3 x 1 hour lessons

This short but focused module introduces you to key biological molecules and how they relate to chemical structure and bonding. You’ll begin with the structure of DNA and RNA, exploring how they are built from nucleotide monomers through condensation reactions. You’ll examine how phosphate, sugar, and base units combine to form the sugar–phosphate backbone and how base pairing through hydrogen bonds enables DNA to form a double helix. The lessons then cover how genetic information is encoded and how DNA leads to the synthesis of proteins via RNA.

You’ll then move on to the topic of drug design, learning how molecules such as medicines work by interacting with receptor sites in the body. This involves understanding molecular recognition, pharmacophores, and how size, shape, and functional groups influence drug activity.

By the end of this module, you’ll be able to:

• Describe the structure of DNA and RNA as condensation polymers

• Explain base pairing and the double-helix structure of DNA

• Understand how DNA codes for proteins via RNA

• Explain how drugs interact with receptors using ideas of shape, bonding and pharmacophores