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Science · Grade 9

Chemistry of Life and Biological Molecules

Learners explain how the polarity of water and hydrogen bonding give water the properties living things depend on, classify carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids by their building blocks and functions, and write balanced equations for the condensation and hydrolysis reactions that build and break them. They finish by modelling enzymes as shaped protein catalysts and interpreting temperature, pH and rate data, including denaturation.

  • 5 lessons
  • About 120 minutes
  • Molecules of life check: 11 questions
  • Ways to answer: balance equations, fill in the blanks, choose an answer, highlight a text, match pairs and type a number
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What learners will discover

  • Identify the main elements of living matter and explain how water's polarity and hydrogen bonding produce properties that matter to life, including calculations with water's specific heat capacity.
  • Classify carbohydrates, lipids, proteins and nucleic acids by their elements, building blocks, structures and functions, and interpret food-test evidence.
  • Represent condensation and hydrolysis with balanced equations and calculate the number of water molecules released or used when polymers are built or broken.
  • Explain enzyme action with the active-site model and interpret enzyme rate data for temperature, pH and substrate concentration, including denaturation.

Lessons

  1. The elements of life and the properties of water 9 steps4 practiceabout 24 min
  2. Four classes of biological molecules 8 steps4 practiceabout 24 min
  3. Building and breaking polymers 9 steps6 practiceabout 24 min
  4. Enzymes: catalysts with a shape 9 steps5 practiceabout 24 min
  5. Reading enzyme data: temperature, pH and substrate 8 steps5 practiceabout 24 min
  6. Molecules of life check 11 questions at the end

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