Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • list the characteristics of water that make it important to life;
  • describe the role of acids, bases, and buffers in biological systems;
  • define pH and the role of hydrogen ions in living systems;
  • describe the structure of the four major biological macromolecules;
  • describe the functions of the four major biological macromolecules as they relate to our physical requirements for health;
  • indicate the monomers and polymers of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, and nucleic acids; and
  • describe the four levels of protein structure and how this relates to enzyme function