Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care

UNIT 15: BIOCHEMISTRY FOR HEALTHUnit content1 Understand the molecules of lifeAtoms: nucleus: neutrons, protons; electrons; electronic configuration ofhydrogen, carbon, oxygen, nitrogen and the relevance to biological moleculesInorganic molecules: water — configuration, properties — eg solvent, surfacetension, importance of hydrogen bonds; carbon dioxide — configuration, covalentbonds; sodium chloride — configuration, ionic bonds; ions, eg hydrogencarbonate, phosphateOrganic molecules: condensation and hydrolysis in building polymers and breakingthem down- proteins: primary, secondary, tertiary and quarternary structure, peptides,amino acids- carbohydrates: polysaccharides (starch, glycogen, cellulose), disaccharides(sucrose, maltose, lactose), monosaccharides (glucose, fructose, galactose)- lipids: fatty acids (saturated, monounsaturated, polyunsaturated), glycerol,triglycerides, phospholipids and their role in cell membranes and assurfactants in the lungs, cholesterol- nucleic acids: nucleotides — base, pentose sugar, phosphate group; dna,double helix, complementary base pairing; rna, mrna, trna, role in proteinsynthesis; mitosis — cell replication in growth and repair, prophase,metaphase, anaphase, telophasePractical food analysis: eg for starch, reducing sugar, non-reducing sugar,protein; health and safety; structured scientific report2 Understand the principles of metabolismMetabolism: anabolism, eg protein synthesis; catabolism, eg respiration; role ofglucose and ATPMetabolic pathways: cellular respiration — glycolysis, Krebs cycle, oxidativephosphorylation, generation of ATP, anaerobic respiration, lactic acid, oxygendebt and recoveryEnzymes: role in metabolism; structure; properties, denaturation, active site,specificity, theories of enzyme action; co-enzymes, co-factors, inhibitors; effectsof substrate and enzyme concentrations, temperature and pH on rate of reactionInvestigation: principles of the scientific method; any two factors affectingenzyme activity; health and safety; structured scientific report206BN018467 – Specification – Edexcel Level 3 BTEC Nationals in Health and Social Care– Issue 1 – February 2007 © Edexcel Limited 2007