Biochemistry MincerScully Chemistry Life functions because of chemical

Biochemistry Mincer/Scully

Chemistry • Life functions because of chemical reactions. • A chemical reaction is where atoms form with other atoms to make molecules. • A molecule is an arrangement of at least two atoms, although some have hundreds of atoms.

Molecules • The reason why life depends on chemical reactions is because of chemical bonds. • Chemical bonds are how atoms “hold on” to other atoms. • There are different kinds of chemical bonds, but all chemical bonds store energy. • That energy is what organisms use to carry out life functions.

Elements for Life • Carbon (C), Hydrogen (H), Oxygen (O), Nitrogen (N)

Types of Organic Molecules • So, how many ways can C H O N combine form a molecule? • Millions!!!! • But, scientists classify all organic molecules into four basic categories • (More on that later)

Organic Molecules • Organic molecules are molecules that have CHO and sometimes N. • Living organisms are made from them and produce them. • Most organic molecules are polymers, meaning they are long chains made of repeating units. • The repeating units are called monomers.

Types of Organic Molecules • Carbohydrates- Most organisms use these for their energy content, so they are the fuel for most organisms. • Nucleic Acids- Organisms use these molecules for storing genetic information. • Lipids- Organisms use these molecules for cellular components and energy storage. • Proteins- Organisms use these molecules for structure and chemical reactions. (Very important molecules!!)

Carbohydrates • Carbohydrates are the main type of molecule that organisms use for energy. • The monomer for carbohydrates is glucose: C 6 H 12 O 6 • All carbohydrates are just chains of different numbers of glucose. • Starch (amylose) is hundreds of glucose, while cellulose is a molecule with thousands of glucose molecules chemically connected.

Glucose • Glucose is the monomer for carbohydrates. • It has a distinctive shape:

Lipids-C-H-and a few O • Lipids are molecules that organisms use for cellular components and to store energy. • Lipids have a LOT of bonds. • Lipids are made of two kinds of monomers: • 1 Glycerol • 3 Fatty Acids

Lipids

Nucleic Acids • Nucleic acids are used by organisms to store and transfer genetic information. • DNA and RNA • Monomer is nucleotides

Proteins • Proteins are very important molecules. • They are used by organisms for structure and to regulate chemical reactions. • They are VERY complex • They are made of C, H, O, and N

Amino Acids • A protein is a long chain of different amino acids. • There are 22 different kinds of amino acids. • Each protein is a chain of amino acids put together in a specific order. • The order of the amino acids determines the complex shape of the protein. • The shape of the protein determines the function of the protein.

Amino Acids • Amino acids are simple, but vary in one place, called the R-group

Enzymes • Enzymes are proteins that regulate chemical reactions. They are also called catalysts. • All enzymes are proteins. • The shape of the enzyme determines what kind of molecules it can interact with. • The molecules are called substrates.

Chemical Reactions • During a chemical reaction, the enzyme just moves the substrates closer together to make the chemical reaction easier to happen. • The enzyme ISN’T changed during the chemical reaction.

Enzymes

Reaction Rates • So, what affects how fast enzymes do their job? • Shape affect function, so anything that affects shape will affect how fast an enzyme works • When an enzyme’s shape changes, it’s called denatured

Denaturing an Enzyme • A change in temperature will cause an enzyme to change its shape and stop working • A change in p. H will cause an enzyme to change its shape.

p. H • p. H is a measure of how acidic or how basic a solution is. • It goes from 0 to 14. • 7 is considered a neutral solution, and is neither acidic nor basic. • 0 ---Acid---7 ---Base---14 • The farther away from 7 a solution is, the stronger it is.