Chapter 6.4, Problem 1NV

Summary Introduction

To determine:

Definition of the term macromolecule, polymer, carbohydrate, lipid, protein, amino acid, nucleic acid, nucleotide.

Explanation of Solution

Macromolecule: A macromolecule is referred to as a single type of molecule that consists of many atoms. For example, carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids, etc.

Polymer: A polymer is a large chain of a single unit of smaller molecules. These smaller units, generally referred to as monomer is chemically joined to one another in a chain.

Carbohydrate: Carbohydrate is an organic compound, which is generally considered to be hydrates of carbon. Along with carbon, they have hydrogen and oxygen in the ratio of 2:1. Examples of carbohydrates are starch, cellulose, glucose, fructose, maltose, etc.

Lipid: It is a type of organic molecule which is made up of fatty acids or their derivatives and is insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. Examples of lipids are oil, wax, and steroids.

Protein: A protein is defined as a macromolecule that consists of a chain of amino acid residues, which are joined by the peptide bonds. Proteins are complex macromolecules, which have a definite structure and are present in all living organisms in the form of enzymes, hormones, antibodies, etc.

Amino acid: An amino acid is an organic molecule which are the building blocks of the proteins. Chemically, it is made up of a carboxylic acid, amine group, hydrogen and an R-group (variable group) attached to a central carbon, which is known as the alpha (a) - carbon.

Nucleic acid: A nucleic acid is a chemical compound that represents macromolecules made up of nucleotides and contains the genetic information of a cell. It is used to code proteins in a biological system. It is mainly of two types, DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) and RNA (ribonucleic acid).

Nucleotide: Nucleotides are the building blocks of nucleic acids, such as DNA or RNA. It is made up of a sugar (either ribose in RNA or deoxyribose in DNA), a nitrogenous base (adenine, guanine, thymine, cytosine or uracil) and a phosphate group.