A biochemical compound is any carbon-based compound found in living things. Like hydrocarbons, all biochemi- cal compounds contain hydrogen as well as carbon. However, biochemical compounds also contain other elements, such as oxygen and nitrogen. Almost all biochemical compounds are polymers. They consist of many, smaller monomer molecules. Biochemical polymers are referred to as macromolecules. The prefix macro means "large," and many biochemical molecules are very large indeed. They may contain thousands of monomer molecules. Biochemical compounds make up the cells and tissues of organisms. They are also involved in life processes, such as making and using food for energy. Given their diversity of functions, its not surprising that there are millions of different biochemical compounds. However, they can be grouped into just four main classes: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids. The classes are summarized in Table 9.3 and described in the rest of this lesson. Class Carbohydrates Elements carbon hydrogen oxygen Examples sugars starches cellulose Proteins carbon hydrogen oxygen nitrogen sulfur carbon hydrogen oxygen carbon hydrogen oxygen nitrogen phosphorus enzymes hormones Lipids Nucleic acids Functions provide energy to cells store energy in plants makes up the cell walls of plants speed up biochemical re- actions regulate life processes fats oils store energy in animals store energy in plants DNA RNA stores genetic information in cells helps cells make proteins Carbohydrates are biochemical compounds that include sugars, starches, and cellulose. They contain oxygen in addition to carbon and hydrogen. Organisms use carbohydrates mainly for energy. Sugars are simple carbohydrates. Molecules of sugar have just a few carbon atoms. The simplest sugar is glucose (C6 H12 O6 ). Glucose is the sugar that the cells of living things use for energy. Plants and some other organisms make glucose in the process of photosynthesis. Living things that cannot make glucose obtain it by consuming plants or these other organisms. You can see the structural formula of glucose and two other sugars in Figure 9.16. The other sugars in the figure are fructose and sucrose. Fructose is an isomer of glucose. It is found in fruits. It has the same atoms as glucose, but they are arranged differently. Sucrose is table sugar. It consists of one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose. Starches are complex carbohydrates. They are polymers of glucose. They consist of hundreds of glucose monomers bonded together. Plants make starch to store extra sugars. Consumers get starch from plants. Common sources of starch in the human diet are pictured in Figure 9.17. Our digestive system breaks down starch to simple sugars, which our cells use for energy. Cellulose is another complex carbohydrate that is a polymer of glucose. However, the glucose molecules are bonded together differently in cellulose than they are in starches. Cellulose molecules bundle together to form long, tough fibers (see Figure 9.18). Have you ever eaten raw celery? If you have, then you probably noticed that the stalks contain long, stringy fibers. The fibers are mostly cellulose. Cellulose is the most abundant biochemical compound. It makes up the cell walls of plants and gives support to trunks and stems. Cellulose also provides needed fiber in the human diet. We cant digest cellulose, but it helps keep food wastes moving through the digestive tract. Proteins are biochemical compounds that contain oxygen, nitrogen, and sulfur in addition to carbon and hydrogen. Protein molecules consist of one or more chains of small molecules called amino acids. Amino acids are the "building blocks" of proteins. There are 20 different common amino acids. The structural formula of the simplest amino acid, called glycine, is shown in Figure 9.19. Other amino acids have a similar structure. The sequence of amino acids and the number of amino acid chains in a protein determine the proteins shape. The shape of a protein, in turn, determines its function. Shapes may be very complex. You can learn more about the structure of proteins at the URL below. MEDIA Click image to the left or use the URL below. URL: Proteins are the most common biochemicals. They have many different functions, including: making up tissues as components of muscle. speeding up biochemical reactions as enzymes. regulating life
Output: class of biochemical compounds that includes DNA