carbohydrates Flashcards
what are polymers made up of
Smaller molecules called monomers bonded together
What’s the name of the charbohydrates that Monomers make
Monosaccharides
how many carbons does glucose have
Glucose has six carbon atoms
What type of monosaccharide is glsucose
Glucose is a hexose monosaccharide
What are the two forms of glucose
Alpha (a)
Beta (b)
What are the chemicals that make up charbohydrates and what are their carbon atoms
chemicals that usually make up charbohydrates are
carbon(C)
hydrogen(H)
oxygen (O)
every carbon atom in the carbohydrate there are usually two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom
what joins up monosaccharides
Glycosidic bonds
What are the three polysaccharides?
Starch
Glycogen
Cellulose
What is starch
The main energy storage material in plants, Cells get energy from glucose, Plants store excess glucose as starch, when a plant needs more glucose for energy it breaks down starch to release the glucose.
describe the structure of starch.
Starch is a mixture of two polysaccharides of alpha-glucose - amylose and amylopectin
Amylose - a long, unbranched chain of a-glucose. The angles of the glycosidic bonds give it a coiled structure, almost like a cylinder. This makes it compact, so it’s really good for storage because you can fit more in to a small space.
Amylopectin - a long, branched chain of o-glucose. Its side branches allow the enzymes that break down the molecule to get at the glycosidic bonds easily.
This means that the glucose can be released quickly.
Starch is insoluble in water, so it doesn’t cause water to enter cells by osmosis which would make them swell, This makes it good for storage.
what is glycogen
main energy storage material in animals,
Animal cells get energy from glucose too but animals store excess glucose as glycogen.
Describe the structure of glycogen
Its structure is very similar to amylopectin, except that it has loads more side branches coming off it. Loads of branches means that stored glucose can be released quickly, which is important for energy release in animals.
It’s also a very compact molecule, so it’s good for storage.
What is cellulose
Component of cell walls in plants
Describe the Structure of cellulose
Cellulose is made of long, unbranched chains of beta-glucose, When beta-glucose molecules bond, they form straight cellulose chains, The cellulose chains are linked together by hydrogen bonds to form strong fibres called microfibrils.The strong fibres mean cellulose provides structural support for cells
