B1.1 Flashcards
Carbohydrates
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
What are Marcomolecules?
- A larger molecule made up of many repeating sub-units. (made up of a very large number of atoms and have a relative molecular mass above 10,000 atomic mass units.
- The four macromolecules: Carbohydrates, Lipids, Proteins, Nucleic Acids.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
What are monomers?
- The small, repeating units that marcomolecules are made up of.
- They are building blocks –> the smallest unit that is still classified as that molecule type.
- Marcomolecules are unique due to it being made up of different monomers.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
What are Condensation Reactions?
- Involves the formation of the covalent bond between two monomers.
- This happens by removing atoms from each ot the monomers - a hydrogen - from one and a hydroxl group (OH) so that the monomers are reactive.
- The end result is a polymer (first dimer than a polymer once done many times) –> water is formed as a waste product.
- Also referred to as dehydration synthesis/ polymerisation.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
What are Hydrolysis Reactions?
- The opposite of condensation reactions —> they start with a polymer and break the bonds, to break the polymer into many monomers.
- Water is also split in the process and the hydrogen and hydroxyl from the water is used to stabilise the new monomers.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
Unique features of Carbon
- carbon atoms have 6 electrons with 4 in the outer shell –> very effective at forming covalent bonds with other carbon atoms or different atoms.
- Can actually form four covalent bonds and can form single/ double bonds giving a wide variety or compouds it can form.
- Can effectively form long chains and rings creating very diverse structural compounds.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
Polymers are made of Monomers.
- The four main biomolecules (molecules needed for living organisms) –> unique molecules beacuse they each have a different building block (monomer.)
The monomer and polymer combos are:
1) Carbohydrates are made up of monosaccharides
2) Lipds are made up of fatty acids (and glycerol and/or phosphate group.)
3) Proteins are made up of amino acids.
4) Nucleic Acids are made up of nucelotides.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
Importance of Condensation Reactions
- They are building reactions, so when tissue is built for the body, condensation reactions are used.
- Protein synthesis is an example of condensation reaction that is the most crucial role of every cell.
- When energy is stored in larger carbohydrates, condensation reactions are occurring.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
Water as the Waste Production of Condensation
- During condensation reations, the previously stable monomers must be reactive.
- This is done by removing something from each monomer –> to do so in a way that creates a safe waste product, a Hydrogen is removed from one monomer and a hydroxyl (OH) from the other.
- The two monomers covalently bond where the elements were removed and the H and OH combine to make water —> water is the waste product.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
Importance of Hydrolysis Reactions
- when larger macromolecules in human bodies are broken down to use the building blocks, a hydrolysis reaction is occurring. (DIGESTION)
- Polymers are generally consumed and hydrolysis using digestive enzymes breaks food into monomers for use in our bodies.
Condensation reactions and hyrolysis
Role of Water in Hydrolysis Reactions
- Once the bond in a polymer is broken, the monomers would be reactice and not stable in that state –> to prevent the polymers from reconnecting, water is also split.
- The hydrogen will go to one monomer and the hydroxyl to anotherm so that both monomers are chemically stable, when they are seperated.
Carbohydrates
What is a monosaccharide?
- Means ‘one sugar’, the monomer of all carbohydrates
- Most monosaccharides have 5 or 6 carbons and form rings in aqueous solutions.
- Ribose, Deoxyribose and Glucose are important monosaccharides you already have encoountered.
Carbohydrates
What is a polysaccharide?
- Polysaccharide means many sugars.
- when many monosaccharides have chemically bonded together we call it is a polysaccharide.
- “Complex Carbohydrate”
- Polysaccharides can be broken into monosaccharides to provide emergy so consdiered a form of energy storage.
- Also perform important structural functions in cells.
Carbohydrates
What is Cellulose?
- Cellulose is a polysaccharide that makes up the cell walls of plants.
- It is a long chain of glucose molecules but alternates between two different forms of glucose (alpha and beta glugose) which makes it distinct from starch and creates bonds between chains.
- Creates long straight fibres making it an ideal structural polymer.
- More organisms lack the enzyme to digest cellulose so it does not provide energy —> also called a dietary fibre.
Carbohydrates
Pentose vs Hexose Sugars
All sugars contain a carbon backbone.
- A pentose monosaccharide contains 5 carbons –> examples include fructose and ribose. –> their formula is C5 H10 O5.
- A hexose monosaccharide contains 6 carbons —> example is glucose. —> their formula is C6 H12 O6
Carbohydrates
What are Glycoproteins?
- When a carbohydrate is actually chemically bonded to another biomolecule to make a ‘conjugated carbon compound.’
- Glycoproteins are a carbohydrate chain bonded to a protein.
- Found in cell membranes where the carbohydrate chain is attatched to a membrane protein.
- Play an important role in cell to cell recognition and communication.
