Types of Organisms, Cell Composition, excerpt 2 | MIT 7.01SC Fundamentals of Biology
MIT OpenCourseWare・2 minutes read
A cell's composition includes hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, and nitrogen, along with other essential elements. The molecular composition of a cell predominantly comprises water, proteins, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, and lipids, which are critical in biochemistry.
Insights
- Cells are primarily composed of water (80%), proteins (50%), nucleic acids (15%), carbohydrates (15%), and lipids (10%), which are essential for their structure and function.
- The elemental composition of cells includes hydrogen (60%), oxygen (20%), carbon (12%), and nitrogen (5%), as well as other elements like phosphates, sulfur, magnesium, and manganese, highlighting the diverse range of components that make up the cell.
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Recent questions
What elements make up a cell's composition?
Hydrogen, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, and others.
What are the main components of a cell's molecular composition?
Water, protein, nucleic acids, carbohydrates, lipids.
How much of a cell's composition is water?
Around 80%.
What percentage of a cell's molecular composition is protein?
About 50%.
How much of a cell's molecular composition is comprised of nucleic acids?
Approximately 15%.
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Summary
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Cell Composition: Elements and Molecules Explained
- A cell's composition consists of approximately 60% hydrogen, 20% oxygen, 12% carbon, 5% nitrogen, along with other elements like phosphates, sulfur, magnesium, and manganese.
- When considering the molecular composition of a cell, it is comprised of around 80% water, with the remaining portion consisting of approximately 50% protein, 15% nucleic acids (DNA and RNA), 15% carbohydrates, and 10% lipids. These major classes of molecules in a cell are crucial components to understand in biochemistry.
