Naturally occuring polymers

Question 1

What 3 functional groups does an amino acid have?

Answer 1

• Carboxylic acid group (COOH)
• Amino group (NHH)
• R group (changes depending on which amino acid it is)

Question 2

How are proteins formed via amino acids?

Answer 2

• Proteins are polymers of amino acids. Amino acids can form polymers known as polypeptides via condensation polymersition
• The amino group of an amino acid can react with the carboxylic group of another to form a polymer chain and a molecule of water

Question 3

What is the amide bond / peptide link?

Answer 3

• Carbon to nitrogen bond between two amino acids
• H - N - C = O

Question 4

How many different nucleotides are there and how is DNA a polymer?

Answer 4

• There are 4 different nucleotides for the 4 different available bases (A, T, C, G)
• The different order these nucleotides join together in gives us different genes
• DNA is a polymer of lots of nucleotides (monomers) joined together

Question 5

How do we prevent genes from getting damaged?

Answer 5

• DNA is made of 2 polymer chains that are linked together
• These chains naturally coil, forming a double helix

Question 6

Examples of carbohydrates polymers

Answer 6

• Called polysaccharides
• Starch
• Cellulose

Question 7

Examples of carbohydrates monomers

Answer 7

• Called monosaccharides
• Glucose
• Fructose