Biochemistry is a branch of science
concerned with chemical and
physio-chemical processes and
substances which occur within living
organisms

 About 60-90 percent of an
organism is water
 Water is used in most
reactions in the body
 Water is called the
universal solvent

Polarity
Cohesiveness
Adhesiveness
Surface Tension

 Although a cell is
mostly water, the rest
of the cell consists
mostly of carbon-
based molecules
 Organic chemistry is
the study of carbon
compounds

 Each type of organic
molecule has a unique
three-dimensional
shape
 The shape determines
its function in an
organism

 Large molecules are
called polymers
 Polymers are built
from smaller
molecules called
monomers
 Biologists call them
macromolecules

 Proteins
 Lipids
 Carbohydrates
 Nucleic Acids

There are four categories of large molecules in
cells:
Carbohydrates
Lipids
Proteins
Nucleic Acids

Carbohydrates include:
Small sugar molecules in
soft drinks
Long starch molecules in
pasta and potatoes

Lipids are hydrophobic –”water fearing”
Includes fats,
waxes, steroids,
& oils
FAT MOLECULE

Fats store energy, which helps to insulate the
body, and cushion and protect organs

Proteins are polymers made of monomers
called amino acids
All proteins are made of 20 different amino acids
linked in different orders
Proteins are used to build cells, act as hormones
& enzymes, and do much of the work in a cell

Stores hereditary information
Contain information for making all the body’s
proteins
There are two types of nucleic acids
 DNA
 RNA

Nucleic acids
are polymers
of nucleotides
Phosphate
BaseSugar
Nucleotide
Sugar
(deoxyribose)
Phosphate
group
Thymine (T)
Nitrogenous base
(A,G,C, or T)

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