The large molecules necessary for life that are built from smaller organic molecules are called biological macromolecules. There are four major classes of biological macromolecules (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids), and each is an important component of the cell and performs a wide array of functions. Combined, these molecules make up the majority of a cell’s mass. Biological macromolecules are organic, meaning that they contain carbon atoms. In addition, they may contain atoms of hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, and additional minor elements.

Figure 1: The structure of a macromolecule can be compared to a necklace: both are larger structures that are built out of small pieces connected together into a chain. (“Beads on a string” by Daniel is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

References

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OpenStax, Biology. OpenStax CNX. May 27, 2016 http://cnx.org/contents/s8Hh0oOc@9.10:QhGQhr4x@6/Biological-Molecules