Comparing & Contrasting the Four Main Macromolecules The cell, also known as the building blocks of life, is a necessity for any kind of life, but what exactly makes up the cell itself? The cell is like a city, and like every city it needs structures. In a city there are usually buildings, but in a cell the structures inside of it are called organelles. Buildings are made out of bricks, steel, concrete, wood, and other materials, organelles are made out of macromolecules. There are four classes of macromolecules which are: carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids. Although they are all macromolecules they have many similarities as well as differences. Carbohydrates are composed of C(carbon), H(hydrogen), and O(oxygen), in a 1:2:1 ratio. Carbohydrates can be divided into three groups, monosaccharaides (one simple sugar), disaccharides (combination of two simple sugars), and polysaccharides (combination of three or more simple sugars). Monosaccharaides is glucose, disaccharides is sucrose, and polysaccharide is starch. Monosaccharaides and disaccharides have two hydroxide groups bonded to the carbon backbone plus an aldehyde or ketone group, and polysaccharides is made of several covalently bonded monosaccharides. The monosaccharaides and disaccharides, which are smaller carbohydrates, are commonly referred to as sugars. These often end in the suffix –ose while polysaccharide doesn’t. Monosaccharaides and disaccharides come from fruits, sugarcane, sugar bent,