Biomolecules and Polymers

30 lessons, pages 2371–2400.

  1. Biomolecules and Macromolecules — Chemical building blocks, sequence and molecular function
  2. Monosaccharide Classification — Aldoses, ketoses and carbon-number families
  3. Glucose Structure and Stereochemistry — Open-chain configuration and multiple chiral centers
  4. Fructose and Ketose Chemistry — Ketohexose structure and its relation to glucose
  5. Cyclic Sugars and Anomers — Hemiacetal formation, anomeric carbon and mutarotation
  6. Disaccharides and Glycosidic Bonds — Linkage patterns in sucrose, lactose and maltose
  7. Polysaccharides — Starch, glycogen and cellulose structures and roles
  8. Reducing Sugars — Free anomeric centers and qualitative redox tests
  9. Amino Acids — Alpha-amino-acid structure, side chains and chirality
  10. Zwitterions and Isoelectric Points — Acid–base forms of amino acids as pH changes
  11. Peptide Bonds and Sequence — Condensation, directionality and peptide hydrolysis
  12. Protein Primary and Secondary Structure — Sequence, alpha helices and beta sheets
  13. Protein Tertiary and Quaternary Structure — Folding interactions and multi-subunit assemblies
  14. Protein Denaturation — How heat, pH and chemicals disrupt folded structures
  15. Enzymes as Protein Catalysts — Active-site specificity, cofactors and inhibition
  16. Nucleosides and Nucleotides — Bases, sugars, phosphate and phosphodiester linkage
  17. DNA Structure — Antiparallel strands, base pairing and sequence information
  18. RNA Structure and Roles — Ribose, uracil and diverse cellular RNA functions
  19. Genetic Information Flow — Chemical basis of replication, transcription and translation
  20. Lipids and Fatty Acids — Hydrophobic molecules, saturation and biological membranes
  21. Triglycerides and Phospholipids — Ester-linked storage lipids and amphiphilic membrane lipids
  22. Polymer Fundamentals — Monomers, repeating units and distributions of chain lengths
  23. Step-Growth Polymerization — Functional-group reactions forming polyesters and polyamides
  24. Chain-Growth Polymerization — Initiation, propagation and termination at reactive chain ends
  25. Free-Radical Polymerization — Radical addition to alkenes and chain termination routes
  26. Copolymers and Architecture — Random, alternating, block, graft and cross-linked structures
  27. Polymer Molecular-Mass Averages — Number-average, weight-average and dispersity
  28. Polymer Thermal Behavior — Glass transition, melting and structure–property links
  29. Biodegradable and Sustainable Polymers — Chemical degradation, conditions and material life cycles
  30. Biomolecules and Polymers: Unit Review — Connecting biological structure to synthetic macromolecule behavior