Review the structure of the major biological chemicals and describe the properties and structures of the main materials used in sport and exercise.

Biological Chemicals and Materials

During this assignment I am going to review the structure of the major biological chemicals and I will describe the properties and structures of the main materials used in sport and exercise.

Nutrition is the process of taking in and assimilating nutrients. A balanced diet is a very important factor in maintaining good nutrition and health, there are seven important components in a balanced diet:

Carbohydrate, these are broken down to glucose to provide fast-release energy.
Fats, these contain lots of energy which can be stored for slow-release energy.
Vitamins, vitamin A (milk, butter and fish) is good for healthy skin and good night vision. Vitamin C (citrus fruits and vegetables) helps to prevent scurvy. Vitamin D (milk, fish, eggs and sunshine) prevents rickets.
Minerals, iron from liver and green vegetables prevent thyroid problems. Calcium from milk and cheese produces strong teeth and bones.
Fibre, fibre is indigestible plant material which gives the gut something to push on, helping to avoid constipation.
Water, as most of the body is water we need to constantly replace that which is lost in urine, sweat and breathing, by taking in fluids.
Protein, provides the ‘fabric’ for most of the soft tissues. A good protein intake is essential for growth and repair.

Its not enough to just make sure you eat all 7 of the components above, you have to eat them in the right proportions. Vitamins and minerals are only needed in tiny amounts but the three main components are needed in very definite proportions. For example, 25-30% of your intake need to be fats, 15-20% need to be proteins and 55-60% need to be carbohydrates.

I am now going to review the structure of the major biological chemicals, which are: carbohydrates, proteins, lipids and water.

The structure and function of carbohydrates is, a simple ring and straight chains of monosaccharides, formation of glycosidic bonds to form disaccharide’s formation of polysaccharides.

All carbohydrates contain the element carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The general formula for a carbohydrate can therefore be written as C*(H20)y.

Carbohydrates are divided into three main groups, named monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharides are sugars. They dissolve easily in water to form sweet solutions. They have the general formula (CH20)n.

Disaccharides are a process known as condensation that can join two monosaccharides. The reverse of this reaction is the addition of water, ...

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The structure and function of carbohydrates is, a simple ring and straight chains of monosaccharides, formation of glycosidic bonds to form disaccharide’s formation of polysaccharides.

All carbohydrates contain the element carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The general formula for a carbohydrate can therefore be written as C*(H20)y.

Carbohydrates are divided into three main groups, named monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharides are sugars. They dissolve easily in water to form sweet solutions. They have the general formula (CH20)n.

Disaccharides are a process known as condensation that can join two monosaccharides. The reverse of this reaction is the addition of water, which is known as hydrolysis. Enzymes control both reactions.

Polysaccharides are polymers whose sob units are monosaccharides.

The structure and function of proteins is, amino acids, formation of peptide bonds to form polypeptides, primary, secondary and tertiary structure of proteins, enzymes. They have many important functions, they are essential components of cell membrane. The oxygen carrying molecules are proteins. Antibodies that attack and destroy invading organisms are proteins. There are also different types of proteins such as; transport proteins which provide passageways for molecules to pass through the cell membrane, contractile proteins which are involved in muscular contractions and immuno proteins which are a defence system.

The structure and function of lipids is, structure of glycerol, saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, triglycerides, phospolipids, source of energy structure insulation, physical protection. Lipids are a diverse group of chemicals. The most common types are triglycerides, that are usually known as fats and oils. Triglycerides are made by the contribution of three fatty acids and one glycerol molecule.

The functions of lipids are:

Source of energy
Structural
Insulation
Physical protection

Phospholipids are a special type of lipid. It has the unusual property of having one of the three fatty acid molecules replaced by a phosphate group.

Structure and function of water, is polarisation of the water molecule, hydrogen bonding in water, lubricant, temperature buffer. Water is a method of transport in the blood, lymphatic, excretory and digestive system.

Thermal properties- Hydrogen bonding restricts the movement of water molecules. Large amounts of energy are needed to raise the temperature of water. Energy output, e.g. work/sport/thinking require energy, therefore hydration needs to be at the right level.

The structure of water is:

Major component of cells
It provides a medium for chemical reactions to take place.
The hydrogen bonding of water molecules makes the molecules difficult to separate.
Large amounts of energy are needed to convert water to gas.
Large amounts of energy must be transferred from water before it is turned into ice.

I am now going to talk about the main materials used in sport, which are:

Metals
Ceramics
Polymers
Composites

Metals

Metals in sport are essential because they are in the equipment that we use in a lot of sport. It is important how the metals are made and the strength of the metal and how the metals are formed and what kind of metals are used. Below is a section that I have produced on metals in golf clubs:

Metals are used for a lot of sports especially in golf, they are used in most parts of the clubs. They are used for steel shafts and used in club heads that are made of steel and titanium. They are designed to give you more distance off the club head that makes the game a lot easier because you can hit it greater distances. Newly designed woods and drivers are made of titanium to give you explosive distance and thinner faced clubs to the legal limits.

The steel-headed woods tend to be of a smaller size with a smaller sweet spot because of the metal it is made of. Irons are also made of steel designed with this material because it is forgiving to hit. Shafts are made of steel because it is more accurate to use. It is a lot less expensive than carbon fibre so more people will be able to afford it. It is a strong long lasting material and there are not many other materials that could do its job.

Below is a chart of the materials that are used in golf clubs and what they are used for:

So as you can see metals are used for a lot in sport. Another example is if you go in a gym near enough every piece of equipment is made of metal.

Ceramics

Ceramics have ionic or covalent bonding.
Crystal structure is strongly influenced by bonding.
This influences mechanical and physical properties.
Most ceramics are not chemical conductors.

Polymers

Polymers are long chains of molecules like perplex and nylon. They would be used in sport for clothing like football shirts and rugby tops, they will be used for covering on padding in things like ice hockey. They are quite strong and do not rip easily. So sports clubs buy these knowing that they will last.

Composites

A composite is a mixture of two or more materials for example chipboards and laminated products. This would be used in sport for things like equipment with the chipboard. This will be used a lot in smaller sports like martial arts for breaking.

There are various implications that may affect a persons decision to buy a piece of sports equipment.

The price could be to expensive which could stop the customer from buying because they don’t have enough money.
The quality of the equipment could be low so the customer will not want to pay the price for that piece of equipment.
The availability of the product, because if there are low numbers being made then there will be low numbers being sold which will result in customer dissatisfaction.
The marketing of the product, if the product was not marketed well, e.g. not shown on T.V. radio, etc… then the product will not be sold because no one will no about it.

The other area we need to consider is clothes and shoes for sport. Most of our sports clothes are made from fibres spun into a yarn or woven and knitted into fabric. There are three types of fibres:

Natural:

Wool- warm and comfortable, holds its shape and is crease resistant.

Cotton- cool and comfortable, creases but hard wearing.

Leather- keeps its shape and hard wearing.

PVC (polyvinylchloride) is made from coke and lime. It is cold and smooth to the touch and hard wearing. It is useful in making waterproof clothes for many activities.

In conclusion I have found out that there are many different sorts and types of materials used in sport, mainly the ones I have mentioned but there are a lot more.

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