What are the basic building blocks of life?

On a cellular level these are:
1. Cell Membrane - surrounds the entire cell and maintains its integrity.
2. Nucleus - contains the genetic material in the DNA.
3. Golgi Apparatus - Large bio-molecules (e.g. proteins) are "packaged" for transportation and excretion.
4. Cytoplasm - clear gel containing a number of bio-molecules including proteins, sugar, RNA, etc
5. Mitochondria - produces energy by carrying out glycolysis.

On a molecular level the building blocks of a cell are:
1. Carbohydrates - These molecules are comprised of the elements carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). Commonly, these molecules are known as sugars.
2. Proteins - Proteins are composed of smaller units called monomers. The monomers that make up proteins are called amino acids. There are around twenty different amino acids.
3. Lipids - The term lipid refers to a wide variety of bio-molecules including fats, oils, waxes and steroid hormones.
4. Nucleic Acids - There are two main types of nucleic acid, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA). Both of these molecules are polymers. The monomers used to build nucleic acids are called nucleotides. The nucleotides are often referred to by the single letter abbreviations A, C, G, T and U.
5. Combinations - Combinations of the above, e.g. cell membrane containing a lipid bilayer that may also contain proteins.