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Updated 19 Feb 2026
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Understanding Biomolecules: Simplified Chapter 8 Notes
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Understanding Biomolecules and Carbohydrates
Ever wondered what you're actually made of? Biomolecules are the key chemicals found in all living things, built from six main elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Plus there are trace elements like iron, copper, and zinc that you need in tiny amounts but are absolutely crucial.
Carbohydrates are your body's favourite fuel source, made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in the formula Cx(H₂O)y. Think of glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) powering your brain during exams! These come in three sizes: monosaccharides (single sugars like glucose), disaccharides (double sugars like the sucrose in your tea), and polysaccharides (massive chains like starch in potatoes).
Here's the clever bit - carbs have two main jobs. Storage carbohydrates like glycogen in your muscles and starch in plants act like energy banks. Structural carbohydrates like cellulose in plant cell walls and chitin in insect shells provide strength and support.
Quick Tip: Remember that monosaccharides and disaccharides dissolve in water (that's why sugar dissolves in your tea), but polysaccharides don't - that's why you can't dissolve a potato in water!
Lipids and Proteins - The Building Blocks
Lipids are the fats and oils in your diet - butter, cheese, oils, and cream. Don't fear them though; they're essential! Made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, most lipids are triglycerides - one glycerol molecule with three fatty acids attached. The difference between solid fats and liquid oils? Just their structure and room temperature behaviour.
Lipids are multitaskers - they release energy during respiration, insulate your organs, and form crucial cell membranes. Phospholipids (where a phosphate group replaces one fatty acid) are particularly important for making cell membranes that keep your cells intact.
Proteins are the workhorses of your body, made from chains of amino acids. Your body uses 20 different amino acids, but you can only make 11 yourself - the other 9 essential amino acids must come from food like fish, meat, eggs, and nuts. Short chains (up to 50 amino acids) are peptides, longer ones are polypeptides, and really long chains become proteins.
Unlike carbs and fats, proteins can't be stored in your body. When you eat excess protein, your liver processes it through deamination - removing amino groups so the leftovers can be used for energy or converted to fat.
Remember: Proteins fold into complex 3D shapes to work properly - when they don't fold correctly (like prions), serious brain disorders can result.
Minerals and Vitamins - Small but Mighty
You might only need minerals and vitamins in tiny amounts, but they're absolutely essential for staying healthy. Minerals are inorganic nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium that control pH levels and help enzyme systems work properly.
Water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B vitamins can't be stored in your body, so you need them regularly from fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is crucial for forming collagen, maintaining teeth and bones, healing wounds, and keeping your immune system strong. Without enough, you'd develop scurvy - think bleeding gums and tooth loss (not a good look!).
Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) can be stored in your body fat, which is handy but means you can actually have too much. Vitamin D, found in oily fish, egg yolks, and fortified foods, helps your intestines absorb calcium for strong bones. Without it, children develop rickets - weak, soft bones that don't develop properly.
The good news? Most vitamin and mineral deficiencies are easily prevented with a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, dairy, and protein sources.
Key Point: Water-soluble vitamins need daily top-ups, while fat-soluble ones can be stored - but this also means you can overdose on them!
Water - The Ultimate Life Support
Here's something mind-blowing: you're roughly 60% water, and most plants are 80-90% water! Water isn't just important - it's absolutely fundamental to life as we know it.
Water's neutral pH of 7 makes it perfect for biological reactions. As an excellent solvent, it dissolves nutrients, hormones, and waste products, allowing them to move around your body. It's also directly involved in major processes - photosynthesis splits water molecules, respiration produces water, and digestion uses water to break down food.
Your cells depend on water to maintain their shape and structure. When they absorb enough water, they stay properly swollen and functional. Lose too much water, and cells start losing their shape and ability to work effectively.
Perhaps most cleverly, water helps regulate your body temperature. Because it's slow to heat up and cool down, water-filled organisms (like you!) maintain stable temperatures. This is crucial because enzymes controlling your biological reactions only work efficiently within narrow temperature ranges - get too hot or cold, and your cellular machinery starts breaking down.
Life Hack: When you have a fever or feel too cold, your enzymes aren't working at peak efficiency - that's why you feel rubbish and need to rest!
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The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
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This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
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Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
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I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
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Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
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I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
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THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE Knowunity AI. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
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This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
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The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
iOS user
Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE Knowunity AI. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
iOS user
Understanding Biomolecules: Simplified Chapter 8 Notes
I
Iphone Iphone
@iphoneiph_mq20l
You're about to dive into the fascinating world of biomolecules - the essential chemicals that make up all living things. From the energy-packed carbohydrates in your morning toast to the proteins building your muscles, these molecules are literally what life... Show more
Understanding Biomolecules and Carbohydrates
Ever wondered what you're actually made of? Biomolecules are the key chemicals found in all living things, built from six main elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and sulfur. Plus there are trace elements like iron, copper, and zinc that you need in tiny amounts but are absolutely crucial.
Carbohydrates are your body's favourite fuel source, made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in the formula Cx(H₂O)y. Think of glucose (C₆H₁₂O₆) powering your brain during exams! These come in three sizes: monosaccharides (single sugars like glucose), disaccharides (double sugars like the sucrose in your tea), and polysaccharides (massive chains like starch in potatoes).
Here's the clever bit - carbs have two main jobs. Storage carbohydrates like glycogen in your muscles and starch in plants act like energy banks. Structural carbohydrates like cellulose in plant cell walls and chitin in insect shells provide strength and support.
Quick Tip: Remember that monosaccharides and disaccharides dissolve in water (that's why sugar dissolves in your tea), but polysaccharides don't - that's why you can't dissolve a potato in water!
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Lipids and Proteins - The Building Blocks
Lipids are the fats and oils in your diet - butter, cheese, oils, and cream. Don't fear them though; they're essential! Made from carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, most lipids are triglycerides - one glycerol molecule with three fatty acids attached. The difference between solid fats and liquid oils? Just their structure and room temperature behaviour.
Lipids are multitaskers - they release energy during respiration, insulate your organs, and form crucial cell membranes. Phospholipids (where a phosphate group replaces one fatty acid) are particularly important for making cell membranes that keep your cells intact.
Proteins are the workhorses of your body, made from chains of amino acids. Your body uses 20 different amino acids, but you can only make 11 yourself - the other 9 essential amino acids must come from food like fish, meat, eggs, and nuts. Short chains (up to 50 amino acids) are peptides, longer ones are polypeptides, and really long chains become proteins.
Unlike carbs and fats, proteins can't be stored in your body. When you eat excess protein, your liver processes it through deamination - removing amino groups so the leftovers can be used for energy or converted to fat.
Remember: Proteins fold into complex 3D shapes to work properly - when they don't fold correctly (like prions), serious brain disorders can result.
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Minerals and Vitamins - Small but Mighty
You might only need minerals and vitamins in tiny amounts, but they're absolutely essential for staying healthy. Minerals are inorganic nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium that control pH levels and help enzyme systems work properly.
Water-soluble vitamins like vitamin C and B vitamins can't be stored in your body, so you need them regularly from fruits and vegetables. Vitamin C is crucial for forming collagen, maintaining teeth and bones, healing wounds, and keeping your immune system strong. Without enough, you'd develop scurvy - think bleeding gums and tooth loss (not a good look!).
Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) can be stored in your body fat, which is handy but means you can actually have too much. Vitamin D, found in oily fish, egg yolks, and fortified foods, helps your intestines absorb calcium for strong bones. Without it, children develop rickets - weak, soft bones that don't develop properly.
The good news? Most vitamin and mineral deficiencies are easily prevented with a balanced diet including fruits, vegetables, dairy, and protein sources.
Key Point: Water-soluble vitamins need daily top-ups, while fat-soluble ones can be stored - but this also means you can overdose on them!
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Improve your grades
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Water - The Ultimate Life Support
Here's something mind-blowing: you're roughly 60% water, and most plants are 80-90% water! Water isn't just important - it's absolutely fundamental to life as we know it.
Water's neutral pH of 7 makes it perfect for biological reactions. As an excellent solvent, it dissolves nutrients, hormones, and waste products, allowing them to move around your body. It's also directly involved in major processes - photosynthesis splits water molecules, respiration produces water, and digestion uses water to break down food.
Your cells depend on water to maintain their shape and structure. When they absorb enough water, they stay properly swollen and functional. Lose too much water, and cells start losing their shape and ability to work effectively.
Perhaps most cleverly, water helps regulate your body temperature. Because it's slow to heat up and cool down, water-filled organisms (like you!) maintain stable temperatures. This is crucial because enzymes controlling your biological reactions only work efficiently within narrow temperature ranges - get too hot or cold, and your cellular machinery starts breaking down.
Life Hack: When you have a fever or feel too cold, your enzymes aren't working at peak efficiency - that's why you feel rubbish and need to rest!
We thought you’d never ask...
What is the Knowunity AI companion?
Our AI companion is specifically built for the needs of students. Based on the millions of content pieces we have on the platform we can provide truly meaningful and relevant answers to students. But its not only about answers, the companion is even more about guiding students through their daily learning challenges, with personalised study plans, quizzes or content pieces in the chat and 100% personalisation based on the students skills and developments.
Where can I download the Knowunity app?
You can download the app in the Google Play Store and in the Apple App Store.
Is Knowunity really free of charge?
That's right! Enjoy free access to study content, connect with fellow students, and get instant help – all at your fingertips.
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The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
iOS user
Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE Knowunity AI. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
iOS user
The app is very easy to use and well designed. I have found everything I was looking for so far and have been able to learn a lot from the presentations! I will definitely use the app for a class assignment! And of course it also helps a lot as an inspiration.
Stefan S
iOS user
This app is really great. There are so many study notes and help [...]. My problem subject is French, for example, and the app has so many options for help. Thanks to this app, I have improved my French. I would recommend it to anyone.
Samantha Klich
Android user
Wow, I am really amazed. I just tried the app because I've seen it advertised many times and was absolutely stunned. This app is THE HELP you want for school and above all, it offers so many things, such as workouts and fact sheets, which have been VERY helpful to me personally.
Anna
iOS user
I think it’s very much worth it and you’ll end up using it a lot once you get the hang of it and even after looking at others notes you can still ask your Artificial intelligence buddy the question and ask to simplify it if you still don’t get it!!! In the end I think it’s worth it 😊👍 ⚠️Also DID I MENTION ITS FREEE YOU DON’T HAVE TO PAY FOR ANYTHING AND STILL GET YOUR GRADES IN PERFECTLY❗️❗️⚠️
Thomas R
iOS user
Knowunity is the BEST app I’ve used in a minute. This is not an ai review or anything this is genuinely coming from a 7th grade student (I know 2011 im young) but dude this app is a 10/10 i have maintained a 3.8 gpa and have plenty of time for gaming. I love it and my mom is just happy I got good grades
Brad T
Android user
Not only did it help me find the answer but it also showed me alternative ways to solve it. I was horrible in math and science but now I have an a in both subjects. Thanks for the help🤍🤍
David K
iOS user
The app's just great! All I have to do is enter the topic in the search bar and I get the response real fast. I don't have to watch 10 YouTube videos to understand something, so I'm saving my time. Highly recommended!
Sudenaz Ocak
Android user
In school I was really bad at maths but thanks to the app, I am doing better now. I am so grateful that you made the app.
Greenlight Bonnie
Android user
I found this app a couple years ago and it has only gotten better since then. I really love it because it can help with written questions and photo questions. Also, it can find study guides that other people have made as well as flashcard sets and practice tests. The free version is also amazing for students who might not be able to afford it. Would 100% recommend
Aubrey
iOS user
Best app if you're in Highschool or Junior high. I have been using this app for 2 school years and it's the best, it's good if you don't have anyone to help you with school work.😋🩷🎀
Marco B
iOS user
THE QUIZES AND FLASHCARDS ARE SO USEFUL AND I LOVE Knowunity AI. IT ALSO IS LITREALLY LIKE CHATGPT BUT SMARTER!! HELPED ME WITH MY MASCARA PROBLEMS TOO!! AS WELL AS MY REAL SUBJECTS ! DUHHH 😍😁😲🤑💗✨🎀😮
Elisha
iOS user
This app is phenomenal down to the correct info and the various topics you can study! I greatly recommend it for people who struggle with procrastination and those who need homework help. It has been perfectly accurate for world 1 history as far as I’ve seen! Geometry too!
Paul T
iOS user