Unit 1: biological molecules

Question 1

what are organic compounds made of?

Answer 1

Carbon , oxygen, hydrogen
(proteins and nuclei acids contain nitrogen)

Question 2

what are polymers?

Answer 2

long molecules made of monomers

Question 3

name 3 examples of a polysaccharide

Answer 3

starch, glycogen, cellulose

Question 4

what is a polysaccharide generally made of?

Answer 4

many sugar molecules (monosaccharides)

Question 5

what are carbohydrates?

Answer 5

‘sugar’ molecules composed of primarily Carbon, Hydrogen, Oxygen
in a ratio of 1:2:1

Question 6

what’s the common ending of sugars

Answer 6

-osę
except for glycogen and starch bc they’re made of more than 1 sugar

Question 7

what are the three types of carbohydrates?

Answer 7

mono-
di-
polysaccharides

Question 8

what is a monosaccharide?

Answer 8

the simplest sugars.
eg Glucose, and Fructose. Glucose is called a hexose as it has six carbons in its
structure while fructose is a pentose as it has 5.

Question 9

what are disaccharides?

Answer 9

sugars formed when 2 monosaccharides join together in a condensation reaction

Question 10

name to examples of a disaccharide

Answer 10

maltose (formed during the malting of barley - glucose + glucose)
sucrose (formed with a glycosidic bond - glucose + fructose)

Question 11

how is a polysaccharide formed?

Answer 11

many monomers are polymerised together through condensation reactions. E.g. Amylopectin (a polymer of glucose)
E.g. Starch

Question 12

what is a polysaccharide for?

Answer 12

used to store energy for later & to support plants

Question 13

What does the condensation reaction do?

Answer 13

It allows for the formation of disaccharide molecules (maltose + sucrose) and eventually polysaccharide molecules.

Question 14

why is a glycosidic bond strong?

Answer 14

it’s covalent

Question 15

describe the maltose condensation reaction

Answer 15

2 glucose molecules react to produce maltose a bond is formed between the carbon 1 of one glucose molecule and the carbon 4 of another. = a glycosidic bond.
If these are alpha glucose molecules = α 1,4 glycosidic bond

Question 16

what is the most common polysaccharide in plants?

Answer 16

cellulose - makes up 40-60% of the cell wall & most common polymer on earth

Question 17

why is cellulose strong?

Answer 17

made of a long chain of beta-glucose molecules –100 to 15,000 glucose molecules
rigid chain as each unit alternates and gives structural strength

Question 18

what is made of pure cellulose?

Answer 18

cotton boll

Question 19

what are the most important storage polysaccharides?

Answer 19

amylose and amylopectin

Question 20

what is amylose?

Answer 20

A long chain of alpha-glucose, several hundred to several thousand molecules long.

Question 21

what is amylopectin?

Answer 21

more complex, often made up of 50,000 molecules.

Question 22

what are amylose and amylopectin used for?

Answer 22

making starch grains. Most starch grains are about 20% amylose and 80% amylopectin

Question 23

what stores glucose in plants?

Answer 23

starch

Question 24

what stores glucose in animals?

Answer 24

glycogen

Question 25

intro to glycogen

Answer 25

glycogen is the molecule that is used to store glucose in animals. It accounts for about 5% of the weight of the liver and 0.5% of the weight of the muscles in the body

Question 26

describe the structure of glycogen

Answer 26

similar to amylopectin
heavily branched molecule containing straight chains of glucose units connected by a,1:4 linkage. The branching that results from the a 1:6 linkage is much more frequent in glycogen than in amylopectin, occurring every 8-12 glucose units rather than ever 24-28.