Structure and Function of Biomolecules and Genetic Expression

Running head: REPORT 1
Report
Student’s Name
University Affiliation

REPORT 2
Questions and Answers
Introduction
The report involves questions and answers that discuss the structure and function of
biomolecules and identifies the basic features of amines, esters, and amides. The report also
discusses genetic expression and the mechanisms of DNA and RNA process in an organism.
PART A
Question One
Both hexamine and triethylamine have the same number of electrons and molecular weight but
their boiling point varies because of their differences in intermolecular hydrogen bonding.
Hexamine has higher boiling points than triethylamine because it has hydrogen bonds as well as
van der Waals dispersion forces whereas triethylamine has not.
Question Two
The boiling point of propanol is higher than that of propanal. The main reasons for this variation
are as a result of their differences in intermolecular forces and polarization. Propanal is an
aldehyde which has Oxygen which is highly polar and has no hydrogen bonds (Nelson, Cox, &
Lehninge, 2005). It has only dipole-dipole interactions which are weak intermolecular force
whereas propanol which is an alcohol has hydrogen bonds which have the strongest
intermolecular forces acting between hydrogen molecules thus their variation in their boiling
points.
Question Three
Both stearic and linoleic acid are all carboxylic acids with 18 carbon atoms but have differences
in their melting points. Their large differences in melting point are as a result of the saturation.
Stearic fatty acid is saturated fatty acid whereas linoleic acid is unsaturated fatty acid. The higher
the unsaturation, this is why linoleic has a lower melting point than stearic( Ko, et al., 2010).

REPORT 3
Question Four
The common characteristic that all amides with antibacterial activity have is nitro and Bromo
substituent on the phenyl ring. The nitro and Bromo substituents are the one that causes
antimicrobial activity. Their mechanism of action is that amide peptide causes membrane
permeation and metabolism disruption as well as interruption of protein and DNA functions of
bacteria. Amides are applied in pharmaceutical industries to make antibacterial and antifungal
agents against yeast, gram positive and gram negative bacteria (Nugent, 2010).
PART B
Carbohydrates are a molecular compound that is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen
elements. Carbohydrates are classified into three groups according to their structural features.
They include monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides. Monosaccharides are the
simplest sugars and are made up of one polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketonic unit. Their number of
carbon mostly ranges from three to seven and are classified into their functional groups. An
aldose sugar is monosaccharides that has aldehyde group whereas a ketose sugar is the one that
has ketonic unit. Also, mono sugars can be classified depending on the number of carbons in the
sugar. For examples sugars with three carbons can be referred to as trioses, with five carbon
pentoses or with six carbon hexoses. Some examples of monosaccharides include glucose,
glyceraldehyde, ribose and dihydroxyacetone (Devlin, 2011).
Disaccharides involve more than one monosaccharide unit. The mono sugars are linked together
by glycosidic linkages. Some of the common disaccharides include fructose, maltose, and
lactose. On hydrolysis, disaccharides sugars yield monosaccharides units which may be similar
or dissimilar. On the other hand, polysaccharides consist of a large number of monosaccharides
units which may be branched or unbranched. When polysaccharides are hydrolyzed they mostly
yield similar monosaccharide units. Some examples of polysaccharides include chitin, gum,
mucilage, and pectic substances.
Cell membrane serves as a cell wall and cytoskeleton in some organelles. It is composed of a
mixture of different classes of molecules. The most common components are lipids and protein.