Unit 2 Lesson 2: The building Blocks of Life

Question 1

What is Carbon?

Answer 1

nonmetallic chemical element with an atomic number of 6 that bonds with many other elements

Question 2

What is carbon’s atomic number? How many protons and electrons does it have?

Answer 2

Carbon has an atomic number of six, which means it has six protons in its nucleus. It also has six electrons (two in its inner shell and four in its outer shell).

Question 2

What do all living things have in common?

Answer 2

Carbon makes up all living things

Question 3

How does are body get carbon and what does carbon do?

Answer 3

The plants and animals we eat contain carbon molecules that our bodies use in order to produce energy and to build and repair body structures.

Question 3

When does a covalent bond occur?

Answer 3

A covalent bond occurs when electrons are shared between atoms (think of atoms being co-owners of electrons).

Question 4

How many electrons can carbon hold in its shell?

Answer 4

Its outer electron shell can hold a maximum of eight electrons. Therefore, carbon’s outer shell can hold four more electrons.

Question 4

Where are carbons electrons located?

Answer 4

Carbon was 2 elections in its inner chell and four and its outer shell

Question 5

What is a covalent bond?

Answer 5

the connection between two atoms when they share a pair of electrons

Question 5

Carbon tends to form covalent bonds with …

Answer 5

other non-metals, such as oxygen and hydrogen.

Question 6

b

How does carbon and hydrogen form a covalent bond?

Answer 6

Hydrogen only has one electron and can hold a maximum of two electrons in its outer shell. Therefore, carbon can form a single covalent bond with hydrogen.

Question 7

How does oxygen and carbon form a covalent bond?

Answer 7

Oxygen has six electrons in its outer shell. Since oxygen has room for two more electrons in its shell, it can form a double covalent bond with carbon in which two pairs of electrons are shared.

Question 8

Can a carbon atom bond covalently to another carbon bond?

Answer 8

yes, A carbon atom can also bond covalently to another carbon atom.

Question 9

What does hydrocarbon mean?

Answer 9

a compound made of hydrogen and carbon atoms

Question 10

What is a hydrocarbon?

Answer 10

A hydrocarbon is a long chain of carbons bonded together covalently, sharing electrons.

Question 11

Carbon chains are the backbones of..

Answer 11

biomolecules

Question 12

What is a biomolecule?

Answer 12

a molecule that is produced by a living thing

Question 13

What are some examples of biomolecules?

Answer 13

Biomolecules are molecules, such as carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids, that are produced by living things.

Question 14

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids are not only biomolecules, they are also…?

Answer 14

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids are also macromolecules,

Question 15

What is a macromolecule?

Answer 15

a large molecule that contains many proteins
they are large molecules that contain many different atoms.

Question 16

What are carbohydrates?

Answer 16

a biomolecule made of simple sugars/ biomolecules whose building blocks are simple sugars

Question 17

What are some examples of carbohyfrates?

Answer 17

glucose and fructose.

Question 18

What is Sucrose?

Answer 18

Sucrose, or table sugar, is a carbohydrate made of glucose and fructose bonded together.

Question 19

What do Carbohydrates do?

Answer 19

Carbohydrates are used to store energy for the body.

Question 20

What are Lipids

Answer 20

a biomolecule made of fatty acids

Question 21

What do lipids do?

Answer 21

store energy

Question 22

What is cholesterol?

Answer 22

Cholesterol is a type of lipid found in cell membranes, that can be used to create hormones.

Question 23

What is a protein?

Answer 23

a biomolecule made of amino acids

Question 24

How do we get amino acids?

Answer 24

Your body can produce some amino acids, and some amino acids must come from your diet.

Question 25

What do proteins do for the body?

Answer 25

Proteins perform many functions in the body, such as building and repairing structures, catalyzing chemical reactions, and producing hormones.

Question 26

What are Nucleic acids?

Answer 26

a biomolecule made of nucleotides

Question 27

What do nucleric acids do?

Answer 27

Nucleic acids store genetic material

Question 28

What are some examples of nucleic acids?

Answer 28

DNA and RNA are examples of nucleic acids.

Question 29

What do all four biomolecles have in common?

Answer 29

All four biomolecules have a backbone of carbon bonded to hydrogen and oxygen.

Question 30

Some biomolecules also contain …

Answer 30

nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur.

Question 31

What do organisms use biomoleclues for?

Answer 31

Organisms use the biomolecules to produce substances needed for their body.

Question 32

What is ATP

Answer 32

an energy-carrying molecule that is used by the cells of all living things

Question 32

Whagt happnes when an animal eats a plant?

Answer 32

When an animal eats a plant, the animal’s body digests the biomolecules from the plant.

Question 33

Plants can use some of the glucose to produce what?

Answer 33

Plants use some of this glucose to produce ATP, a usable form of energy by the cell.

Question 33

What can plants make through photosynthesis?

Answer 33

plants can make their own glucose through photosynthesis.

Question 34

How do plants use starch?

Answer 34

Starch is used to store energy in plants.

Question 34

How do plants produce amino acids?

Answer 34

Plants can also use glucose to produce amino acids. In order to do this, glucose needs to chemically react with nitrogen compounds that the plant absorbs from the soil. The plant will use these amino acids to make the proteins it needs to perform cellular functions.

Question 34

Plants can also use glucose to produce what?

Answer 34

Plants can also use glucose to produce amino acids.

Question 34

What is starch

Answer 34

a carbohydrate that is made of long glucose chains

Question 34

Some of the glucose that plants produce is transformed into what?

Answer 34

Some glucose is transformed into starch, a carbohydrate that is made up of long glucose chains.

Question 35

How do humans use glucose?

Answer 35

Your body will use some of this glucose during cellular respiration to make ATP, an energy molecule that is usable by cells.

Question 35

Have you ever chewed on a cracker long enough that it tasted sweet? Why is that so?

Answer 35

The cracker contains starch made from plants. The cracker tastes sweet after a period of time because the amylase enzyme in your saliva breaks down the starch in the cracker into glucose.

Question 35

Why is ATP so important?

Answer 35

ATP is needed to turn the food you eat into the molecules your body needs to survive. Your body uses the carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and other elements in your food to produce the biomolecules your body needs for growth, repair, and other life functions.

Question 35

Glycogen is a carbohydrate that is made up of glucose molecules. Glycogen is the main storage form of glucose in the human body. Explain the relationship between the elements in the food humans eat and the elements in glycogen.

Answer 35

Humans consume biomolecules in the food they eat. For example, when humans eat plants, they consume some of the glucose the plants made during photosynthesis. Glucose contains carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen elements. These elements also make up glycogen. When the body breaks down glycogen into glucose the elements in glucose can be used to make other biomolecules the body needs.

Question 35

All organisms on Earth are classified as “carbon-based organisms.” What does this term mean?

Answer 35

All organisms on Earth are made up of biomolecules. These biomolecules have a carbon backbone. Therefore, all organisms on Earth are carbon-based.

Question 36

What is Leucine

Answer 36

• building block for protein
• contains nitrogen

Question 36

what is glucose made out of

Answer 36

a simple 6-carbon sugar

Question 36

Which of the following statements are true for all biomolecules?
* They have a carbon backbone.

• They have hydrogen elements.
• They have covalent bonds.
• They have nitrogen elements.

Answer 36

• All biomolecules have a carbon backbone.
• All biomolecules have covalent bonds. Covalent bonds occur when electrons are shared.
• All biomolecules have carbon bonded to hydrogen.

Question 36

What do we use the gloucose from plants/fruit for>\?

Answer 36

. Glucose can also be stored by plants in fruits, which are then eaten by animals and humans, which use cellular respiration to convert the glucose into fatty acids, nucleic acids, and amino acids

Question 36

What do Leicone and Glucose have in common?

Answer 36

contains carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen
building blocks for biomolecules

Question 37

What is Glucose

Answer 37

• a simple sugar
• building block of carbohydrates

Question 37

What is Cellulose

Answer 37

glucose molecules can then be transformed into different molecules like cellulose which actually creates support for the plant.

Question 38

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins such as…

Answer 38

leucine

Question 39

What is leucine made out of

Answer 39

Ycan see that because the leucine is made from the glucose, it too is still made out of carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen. This is also the case with fatty acids, cholesterol and nucleotides, which are the building blocks for nucleic acids and D N A.

Question 40

Why does the formation of cellulose in plants require sunlight?

Answer 40

Plants need light to perform photosynthesis. Photosynthesis allows the plant to make glucose from carbon dioxide and water. This glucose is used by the plant to make cellulose (which gives structure to the cell).

Question 41

Do animals require the sun’s energy to get the biomolecules they need to survive? Why or why not?

Answer 41

Yes, animals indirectly need the sun’s energy to get some of the biomolecules they need to survive. Plants use energy from the sun to produce the biomolecule glucose through photosynthesis. Animals consume these plants, or the animals that consumed these plants, and then obtain some of the biomolecules they need to survive.

Question 42

Explain why organisms need the elements in the food they eat to create DNA.

Answer 42

DNA is a nucleic acid made up of nucleotides. Nucleotides contain a sugar, a nitrogen base, and a phosphorous group. The food that humans eat contains carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and phosphorus elements. These elements are used to create other biomolecules, including nucleic acids.

Question 43

Elephants are herbivores, which means they eat plants. During pregnancy, a mother elephant’s body supplies the baby elephant with all the food it needs to grow and develop. Explain how the mother elephant’s diet provides the elements that the baby elephant needs to grow.

Answer 43

The mother elephant eats plants, and the plants produce glucose through photosynthesis. The plants use glucose to produce other biomolecules. When the mother elephant eats plants, she consumes the biomolecules within the plants and breaks down these molecules. Some of these molecules are delivered to the baby. The baby elephant uses the elements in these molecules to make new molecules, which allows it to build new structures for its body.