Cellulose

Question 1

What is cellulose

Answer 1

• A structural polysaccharide found in plant cell walls.
• Cellulose is made up of thousands of ß-glucose units which are held together by 1,4 glycosidic bonds, forming long unbranched chains.
• Hydrogen bonds form between the OH groups and aid structural stability
• 60-70 cellulose molecules become tightly cross linked to form Microfibrils
• These microfibrils are then in turn held together in bundles called fibres
• The fact that there are spaces between the fibres mean that plants are freely permeable

Question 2

What does the cellulose consist of

Answer 2

Many long chains of parallel beta glucose units which join together to form microfibrils

Question 3

What is the name given to a collection of microfibrils

Answer 3

Fibres