Unit 2
The molecules of life.
Carbohydrates, fats, proteins and nucleic acids, how a protein folds, and why an enzyme needs the right temperature and pH.
Before this unit
- Cells and life
- Bonding and structure Chemistry
The unit, lesson by lesson
Lessons
4 lessons · 21 practice questions · about 2 hours
Molecules in food
The four groups of the molecules of life, how much energy each gram of carbohydrate, fat and protein holds, and how to work out the protein in a day's food.
Chains
Monomers and polymers: starch from glucose, protein from amino acids and DNA from nucleotides, how many bonds hold a chain, and why a protein folds into its own shape.
Folding and heat
Denaturation: what heat breaks in a protein and what it leaves, a protein's melting point, one mutation that lowers it, and a protein that survives a hot spring.
Enzymes
How an enzyme speeds up a reaction without changing, why it works on one substrate only, and what heat, cold and pH do to it.