What is a macromolecule?

What is a macromolecule?

• A. A small molecule
• B. Large molecule made of multiple molecules bonded together
• C. A single atom
• D. A cluster of organs

Answer: (B)

Macromolecules are very large molecules formed when many smaller units, called monomers, are linked together by covalent bonds to create polymers. This assembly gives them high molecular weight and complex, large structures. In biology, common examples are proteins (built from amino acids), nucleic acids like DNA (built from nucleotides), and polysaccharides (built from sugars). The idea to focus on is that a macromolecule is a big, complex molecule made by connecting multiple smaller units. This helps explain why the other ideas don’t fit: a small molecule is much smaller and not made from many repeating units; a single atom isn’t a molecule (and certainly not a macromolecule); and a cluster of organs is a collection of organs, a different level of biological organization altogether, not a molecule.

Macromolecules are very large molecules formed when many smaller units, called monomers, are linked together by covalent bonds to create polymers. This assembly gives them high molecular weight and complex, large structures. In biology, common examples are proteins (built from amino acids), nucleic acids like DNA (built from nucleotides), and polysaccharides (built from sugars). The idea to focus on is that a macromolecule is a big, complex molecule made by connecting multiple smaller units.

This helps explain why the other ideas don’t fit: a small molecule is much smaller and not made from many repeating units; a single atom isn’t a molecule (and certainly not a macromolecule); and a cluster of organs is a collection of organs, a different level of biological organization altogether, not a molecule.