Pre-AP Biology: The Four Major Biological Macromolecules

Aaron Welch

Miss Taylor

Pre-AP Biology

Macromolecules

Macromolecules are molecules that contain thousands and thousands of atoms. There consists of 4 major biological macromolecule classes, carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids. These 4 classes or groups are essential to the function and structure of a cell along with life itself. These molecules are all organic which means that they all contain carbon, they also might have oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and other elements within the molecules. Macromolecules are formed through dehydration synthesis which starts with single subunits called monomers. These monomers, amino acids, sugars, nucleotides, glycerol, fatty acids, and etc. combine to form bigger molecules called polymers. After combining using covalent bonds, the monomers release water molecules as their byproduct, creating a macromolecule. Carbohydrates pose a big role in food and diets as we are all very familiar with them. This macromolecule provides a short period of energy for our bodies through glucose, this is similar to how lipids store energy as well. Carbohydrates are found in eukaryotic cells on the outer surface of the cell membrane. A carbohydrate is made up of 3 different elements, carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen which is the same for the other 3

The monomers that make up proteins are amino acids, and these proteins can be found in the cytoplasm of a cell while other proteins are found in the cell membrane. Proteins can be found in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells, similar to lipids and nucleic acids. The function of proteins is to organize the cell, cleanup waste, and determine the cell shape. The elements that make up a protein are hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon. A good example for protein is chicken, it contains high-quality protein which is protein that has the eight essential amino