Fruit Loops-Protein Molecules and Collagens

In class we did an activity where we stringed fruit loops together on a string. Can you guess what this is supposed to represent? Protein Molecules!! This was probably the best way Mr. Ludwig could of taught protein molecules to me because I love fruit loops! (one of my favorite parts was eating them afterwords)

This is what I learned:

Protein Molecules have 20 different amino acids. (we didn't have 20 different colors to represent them but that's where a highschoolers imagination comes to play). Amino acids are molecules. They are composed of an amino group and an acidic group. There is a third group known as the R group. (this group has  everything else that comes in and joins the protein). This group is what gives the proteins different characteristics.

When you combine amino acids you get peptides. Peptides are a covalent bond between the acid group of one amino acid and an amino group of another amino acid. When you combine peptides you get polypeptides.

Proteins can have many different functions. For example they can be enzymes, provide support, transport substances, defend the body, and regulate metabolism.

After we made strands of protein molecules we combined with other people to make different kinds of proteins. Sierra, Sidney, and I braided ours together and made an example of collagen. This was not the only way you could combine them. Other groups in class combined theirs to make globular protein. You can tell the difference between them because a collagen is a strand and a globular protein is a huge glob.

Collagen is a type of protein. It is made of fibers and it connects and supports body tissues. Tissues it connects are skin, bone, tendons, muscles, and cartilage. Collagen is present supporting internal body organs and is can be found in teeth. Actually there are 25 types of collagen in the human body. Some people say it is the glue that holds the human body together. If a body didn't have collagen we would fall apart! (but the collagen in our body isn't made of fruit loops! :-) ) Collagen is very strong and is different from many other proteins.
Collagen can be found inside and outside the cell walls. It's fibers play a major part in the external structure of cells. Collagen plays a major part in the body and can be used in medicine. The organ collagen is mainly associated with is the skin. It helps provide skin with flexibility, strength, and resilience. Collagen loses its structure when it is heated.

There are several types of collagen.
Type 1: is the long, simple chain we made in class. It has three polypeptide chains. It can weave together and make fibrils. Fibrils are the space between cells.

Type 4: This is pretty much like type 1. You add a head on one end and a tail on the other end. When you get four type 4's together the heads come together in the middle and the tails spread out in like the shape of an X. They form a dense mat of them.

I only know about these two types of collagen because the guy that taught it to me only knew about these two. ;-)