[[biology]]
macromolecules are essentially very large molecules

macromolecules consist of smaller subunits, called monomers, when you have a bunch of monomers together it's called a polymer

these 4 types of macromolecules are pretty important in ap bio:

| Type         | Monomer Name                                              | Polymer Name                                                     | Primary Cellular Function                                             | CHNOPS Generally Present |
| ------------ | --------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------ |
| Carbohydrate | Monosaccharide                                            | Polysaccharide                                                   | Quick energy                                                          | C, H, O                  |
| Lipid        | No single name, examples include Fatty Acids and Glycerol | No single name, examples include triglycerides and phospholipids | Cell membrane bilayer, cell signaling, long-term energy storage (fat) | C, H, O                  |
| Protein      | Amino acid                                                | Polypeptide                                                      | Various functions                                                     | C, H, O, N, S            |
| Nucleic Acid | Nucleotide                                                | DNA / RNA                                                        | Store and transmit genetic information                                | C, H, O, N, P            |
|              |                                                           |                                                                  |                                                                       |                          |
macromolecules are **allegedly** hard to understand, apparently theyre kind of like a train and it's carriages

![[Pasted image 20260810215125.png]]

monomers break from each other using **hydrolysis**, where a water atom forces its way in a breaks off into a hydrogen atom and a hydroxide. It's derived from greek, with hydro meaning water and lysis to break

![[Pasted image 20260810215131.png]]

monomers connect to each other using **dehydration synthesis**, where the hydrogen and hydroxide at the ends of monomers bind to form a water molecule which is removed after, reforming the bond.