Carbohydrates Flashcards
What are carbohydrates?
simple sugars and polysaccharides
What do simple sugars do?
A source of cellular energy
Building blocks for other cell constituents
What do polysaccharides do?
Storage form of sugars
Structural components of the cell
What do polysaccharides do?
They act as signalling molecules in recognition processes, adhesion of cells to each other
Where can a carbonyl group (C=O) be found?
At the end of the molecule (aldehyde sugar, aldose)
Or within the carbon chain (ketose suagr, ketose)
What is the name for three carbon sugars?
Triose
What is the name for four carbon suagrs?
Tetrose
What is the name for five carbon sugars?
Pentose
Give an example of a five carbon sugars?
Ribose in nucleic acid
What is the name for a six carbon sugars?
Hexose
Give an example of a six carbon sugar
Glucose in your blood
Galactose
What is the name for a seven carbon sugar?
Heptose
Is glucose and galactose an aldose sugar and are they optical isomers?
Yes
What is the function of glucose?
Source of energy in the production of ATP
What is the function of galactose?
Needs to be converted into glucose in an enzyme catalysed reaction
Energy production and storage
What structure do lineare structure form when in aqueous solution?
Ring strutures
What happens when cyclic structures form?
Carbon number 1 in the linear chain forms a bond with an oxygen atom and with a hydroxyl group
What are the two ways that a cyclic structure bond can be orientated?
An alpha-glucose and a beta-glucose
Is alpha or beta-glucose more stable?
Beta-glucose is more stable so it is more common
what joins together to form disacharides and polysaccharides?
Monosaccharides
What are monosaccharides?
Complex carbohydrates
What is the simplest linked monosaccharide?
When there are only two monosaccharides known as disaccharides
What is it called when the two monomers that are linked are identical?
Maltose
What is it called when the two monomers that are linked are different?
Lactose
When do simple sugars polymerise?
When a condensation reaction occurs between two hydroxyl groups
What is the result of a polymerase of simple sugars?
A covalent bond
What is a covalent bond?
A glycosidic linkage or glycosidic bond
Why can the locations of bonds vary?
Depending on the location of the hydroxyl groups in the monomers (alpha or beta)
What do the formation of bonds at different levels result in?
A different polysaccharide being formed
