Molecule Building Lab Name: N yssa N.

*Type your answers in color!

Inside the kits: atoms and bonds
Each colored bead represents an atom as shown in the table below. Each color has a specific
number of holes, representing missing electrons in the outer shell, which is how many bonds it can
form.

Before beginning, fill in the table below for reference.

Element Carbon Nitrogen Oxygen Hydrogen

Color Black Red Blue White
# of bonds the 4 3 2 1
atom forms

The electron bonds will be represented by the white tubes.

TIPS:
Use the pictures to guide you through the building process. However -
Your molecule is 3D so be aware that it might not look exactly like on the paper.
The lines represent bonds. Two lines together represent double bonds.
Try connecting all the carbon atoms together first, then add on the others to each carbon
atom.
YOU MUST GET EACH MOLECULE CHECKED BY YOUR TEACHER

Organic molecules
Organic molecules are formed around chains of carbon atoms. By simply rearranging the 4 atoms
into different structures, you can create entirely different substances with very different properties.

C
arbohydrates
Carbohydrates are the b est source of energy of all the organic molecules.
They are quickly broken apart and are a good source of quick energy.
The simplest monomer form is a sugar, or m onosaccharide, such as:

Glucose is the most important sugar and source of energy used in cells.

Build one of these molecules. (its easier to make the ring first)
The OH group is an abbreviation of the OH bond.

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 Glucose

a. Count the number of each type of atom:

C:6 H: 1
2 O: 6 Now reduce the numbers to make a simple ratio:

O T
1 C : 2 H : 1 his ratio is always seen in carbohydrates.

b. What general shape does the main part of this molecule have?
Most carbohydrate monomers have this general shape.
Most carbohydrate monomers have a polygon shape in the middle with carbon
and oxygen within the polygon shape. Hydrogen can usually be arranged outside
of the ring.

Lipids
Lipids are the b
est way to store energy.
They are also a good source of l ong term energy.

Build one of t hese molecules

-CH3 is an abbreviation for 1 carbon with 3 individual hydrogens attached.

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Butyric Acid Caproic Acid Lauric Acid

Butyric Acid

Look at the end of the molecule with the double bonded O. That functional group,
carboxyl acid (COOH), is how it gets its name fatty acid.

a. What elements are present in all fatty acids? Elements that are present in all fatty
acids are Carbon, Hydrogen, and Oxygen.

The model you see below is a triglyceride which is one glycerol molecule joined to three fatty
acids.
This is the type of fat molecule found in your body.

Saturated fat Unsaturated fat

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 On the left is a saturated fat and on the right is a
n unsaturated fat. Y
oull notice nutrition
labels list the amounts of both kinds. In general, the more unsaturated t han saturated, the
better the food is for you.

b. Chemically speaking, what makes saturated fat different from unsaturated fat? (Hint: look
at the bonds!) Saturated fats are different from unsaturated fats in that they have
more double bonds, which makes them more solid and thus increases their
melting point. Saturated fats also have a higher percentage of hydrogen, hence
the name saturated fat.

Imagine a bunch of each kind of fatty acid molecules arranged close together: (saturated or
unsaturated)

a. Which would be more likely to form a solid at room temp. - saturated or unsaturated fats?
Justify your answer. S aturated fats are more likely to form a solid at room temperature
because they are rigid in shape. Thus it would take more thermal energy to have the
fat change phases.

i. Do some research and give an example of a solid fat: Butter

b. Which would be more likely to form a liquid at room temp.- saturated or unsaturated fats?
Justify your answer. U nsaturated fats are more likely to form a liquid at room
temperature because they are loose in shape. It would take less thermal energy for the
fat to change phases.

i. Do some research and give an example of a liquid fat: Coconut oil

Proteins
These are the w
orst source of energy!!!!
They are used for building things like hair, skin, muscle, and insect shells.
The monomer form is called an amino acid.

The a
mino group on the left (NH2)of the molecule and the c arboxyl acid (COOH) group on the
right give this molecule its name: amino acid.

There are only about 2

0 different amino acids in existence. Depending on the combination used,
the amount used, and how they join together, you can make any protein in the world. Below are
two examples.

Build each one of these molecules:

Alanine Glycine

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 Glycine

c. Which atom is present in proteins but absent in the other molecules?

An atom that is present in proteins but absent in other molecules is Nitrogen.

d. Look carefully at each model. What is different about the two? Point to it on the diagrams
above. That is known as the R
group since every amino acid is exactly the same except for
the R group. T
he difference between each model is the bottom middle portion of
both diagrams. Below the center Carbon for Alanine, there is a series of Carbon
and Hydrogen atoms but below the center carbon for Glycine, there is one
Hydrogen atom.

Nucleic Acids
These are NOT used for energy.
These macromolecules help to store and transmit genetic information, like DNA and RNA.
The monomer form is called a n
ucleotide.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BUILD THIS MOLECULE! They are quite large and their structure varies
greatly.

Generally a nucleotide will be composed of 3 parts:

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 - a p hosphate group
- a s ugar
- a n itrogenous base

Nucleotides will bond together to form chains called polynucleotides. W

e will go into more detail
with this macromolecule in the Genetics unit.

Follow-up questions: to be answered i ndividually

1. Compare a carbohydrate and a lipid:

a. Which has the most bonds? Carbohydrates

b. Which has the least number of bonds? L

ipids

c. Which molecule contains the most energy? Carbohydrates

d. Which molecule contains the least energy? L

ipids

e. Based on the number of bonds, which do you think would take the longest to break down
in your body? L
ipids, even though they have the most bonds, the double bond
present in it might make it take longer to break apart.

2. Carbohydrates are used as a short term energy source, while fat is used by your body to store
energy long term. What have you observed about the chemical s tructure of these molecules
to explain this? F
ats are typically more rigid in structure than carbohydrates and
because of its rigidness it would take more time for them to be broken down. This
makes them more ideal to use them as energy storage.

3. Why is it important to eat a balanced meal? Think about the function of each molecule. It is
important to eat a balanced meal because you want to make sure you have various
amounts of energy present in the body. Carbohydrates should be eaten to provide
you with quick bursts of energy for continuous activity. Lipids should be eaten in
the long term so as to last throughout the day, or possibly the week. Proteins
should be eaten to build muscle and should not be used for energy.

Questions 4 and 5 refer to the following atoms that are found in molecules of the human body.

A) Ca, Fe, K
B) C, H, O
C) C, H, O, P
D) C, H, O, N, S
E) C, H, O, N, P

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B 4. Which set of atoms are characteristic of nucleic acids?

E 5. Which set of atoms are characteristic of carbohydrates?

6. People on the Atkins Diet eat very high amounts of protein, stay away from carbohydrates, and
can have as much fat as they want. It is reported that people experience a quick weight loss but
once they fall off the diet, the weight is generally gained back just as quick. Explain what is
happening in your body to cause this.

Proteins are designed to build muscles and bone, they are not ideal for energy. By
eating more protein, the person is likely to little energy to store as weight. However
since the person is deficient in energy storage, the body makes up for that by gaining
back weight just as quickly as they lost it.

Use the diagrams to answer questions 7-

10.

A 7. Which depicts glucose?

C
8. Which depicts a monomer of a
protein?

D 9. Which depicts a monomer of fats or

oils?

B 10. Which one is a building block for

your genetic code?