{"id":495,"date":"2017-03-22T03:14:44","date_gmt":"2017-03-22T03:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/part\/biological-molecules\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T19:20:50","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T19:20:50","slug":"biological-molecules","status":"publish","type":"part","link":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/part\/biological-molecules\/","title":{"raw":"Chapter IV: Biological Molecules","rendered":"Chapter IV: Biological Molecules"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Describe the structure of biologically-important molecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, water) and how their structure leads to their function.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nFood provides an organism with nutrients\u2014the matter it needs to survive. Many of these critical nutrients come in the form of <strong>biological macromolecules<\/strong>, or large molecules necessary for life. These macromolecules are built from different combinations of smaller organic molecules. What specific types of biological macromolecules do living things require? How are these molecules formed? What functions do they serve? In this chapter, we will explore these questions.\r\n\r\nThere are four major classes of biological macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids), and each is an important component of the cell and performs a wide array of functions. Combined, these molecules make up the majority of a cell\u2019s mass. Biological macromolecules are organic, meaning that they contain carbon atoms. In addition, they may contain atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and additional minor elements.\r\n\r\nThese molecules are made up of subunits called monomers. Each type of biological molecule is made up of different monomers. The monomers are connected together into a chain by strong covalent bonds. It is important that covalent bonds connect the monomers. If they were connected by hydrogen bonds the monomers would easily separate from each other and the biological molecule would\u00a0come apart. If ionic bonds connected the monomers, the biological molecule would be likely to fall apart if it came into contact with water.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_494\" align=\"alignnone\" width=\"300\"]<img class=\"wp-image-494 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2017\/03\/03a.beadsonastring-300x206.jpg\" alt=\"beads on a string\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong> The structure of a macromolecule can be compared to a necklace: both are larger structures that are built out of small pieces connected together into a chain. The \"string\" in a macromolecule would be strong covalent bonds connecting the individual subunits together. (\"Beads on a string\"\u00a0by\u00a0Daniel\u00a0is licensed under\u00a0CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)[\/caption]\r\n\r\n[h5p id=\"76\"]\r\n<div class=\"textbox\">\r\n<h2><strong>Chapter IV: Biological Molecules<\/strong><\/h2>\r\n<h3><strong>Licenses and Attribution<\/strong><\/h3>\r\n<strong>CC Licensed Content, Original:<\/strong>\r\nThis educational material includes AI-generated content from ChatGPT by OpenAI. The original content created by Dr. Zeinab Motawe from Hillsborough College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).\r\nAll images in this textbook generated with DALL-E are licensed under the terms provided by OpenAI, allowing for their free use, modification, and distribution with appropriate attribution.\r\n\r\n<strong>CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously:<\/strong>\r\nAdapted from:\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Bartee, L., Shriner, W., &amp; Creech, C. (2016). <em><a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/openoregon.pressbooks.pub\/mhccmajorsbio\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener\">Principles of Biology<\/a><\/em>, CC BY 4.0.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Outcomes<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Describe the structure of biologically-important molecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids, water) and how their structure leads to their function.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Food provides an organism with nutrients\u2014the matter it needs to survive. Many of these critical nutrients come in the form of <strong>biological macromolecules<\/strong>, or large molecules necessary for life. These macromolecules are built from different combinations of smaller organic molecules. What specific types of biological macromolecules do living things require? How are these molecules formed? What functions do they serve? In this chapter, we will explore these questions.<\/p>\n<p>There are four major classes of biological macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids), and each is an important component of the cell and performs a wide array of functions. Combined, these molecules make up the majority of a cell\u2019s mass. Biological macromolecules are organic, meaning that they contain carbon atoms. In addition, they may contain atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and additional minor elements.<\/p>\n<p>These molecules are made up of subunits called monomers. Each type of biological molecule is made up of different monomers. The monomers are connected together into a chain by strong covalent bonds. It is important that covalent bonds connect the monomers. If they were connected by hydrogen bonds the monomers would easily separate from each other and the biological molecule would\u00a0come apart. If ionic bonds connected the monomers, the biological molecule would be likely to fall apart if it came into contact with water.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_494\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-494\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-494 size-medium\" src=\"http:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2017\/03\/03a.beadsonastring-300x206.jpg\" alt=\"beads on a string\" width=\"300\" height=\"206\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2017\/03\/03a.beadsonastring-300x206.jpg 300w, https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2017\/03\/03a.beadsonastring-65x45.jpg 65w, https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2017\/03\/03a.beadsonastring-225x155.jpg 225w, https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2017\/03\/03a.beadsonastring-350x241.jpg 350w, https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/106\/2017\/03\/03a.beadsonastring.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-494\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong> The structure of a macromolecule can be compared to a necklace: both are larger structures that are built out of small pieces connected together into a chain. The &#8220;string&#8221; in a macromolecule would be strong covalent bonds connecting the individual subunits together. (&#8220;Beads on a string&#8221;\u00a0by\u00a0Daniel\u00a0is licensed under\u00a0CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div id=\"h5p-76\">\n<div class=\"h5p-iframe-wrapper\"><iframe id=\"h5p-iframe-76\" class=\"h5p-iframe\" data-content-id=\"76\" style=\"height:1px\" src=\"about:blank\" frameBorder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" title=\"diffusion\"><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox\">\n<h2><strong>Chapter IV: Biological Molecules<\/strong><\/h2>\n<h3><strong>Licenses and Attribution<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>CC Licensed Content, Original:<\/strong><br \/>\nThis educational material includes AI-generated content from ChatGPT by OpenAI. The original content created by Dr. Zeinab Motawe from Hillsborough College is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).<br \/>\nAll images in this textbook generated with DALL-E are licensed under the terms provided by OpenAI, allowing for their free use, modification, and distribution with appropriate attribution.<\/p>\n<p><strong>CC Licensed Content, Shared Previously:<\/strong><br \/>\nAdapted from:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Bartee, L., Shriner, W., &amp; Creech, C. (2016). <em><a class=\"decorated-link\" href=\"https:\/\/openoregon.pressbooks.pub\/mhccmajorsbio\/\" target=\"_new\" rel=\"noopener\">Principles of Biology<\/a><\/em>, CC BY 4.0.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"parent":0,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"pb_part_invisible":false,"pb_part_invisible_string":""},"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-495","part","type-part","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/495","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/part"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/495\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1314,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/495\/revisions\/1314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=495"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pressbooks.hcfl.edu\/bio1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=495"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}