coiling into a spiral.
• Cellulose is used for making plant
cell walls.
• You can detect the presence of Figure 4.3: The black colour shows that
starch using iodine solution. starch is present in the potato
• This changes from brown to blue-
black if starch is present
• Most sugars can be detected using
Benedict’s solution.
• Benedict’s solution is blue, and it
changes to orange-red when it is
heated with reducing sugars such
as glucose.
• The colour change is gradual, so the
blue solution becomes green and
yellow before finally turning
orange-red.
Figure 4.4: Positive results of the Benedict’s test.
The tube on the left contains a small amount of
reducing sugar – the blue Benedict’s solution has
changed to green. The tube on the right contains a
large amount of reducing sugar.
 Figure 4.5: Heating a mixture of
Benedict’s solution and food in a
water-bath, to test for reducing sugar
 Fats and oils
• Fats and oils are also known as lipids.
• A fat is a lipid that is solid at room temperature, and an oil is a lipid that is liquid at
room temperature.
• Fats and oils contain the three elements carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.
• Carbohydrates also contain these elements. However, in fats, each molecule
contains much less oxygen than is found in a carbohydrate molecule.
• Fat molecules are made of two kinds of smaller molecule – glycerol and fatty acids.
• Fats are important for making cell membranes. They are also used as energy stores.
• Mammals often have a layer of cells containing fat droplets beneath the skin.
• This fat-containing tissue is both an energy store and a heat insulating layer.
• Fats and oils do not dissolve in water. However, they do
dissolve in ethanol.
• We can use this to detect their presence in food.
• First, the food is shaken with ethanol, to allow any fats in
it to dissolve in the ethanol.
• Next, the ethanol is poured into a clean tube containing
water.
• If there are fats in the ethanol, they form tiny droplets in
the water, which give it a milky appearance.
• The mixture of tiny droplets in water is called an
emulsion, so this test is called the ethanol emulsion test.

Figure 4.7: This milky appearance is what you

see when you get a positive result using the
ethanol emulsion test for fats and oils.
Figure 4.6: A fat molecule is made from a glycerol molecule and three fatty
acid molecules combined together.
• Protein molecules contain four elements –
carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen. Proteins
• Some proteins, but not all, also contain a
small quantity of the element sulfur.
• A protein molecule is made of a long chain
of smaller molecules, called amino acids.
• There are 20 different kinds of amino acid. A small part of a
• Each kind of protein has different amino protein molecule.
acids linked together in a precise order. Proteins are made
of long chains of
• If even one amino acid is changed or amino acid
moves into a different place in the protein molecules.
molecule, then we get a different protein.
• So, there is an almost infinite number of
different kinds of protein that can be
made.
• Proteins have many different functions in
organisms.
• All enzymes are proteins.
• Antibodies, which help to protect the body
against pathogens, are proteins.
• So is haemoglobin, the red pigment that
transports oxygen in mammalian blood.
• Proteins are also important for forming cell
membranes in all organisms.
• In humans, hair and fingernails are made from
a protein called keratin. Figure 4.10: These are negative and
• To test for proteins, we use biuret reagent. positive results of the biuret test.
The tube on the left has no protein,
• This is blue, and it changes to violet when in
but the one on the right does contain
contact with proteins.
protein.