Chemical Building Blocks of Who We Are MACROMOLECULES are large molecules made o

Question

Chemical Building Blocks of Who We Are

MACROMOLECULES are large molecules made of smaller organic molecules. There are 4 types of biological macromolecules: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and nucleic acids. Individually each is an important chemical building block for human development. Each is utilized in a different way by different parts of your anatomy and in various physiological pathways. 1) Discuss the differences between each macromolecule: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids & nucleic acids.

2) Why is each chemical building block important?

3) How does the body utilize each macromolecule?

4) Cite at least two references to support your answer.

Explanation / Answer

1.

a) Carbohydrates are water soluble biomolecules that facilitate short term energy storage. Lipids are hydrophobic biomolecules that facilitate long term storage. Proteins are macromolecules made up of amino acids while nucleic acids are the information carriers made of nucleotides.

b) Carbohydrates are our energy providers, proteins keep us healthy while fats help in maintaining hormone production. Nucleic acids are the basis of life and encode all the information pertaining to our existence.

c) Presence of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins can be tested with the help of Benedict's solution, sheet of paper and Biuret's solution respectively. Nucleic acid presence can be setected with the help of NAAT (nucleic acid amplification test).

d) Carbohydrate rich food examples are Banana, grapefruit juice, fresh apple, yogurt etc. Lipid rich foods are nuts, seeds, vegetable oil etc. Proteins are richly present in meat, pulses, vegetables etc while nucleic acids exist wherever life is! Examples include DNA and RNA.

2)

a) Carbohydrates:Body::Petrol:Car. Essentially, they are the fuels that keep our body running! Glucose, the main source of body energy, is a carbohydrate. Together with proteins, they results in the formation of glycoproteins which play a great role in immune responses.

b) Lipids play an essential structural role (Example: Glycolipids help in formation of cell membranes). They act as insulators against cold weather and provide energy back up incase of carbohydrate shortage. They also act as solvents for a few vitamins and help in formation of hormones (Example: Prostaglandins)

c) Without proteins, there shall be no enzymes, hormones, bones, muscles, hairs or nails! Hence, their importance.

d) Nucleic acids are carriers of genetic information. They play a vital role during cell replication as well as transcription.

3)

a) Carbohydrates are broken down into simple sugars by our digestive system. These sugars travel through blood to various cells of our body. Insulin acts as mediator between blood and cells and helps the cells in pick up of simple sugars.

b) Fat is broken down into fatty acids by our digestive system which are then transported to body cells via blood.

c) Proteins are broken down in stomach and abosrbed via intestines into the bloodstream. They are carried to liver where nitrogen may be separated and then, amino acids travel through blood to various body cells where they help in tissue repair and formation of enzymes etc.

d) DNA carries genes whose expression enables biological characteristics, biological functions, formation of proteins and genetic information passage down the generations!

4)

a) https://www.springer.com/cda/content/document/cda_downloaddocument/9783642196232-c1.pdf?SGWID=0-0-45-1238138-p174106560

b) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Sunil_Khare/publication/237577555_Structures_and_Functions_of_Biomolecules/links/540e9bce0cf2d8daaacd5282/Structures-and-Functions-of-Biomolecules.pdf?origin=publication_detail

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse C
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.