BIO 121 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Galactose, Amylopectin, Sucrose
Document Summary
Bio 121l week 3 - lecture 6 (continued) Are molecules with the same molecular formula but different structural configurations: different structures yield different functions despite the same number and types of atoms. Hydrocarbons are molecules that contain only carbon and hydrogen atoms: octane in gasoline. Hydrocarbons are nonpolar, functional groups are polar or ionized. Most biological molecules consist of huge carbon skeletons bonded to hundreds or thousands if atoms: these large biological molecules are called macromolecules, biochemistry is the scientific study of biological macromolecules. Macromolecules are polymers: polymers are chains of many repeating smaller molecules called monomers, monomers are linked to form polymers by way of dehydration reactions, polymers are broken down into monomers by way of hydrolysis. The hydroxyl group of a growing polymer chain reacts with the hydrogen of an incoming monomer: water is released and the monomer is added to the polymer, making the chain one unit longer.
