On a chemical level, what differentiates carbohydrates, protein, and fat?
In: Chemistry
On the absolutely most basic level, the chemical differences between them are basically that they each has a different combination of oxygen, hydrogen, and/or carbon atoms.
Lots. They are fundamentally different classes of molecules.
Carbohydrates are heavily hydroxylated hydrocarbons (that is, lots of -OH groups. They often form small rings. Your body digests them for energy.
Proteins are fragile and complex structures formed from chains of amino acids (nitrogen-containing acids) which are then folded into a unique form so that they can serve specific functions in the body.
Fats are long oily acids (long-chain hydrocarbons with a small acid group on the end) which are bond to a glycerol molecule on one end.
On a simple level, proteins contain nitrogen, carbohydrates and fats don’t. Carbohydrates and fats are somwhat alike in terms of chemical elements (carbon, hydrogen, oxygen), but their structure is different. Carbohydrates are generally smaller molecules formed from carbon, hydrogen and an -OH (alcohol) group(s). Fats are generally larger molecules consisting of a alcohol backbone (glycerol) with multiple fatty acids (long chains of carboh, hydrogen and oxygen with a -COOH (carboxylic acid group)) attached to it.
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