SH1909

Hydrocarbons structure is the same; however, the arrangement and

Hydrocarbons are molecules which consist attachment of atoms are different.
of multiple bonds of carbon and hydrogen atoms.
The Four (4) Major Biological Molecules
Functional Groups
Functional groups are specific groups of CATEGORY CARBOHYDRATES
molecules that are responsible for the varying Macromolecule Subunit Function
molecular properties and interactions. These (example)
molecules have unique characteristics and Starch, Glycogen Glucose Energy storage
personalities, regardless of the individual atoms that Cellulose Glucose Structural
support (plants)
compose them. Below are the main functional
Chitin Modified Structural
groups involved in Organic and Biochemistry.
Glucose support
(animals)
• Hydrocarbon - composed of Carbon to Carbon, CATEGORY LIPIDS
and Carbon to Hydrogen bonds Macromolecule Subunit Function
o Alkane C-C - single bonds (example)
o Alkene C-C - double bonds Triglycerides (Fat, Glycerol and Energy storage
o Alkyne C-C - triple bonds Oil) three (3) fatty
• Benzene Ring (Phenyl) acids
• Amine Phospholipids Glycerol, two Cell
• Alcohol (2) fatty acids, membranes
phosphate,
• Ether
and non-polar
• Alkyl halide
R group
• Ketone Prostaglandins Five (5) Chemical
• Amide carbon rings messengers
• Thiol with two (2)
• Ester non-polar tails
• Carboxylic acid Steroids Four (4) fused
Membranes,
• Aldehyde carbon rings hormones
Terpenes Long carbon Pigments,
Biological Molecules chains Structural
support
Biological molecules are essential
CATEGORY PROTEINS
macromolecules that are composed of smaller
Macromolecule Subunit Function
organic molecules. Since all biomolecules are (example)
organic, their common factor is the presence of Functional Amino acids Catalysis,
Carbon. transport
Biomolecules are polymers, meaning they Structural Amino acids Support
are formed from the combination of monomers CATEGORY NUCLEIC ACIDS
(single subunit molecules) via dehydration synthesis. Macromolecule Subunit Function
This process describes the synthesis of new (example)
compounds while losing water. Dehydration DNA Nucleotides Encodes genes
synthesis is the opposite of hydrolysis. RNA Nucleotides Needed for
Organic molecules are also capable of gene
existing in more than one (1) form. Organic expression
molecules which have the same molecular formula
but exists in different forms are called isomers.
Stereoisomers are a form of isomers whose skeletal

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Carbohydrates acid. However, if the carbons form double bonds and

Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, thereby reducing the number of hydrogen atoms
hydrogen, and oxygen with a ratio of 1:2:1. They attached, it is now known as an unsaturated fatty
differ in the number of carbon atoms present. Their acid. In an unsaturated fatty acid, the double C-C
main function is storage due to the large amounts of bonds form kinks in the tails which prevent it from
C-H bonds, which can store large amounts of aligning with itself. Which is why these lipids are
energy. Categories of carbohydrates depend on the known as oils (those that stay liquid at room
complexity of their constituents. temperature), while saturated lipids are known as
Monosaccharides are the simplest unit of fats (those that become solid at room temperature).
carbohydrates. These can be in ring structure or Lipids can also have an additional group
chain formation. Examples of these include attached to the glycerol head. These additional
Glyceraldehyde (3 carbon), Ribose and deoxyribose groups cause the many variations of lipids. If a
(5 carbon), and Glucose, fructose, and galactose (6 phosphate group is attached, it becomes a
carbon). phospholipid. As mentioned before, due to the
Disaccharides are simply combinations of hydrophobic nature of the fatty acids and the
monosaccharides linked together by their fused -OH hydrophilic nature of the phosphate group, these
compounds, forming the glycosidic linkage. phospholipids are responsible for the fluid structure
Examples include Sucrose (glucose and fructose), of the cell membrane.
Lactose (glucose and galactose), and Maltose
(glucose and glucose).
Polysaccharides are simply chains of
disaccharides. These differ in the level of branching
chains. Examples include Glycogen (seen in animals,
formed from amylose chains), Amylopectin (seen in
plants), and Amylose (seen in plants, formed from
glucose).

Figure 1. Structure of Mono- and Disaccharides

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Lipids
This group of molecules have multiple
variations but have one (1) common characteristic:
they are insoluble in water. In general, the main
Figure 2. Structure of Phosphoglycerides, Steroids, and
structure of lipids is a glycerol head and a fatty acid Glycerides
tail. Majority of lipids consist of one (1) glycerol and Source: https://www.thoughtco.com
three (3) fatty acids tails. This is known as
Triacylglycerol (triglyceride). Triglycerides can be Nucleic Acid
categorized based on the C-H bonds of the fatty acid There are only two (2) variants of nucleic
tails. If all tails have two (2) hydrogen atoms attached acids: Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and Ribonucleic
to each individual carbon (thereby only forming acid (RNA). Their main function is the storage and
single C-C bonds), it is known as a saturated fatty synthesis of genetic information of cells. Nucleic

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acids are composed of repeating subunits called FUNCTION CLASS EXAMPLE USE
Nucleotides (polynucleotides are therefore chains of Enzyme Enzyme Polymerase Synthesize
Catalysis nucleic acids
nucleotides). Each nucleotide is composed of three Defense Immunoglobin Antibodies Mark foreign
(3) main parts: the 5-carbon sugar, an organic proteins
nitrogen base, and a phosphate group. The 5-carbon Transport Membrane Proton Chemiosmosis
sugar for DNA is deoxyribose, while in RNA it is Transporters pump
simply ribose. Their main difference is the presence Support Fibers Keratin Forms hair
Motion Muscle Actin Contraction of
of an attached -OH group to the 2nd Carbon of RNA.
Myosin muscle fibers
The nitrogen bases in DNA are Adenine (A), Regulation Hormones Insulin Controls blood
Guanine, (G), Cytosine (C), and Thymine (T). The glucose
former two (2) are known as purines due to their two Storage Ion binding Casein Stores ions in
(2) ringed structure. The latter two (2) are known as milk
pyrimidines due to their single ring structure.
RNA has a similar set of nitrogen bases to Levels of Protein Structure
DNA. Except that instead of Thymine, it has Uracil 1. Primary
(U). a. Arrangement of amino acids to form
peptide groups
2. Secondary
a. Interaction of peptide groups to form
helixes (α-helix) or sheets (β-sheets)
3. Tertiary
a. Arrangement of polypeptides to form
subunits
4. Quaternary
a. Arrangement of multiple subunits of
proteins

Figure 3. Structure of DNA, RNA, and Nitrogen Bases

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Proteins
Proteins are composed of amino acids linked
together by peptide bonds. Polypeptides are chains
of multiple amino acids. Proteins are multiple chains
of polypeptides. A protein can have up to 20 or more
polypeptide chains. If a protein is composed of only
one (1) chain, it can also be referred to as a
polypeptide.
Categories of proteins depend on their
function. Refer to the table below for the list of Figure 4. Structure of Polypeptides and Amino Acids
Source: https://www.genome.gov
functions and some examples.

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Chemical Tests to Identify Biomolecules Positive Result: Purple Color

1. Carbohydrates Negative Result: Blue Color
• Benedict’s Test
This test is meant to identify reducing sugars.
Reducing sugars are those that have a free aldehyde
or ketone group to transfer hydrogen atoms as part
of the reduction process. Benedict’s reagent is
composed of Copper (II) sulfate (CuSO4) and
Sodium citrate (Na3C6H5O7). The copper (II) in the
solution gets reduced and forms copper (I), which
results in the brick red color. Image 2. Results for the Biuret Test
Source: Lincoln High School - Wisconsin Rapids Public School
Positive Results:
Brick Red ppt. - Large amounts 3. Lipids
Orange-Red ppt - Modest amounts • Spot Test
Green-Yellow ppt - Trace amounts This test relies on the non-volatile nature of
Negative Result: Blue Solution, no ppt lipids. Using water as a control, the spot test
determines that lipids are less volatile than water.
Because of this, the lipids that get absorbed in
the paper are not able to conduct enough heat
for it to evaporate. This leaves a translucent spot
on the paper.

Image 1. Results for the Benedict’s Test Positive Result: Translucent spot
Source: Lincoln High School - Wisconsin Rapids Public School Negative Result: No spot remains

2. Proteins
• Biuret Test
This test identifies the presence of
peptide bonds. A sample that has high
amounts of peptide bonds (long chains) will
give off a light to deep purple color.
Meanwhile, samples that have short peptide Image 3. Results for the Spot Test
Source: Lincoln High School - Wisconsin Rapids Public School
bonds or amino acids will give off a pink
color. If no peptide bonds are present, no • Emulsion Test
color change will occur. The biuret reagent is The emulsion test requires a mixture of fat/oil
composed mainly of Copper (II) sulfate with water. Sudan IV, which is a lipophilic
(CuSO4) and potassium sodium tartrate molecule, acts as an indicator that forms
(KNaC4H4O6·H2O). Unlike the Benedict’s micelles/droplets when added to the solution. If
Test, Copper (II) sulfate reacts with peptide
the solution contains lipids, the lipid molecules
bonds to form a chelate complex (wherein a will congregate at the top layer due to the
metal atom is bound between two [2] non- difference in density and will be stained red by
metals). The potassium sodium tartrate is the indicator. If the solution is free of lipids, the
meant to stabilize the chelate complex. indicator will disperse throughout the solution
evenly.

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Positive Result: Distinct layers REFERENCES

Negative Result: Homogenous solution Lincoln High School - Wisconsin Rapids Public School.
(n.d.). Chemical tests to identify biomolecules.
Wisconsin, USA: Wisconsin Rapids.
Mason, K. A., Losos, J. B., & Singer, S. R. (2017). Biology
(11th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

Image 4. Results for the Emulsion Test

Source: Lincoln High School - Wisconsin Rapids Public
School
4. Nucleic Acids
• Dische Test
This is also referred to as the
Diphenylamine test. This test identifies the
presence of DNA based on the reaction
between the Dische reagent (mainly
diphenylamine) and the 2-deoxypentose
sugar of DNA. The redox reaction forms a
blue colored complex upon conversion of the
pentose sugar. The concentration of DNA is
proportional to the intensity of the blue color.
Since RNA has a different sugar base, ribose,
the reaction will not form a blue complex.
Rather a green-colored complex will be
shown. A clear result indicates the absence
of DNA.

Positive Result: Blue color

Negative Result: Clear

Image 5. Results for the Dische Test

Source: Lincoln High School - Wisconsin Rapids Public
School

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