BIOLOGY FORM 4

CHAPTER 4 :
CHEMICAL COMPOSITION
OF THE CELL
CHEMICAL ELEMENTS OF THE CELL

• Elements form the basic building blocks of all matter.

ELEMENTS
Major element
(require in Trace element
large quantity) Minor element (require in the
• Carbon (require in smaller smallest quantity)
• Hydrogen quantity) • Zinc
• Oxygen • Calcium • Copper
• Nitrogen • Phosphorus • Iron
• 96% of • Potassium • 0.1% of human
human body • 4% of human body mass
mass body mass
CHEMICAL COMPUNDS IN THE CELL

• Consists of two or more different element bound

together
• Two different group of chemical compound which
are:
i) organic compounds – contain carbon and from
living things. Example : carbohydrates, lipids,
proteins and nuclei acid.
ii) Inorganic compounds – do not contain carbon and
not from living things. Examples :
water,acids,bases, and mineral salt
Nucleic Acids
• Organic compound
• Compunds of carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, phosphorus and
nitrogen
• Two types of nucleic acid:
i) Dexoyribonucleic acid (DNA)
o stucture – double stranded polynucluetides twisted around
each other to form double helix
o Fucntion – carry genetic information

i) Ribonucleic acid (RNA)

o Stucture – single strand of polynucleotide
o Function – involved in the synthesis of proteins

• Nucleotides – basic building units of nucleic acids

- made up of nitogenous base, pentose sugar and phosphate
group
NUCLEOTIDE
WATER
• Inorganic compund
• Made up of hydorgen & oxygen
• Importance of water are:
i) Give support in plants and hydrostatic skeletons in worms
ii) Component of the protoplasm
iii) Solvent for solutes in the cells and blood plama
iv) Medium for biochemical reaction
v) Maintains the osmotic pressure in the tissue and blood
plasma
CARBOHYDRATE
• Organic compound
• Source of energy
• Elements are from carbon, hydrogen and oxygen
• 3 types of carbohydrate :
i) Monosaccharide: glucose (in plant& fruits) , fructose (in fruits & honey) &
galactose (in milk).
All monosaccharide are reducing sugar.

ii) Disaccharide: maltose (two glucose join together - malt sugar), lactose
(glucose & galactose – milk sugar) & sucrose (glucose & fructose – cane
sugar)
Maltose & lactose are reducing sugar
Sucrose – non-reducing sugar

iii) Polysaccharide : starch (stored in plant), glycogen (stored in animal) &

cellulose (forms the call walls of plant cells)
All polysaccharides are non-reducing sugar
PROTEINS
• Compounds of carbon, hyodrogen, oxygen & nitogen. Many proteins also
contain sulphur & phosphorus.
• For growth & cell divison
• Amino acids are basic building units of proteins. There are two types of
amino acids :
 Essential – cell need because body cannot produce
 Non-essential – cell need but body can produce
• Amino acids divided in two class. First class amino acids are fromm animals
and second class amino acids are from plants
• Amino acids are linked together by a peptide bond

STURCTURE OF
PROTEIN
LIPIDS
• Compounds of carbon, hydrogen & oxygen. Some lipids contain nitrogen &
phosphorus.
• Types of lipids are fats, oils, waxes, phospholipids and steroids
• Triglycerides are basic units of fats and oils.

Glycerol & Fatty Acid

• Glycerol – colourless, oudourless, sweet-tasting and syrupy liquid
• Fatty acid – has long hydrogen tail with a carboxyl group at one end
- have one or more double bond
Fats
• Form the energy store of the body
• Two types:
SATURATED FAT UNSATURATED FAT
All single bond One or more double bond
Less reactive More reactive
In solid at room temp. In liquid at room temp.
bad cholesterol Good cholesterol
ENZYMES
• Are protein molecules made by living cells, acting as catalysts.
• Uses :
i) to tenderise meat
ii) Used in industry (detergent)
• Characteristics :
1) Specific
2) Have active side
3) Speed up the rate of reactions
4) Are not destroy after the reaction
5) Can be help by confactor – ferum & copper
6) Required in small amounts

Intracellular & Extracellular Enzymes

 Intracellular – produced in the cell
 Extracellular – secreted out of the cell

• Enzyme action can be affected by the pH value of solution, the temperature

of the medium of reaction, the concentration of the substrate and the
concentration of enzyme.