Explore free A-level Biology revision articles about biological molecules, including DNA, RNA, amino acids, lipids, ATP, water, carbohydrates, proteins and inorganic ions. These explanations can support students studying AQA, OCR A or Edexcel Salters–Nuffield Biology, although the precise content required varies between exam boards.
Biological molecules revision articles
- DNA – Biological Molecules Ep 1
DNA is the abbreviation for deoxyribonucleic acid. A long word for an extremely long molecule; there is about two meters of DNA in most human… Continue Reading → - RNA – Biological Molecules Ep 2
Most people have heard of DNA, but ribonucleic acid (RNA) is its lesser known cousin. They have many similar features, but quite different functions. There… Continue Reading → - Amino Acids – Biological Molecules Ep 3
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. In this series we have already seen how nucleotides are the monomers joined together to make polynucleotide… Continue Reading → - Fatty Acids, Triglycerides and Phospholipids – Biological Molecules Ep 4
Lipids are a particular interest of mine as my PhD was based on fat metabolism. They have important functions in organisms. Fatty acids Fatty acids… Continue Reading → - ATP – Biological Molecules Ep 5
Today we are looking at adenosine triphosphate, often just abbreviated to ATP because as with most scientific terms, it’s a bit of a mouthful. This… Continue Reading → - Water – Biological Molecules Ep 6
Water is extremely important to living organisms. Not only is it needed internally, but also externally as part of the environment – some organisms live… Continue Reading → - Glucose and Disaccharides – Biological Molecules Ep 7
Glucose is a really important carbohydrate for living organisms because it is a reactant in respiration. It is a monosaccharide – a single sugar monomer… Continue Reading → - Polysaccharides – Biological Molecules Ep 8
Last article we looked at glucose and disaccharides, which are simple carbohydrates. However, many carbohydrate molecules are made up of long chains of monosaccharides joined… Continue Reading → - Proteins – Biological Molecules Ep 9
We’ve already looked at the monomers that make up a protein: amino acids. But fully functioning proteins are often much more complex in structure than… Continue Reading → - Inorganic Ions – Biological Molecules Ep 10
Ions are atoms or molecules that have gained or lost electrons and therefore have a negative or positive charge. An inorganic ion is an ion… Continue Reading →
Continue your A-level Biology revision
These free articles are designed to support your understanding of individual Biology topics. Browse the other revision topics available on the website, or explore the complete specification-matched notes for your exam board.
