Lipids And Carbohydrates: The Most Important Properties Of Life

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It was discovered that all life on earth is built from four different molecules. These four molecules are called proteins, carbohydrates, lipids and nucleic acids that are referred to as the molecules of life. Each molecule has a big part of all things of earth including us humans. All of these molecules are either “structurally or functionally” in cells. The first molecule is called carbohydrates which contains the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. The main building blocks of this molecule of this molecule is sugar(saccharides). Carbohydrates are a very important source of energy towards everything. They provide great and amazing structural support for cells and help with communication for cells. Carbohydrates are also the most important …show more content…

The elements that make lipids up are C, H, O. Lipids are a highly variable group of molecules that includes fats, oils, waxes and some steroids. These molecules are mostly made up of chains of carbon and hydrogen called fatty acids. The fatty acids then bond together and create different lipids. Lipids also have the function of storing energy. Many other important things they have are insulation of heat, storing energy, protection and cellular communication. Some examples of lipids is saturated which is an animal, and unsaturated is plants. Pretty much all lipids are insoluble in water. The structure of lipid molecules means they are repelled by water according to basicbiology.com. This is the reason why oils and fats would create globules in water and why vinegar and oil separate after a period of time. In ways lipids are the most useful molecule of life. Ways that you can test to see if anything has lipids in it is to rub a small amount of food on a material or anything paper and a brown paper bag. Brush it on the paper and then let the paper dry. If lipids(fats) are present, a greasy or oily stain will show up when the paper is dry and held up to a …show more content…

The elements of Nucleic Acids are C, H, O, and N. The building blocks of this element are Nucleotides. DNA is a very well known molecule because it makes up our genetic cell. DNA carries all of our information a living organism needs to grow, survive, and reproduce. The function of the Nucleic Acid is the Genetic code(gives instruction to cell). It started with molecules called Nucleotides but then made long chains which formed Nucleic Acids. Every single Nucleic molecule has a sugar base. To find out if anything has Nucleic Acids is to figure out if something is living then it has to DNA. Examples of Nucleic Acids are us living humans, dogs, cats, horses, sharks, and everything living. So testing if it does has Nucleic Acids is to see if it’s a living

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