Biological molecules Flashcards
Carbohydrates
What is a polymer?
Made from lots of monomers bonded together
What is a monomer?
smaller units which can create larger molecules
What are polymers of glucose and nucleotides?
Glucose - starch, glycogen and cellulose are its polymers
Nucleotides - DNA and RNA are its polymers
What are monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides?
Monosaccharides - carbohydrates which are monomers (eg. glucose, fructose and galactose)
Disaccharides - carbohydrates which consist of two monomers - (eg sucrose, lactose, maltose)
Polysaccharides - carbohydrates which are polymers (eg. starch, glycogen, cellulose)
What are the two isomers of glucose?
Alpha glucose and beta glucose
What are features of disaccharides? and how are they formed?
Made from two monosaccharides and joined together by glycosidic bond.
Formed via condensation reaction
What are examples of disaccharide formations?
Glucose + glucose -> maltose + water
Glucose + galactose -> lactose + water
Glucose + fructose -> sucrose + water
How is starch formed?
Formed via condensation reactions between many glucose monomers (amylose and amylopectin)
Where is starch found and what is its function?
- Found in plant cells
- Insoluble store of glucose
What bond is formed when amylose undergoes condensation reaction?
1-4 glycosidic bond
How is glycogen formed? And where is it found?
Glycogen forms by many condensation reactions between alpha glucose
Found in muscle and liver cells
What is function of glycogen?
It is an insoluble source of glucose.
How is cellulose formed?
By many condensation reactions between beta glucose via 1-4 glycosidic bonds
What is the function of cellulose and where is it found?
Cellulose provides strength to plant cell walls and is found in cell walls of plants
What are fibrils?
Long straight chains which lie parallel and are held together by hydrogen bonds