Monomers, Polymers, and Carbohydrates (Chapter 5)

A set of practice flashcards covering condensation vs hydrolysis, monomers vs polymers, carbohydrate types (monosaccharides, disaccharides, polysaccharides), and the major polysaccharides (starch, glycogen, cellulose, chitin) along with alpha/beta glucose differences and related biology.

What is condensation synthesis (dehydration synthesis)?

A reaction that links monomers to form polymers with the loss of a water molecule.

What is hydrolysis?

Bonds in polymers are broken by adding water to produce monomers.

What is a monomer?

A repeating subunit that serves as the building block of polymers.

What is a polymer?

A large molecule consisting of many subunits called monomers bonded together covalently.

What does polymerization mean?

The process of linking monomers to form a polymer.

What is a disaccharide?

A molecule that consists of two simple sugars covalently bonded (examples: lactose, maltose, sucrose).

What is lactose?

A disaccharide made of glucose and galactose covalently bonded.

What is maltose?

A disaccharide made of two glucose molecules covalently bonded (glucose-glucose).

What is sucrose?

A disaccharide made of glucose and fructose covalently bonded.

What is a monosaccharide?

A general term used to describe a simple sugar.

What is a polysaccharide?

A molecule that consists of hundreds to thousands of simple sugars covalently bonded.

What is starch?

Storage polysaccharide in plants; composed of alpha-glucose; includes amylose (unbranched) and amylopectin (branched); forms a helical structure.

What is glycogen?

Storage polysaccharide in animals; highly branched; stored in liver and muscles; more branched than amylopectin.

What is cellulose?

Structural polysaccharide in plants; beta-glucose; 1-4 linkages; linear and unbranched; not digested by humans; forms plant cell walls.

What is chitin?

Structural polysaccharide in arthropods and fungi; polymer of amino sugars with beta linkages; forms exoskeletons; nitrogen-containing appendage.

How do alpha and beta glucose differ?

Alpha: OH on C1 below the ring; Beta: OH on C1 above the ring; affects the type of linkages and resulting structure.

Why can't humans digest cellulose?

Because it is made of beta-glucose with beta-1,4 linkages that human enzymes cannot hydrolyze.

What are examples of symbiosis related to cellulose digestion?

Termites with gut protozoa; ruminants (e.g., cows, sheep) with gut microbes that digest cellulose.

What is the difference between starch and cellulose in terms of structure and function?

Starch: energy storage in plants; alpha-glucose; 1-4 linkages; digestible by humans. Cellulose: structural in plants; beta-glucose; 1-4 linkages; linear; indigestible by humans.

What are amylose and amylopectin?

Two components of starch: amylose is unbranched; amylopectin is branched.

What is the significance of 1-4 glycosidic linkages?

They connect glucose units in many polysaccharides; the alpha form (starch) forms helices, while the beta form (cellulose) creates linear, rigid structures.