Carbs, Fats, And Proteins, OH MY!

Introduction: Welcome to the molecules of life. Here are going to take a brief look into carbohydrates, fats (lipids), and proteins. You will also find some structures of each molecule.

Break it Down

The best way to simply break down these molecules is to look at the chart presented in the power point by Dr. Frolich. Here is a remade model with the same information.

MOLECULE	MADE OF	FUNCTION
Carbohydrates	Simple Sugars	Energy
Proteins	Amino Acids	Catalyze Reactions
Fats/Lipids	Fatty Acids	Cell Membranes
DNA/RNA	Nucleotides (bases)	Information

A few tidbits:

*Carbon can form into LONG chains.

*These are four basic things every single cell in our body is made of.

PHOTO SHOOT!
The following are pictures of structures of the different molecules.

Here is a carbohydrate structure from http://www.seachem.com/home/images/carbohydrate_structure.jpg

Here is a lipid structure from http://www.thebestlinks.com/images/4/42/Basic_lipid_structure.png

This is a very basic lipid structure.

Here is a protein structure from http://www.avalosdesign.com/body.JPG

Just kidding! Here is the real one which I found at http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/104/proteinstructure.jpg

This picture is showing the folding of a protein molecule.

Conclusion: Short but sweet. That was a very, very simple description of the molecules of life. You will learn much more about these if you enroll in a nutrition course. Now it is time for…CELLS! As you may know, cells are the basic building blocks of life. Let’s take a look at cells and how they are organized.