Evidence
concepts
Macromolecule - macromolecules are very large molecules found in every organisms that hold energy for the organism, act as messenger and signaling molecules, and act as the building blocks of cells. There are four major types: carbohydrates, fats/lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Three of these are important for this lab.
Carbohydrates - carbohydrates include simple sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides) and complex sugars (polysaccharides). They are the major nutrient of cells, their breakdown provides cellular energy (ATP) and other cell constituents.
Monosaccharides - monosaccharides have a basic formula of n(CH2O) where n=the number of carbon atoms. For example, glucose has 6 carbon: C6H12O6. Monosaccharides have between 3 and 7 carbon atoms, with the most common amounts being 3 and 5. The most important polysaccharides are glucose and fructose. Glucose is the primary energy source for animals and fructose is the primary energy source for plants.
Disaccharides - disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides connected together. They include sucrose (a glucose and a fructose) and lactose (a galactose and a glucose)
Polysaccharides - polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharides that act as energy storage and as structural components. The most important types are glycogen, starch, and cellulose. Glycogen is the main energy storage for animals while starch is the main energy storage for plants. Plants also use cellulose as their main structural component.
Fats/Lipids - lipids have 3 major roles: store energy, are the main components of cell membranes, and help with cell signaling. The simplest forms are fatty acids, which are long hydrocarbon chains usually containing 16 or 18 carbon atoms, with a carboxyl group at one end, they form the building block of other lipids. Unsaturated fatty acids contain one or more double bonds between carbon atoms. Saturated fatty acids have all the atoms bonded to the maximum number of hydrogen atoms. These fatty acids are stored in the form of triglycerides, or fats, which consist of 3 fatty acids linked to a glycerol. Triglycerides are hydrophobic so they collect in drops in the cytoplasm and are more efficient at storing energy than sugars. Phospholipids are the principal components of cell membranes. They consist of two fatty acids joined to a glycerol which is joined to a phosphate group. The fatty acids, or tails, are hydrophobic and the glycerol and phosphate group, or head, is hydrophilic. Phospholipids form a membrane when many of them face each other with their tails.
Nucleic Acids - Nucleic acids include DNA and RNA, which are the main information molecules. DNA holds the genetic code of an organism, it is found in the nucleus in eukaryotes. RNA participates in numerous cell processes. mRNA (messenger RNA) carries info from DNA to ribosomes, to serve as templates for protein synthesis, which ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA are involved in. Some other processes that RNA is involved in are cell transport and acting as a catalyst. RNA and DNA are polymers of nucleotides, consisting of purine and pyramidine. Bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) are attached to phosphorylated sugars (2' deoxyribose for DNA and ribose for RNA. The nucleotides are polymerized by creating a phosphodiester bond between the 5' phosphate of one nucleotide and the 3' hydroxyl of another. RNA can contain thousands of nucleotides while DNA can contain millions. Nucleic acids can direct their own replication, which makes them useful as the primary information molecules of cells.
Carbohydrates - carbohydrates include simple sugars (monosaccharides and disaccharides) and complex sugars (polysaccharides). They are the major nutrient of cells, their breakdown provides cellular energy (ATP) and other cell constituents.
Monosaccharides - monosaccharides have a basic formula of n(CH2O) where n=the number of carbon atoms. For example, glucose has 6 carbon: C6H12O6. Monosaccharides have between 3 and 7 carbon atoms, with the most common amounts being 3 and 5. The most important polysaccharides are glucose and fructose. Glucose is the primary energy source for animals and fructose is the primary energy source for plants.
Disaccharides - disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides connected together. They include sucrose (a glucose and a fructose) and lactose (a galactose and a glucose)
Polysaccharides - polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharides that act as energy storage and as structural components. The most important types are glycogen, starch, and cellulose. Glycogen is the main energy storage for animals while starch is the main energy storage for plants. Plants also use cellulose as their main structural component.
Fats/Lipids - lipids have 3 major roles: store energy, are the main components of cell membranes, and help with cell signaling. The simplest forms are fatty acids, which are long hydrocarbon chains usually containing 16 or 18 carbon atoms, with a carboxyl group at one end, they form the building block of other lipids. Unsaturated fatty acids contain one or more double bonds between carbon atoms. Saturated fatty acids have all the atoms bonded to the maximum number of hydrogen atoms. These fatty acids are stored in the form of triglycerides, or fats, which consist of 3 fatty acids linked to a glycerol. Triglycerides are hydrophobic so they collect in drops in the cytoplasm and are more efficient at storing energy than sugars. Phospholipids are the principal components of cell membranes. They consist of two fatty acids joined to a glycerol which is joined to a phosphate group. The fatty acids, or tails, are hydrophobic and the glycerol and phosphate group, or head, is hydrophilic. Phospholipids form a membrane when many of them face each other with their tails.
Nucleic Acids - Nucleic acids include DNA and RNA, which are the main information molecules. DNA holds the genetic code of an organism, it is found in the nucleus in eukaryotes. RNA participates in numerous cell processes. mRNA (messenger RNA) carries info from DNA to ribosomes, to serve as templates for protein synthesis, which ribosomal RNA and transfer RNA are involved in. Some other processes that RNA is involved in are cell transport and acting as a catalyst. RNA and DNA are polymers of nucleotides, consisting of purine and pyramidine. Bases (adenine, guanine, cytosine, and thymine) are attached to phosphorylated sugars (2' deoxyribose for DNA and ribose for RNA. The nucleotides are polymerized by creating a phosphodiester bond between the 5' phosphate of one nucleotide and the 3' hydroxyl of another. RNA can contain thousands of nucleotides while DNA can contain millions. Nucleic acids can direct their own replication, which makes them useful as the primary information molecules of cells.
reflection
I think that I did very well on this lab. There were many things that I did well and also some things that I need to improve on. Three things that we did well on were our following of the procedure for the first part, our experiment design in the last part, and our overall cooperation. For the first part, we made sure that we followed the procedure perfectly which resulted in a good experiment. For the last part, we made sure to only have one variable that we changed and a good control so that our experiment was proper. Overall, we made sure that everyone had a job and that the workload was evenly split. Three things that we could have improved were the fact that we didn't complete the NCB rennin test, our work ethic, and the speed at which we conducted the experiments. We weren't able to complete the NCB rennin test for the first part because we dropped the vial. If we had more time we would have redone that part. I feel like we could have improved our work ethic too. If we had done that our work may have been better overall. In addition to this, we only barely completed the project on time and if we had been faster we could have had more time to fine tune our work.