Monomers & Polymers

This covers content from all of 3.1.1 AQA A-level Biology

What is an atom?

The units that make up all molecules

What are biological molecules?

Particular groups of chemicals found in living organisms

What is molecular biology?

Study of biological molecules

What is metabolism?

All chemical processes that take place in living organisms

What is ionic bonding?

Electrostatic attraction between ions with opposing charges

What is covalent bonding?

A shared pair of electrons that forms a more stable molecule

What is a hydrogen bond?

A weak electrostatic bond that forms important forces able to alter physical properties

What are monomers?

Monomers are small, repeated molecules that can be joined together to form polymers

What bonds are monomers joined by?

Covalent bonds

What reactions join monomers together?

Condensation reactions

What is a condensation reaction?

Where two monomer units are joined together with the removal of 1 molecule of H₂O to form a bond

How does a condensation reaction look?

What are polymers?

Molecules made from many monomers joined together by a covalent bond

What reaction breaks down polymers?

Hydrolysis

What is a hydrolysis reaction?

A reaction that involves the addition of 1 H₂O molecule to break the bond between 2 monomers

How does a hydrolysis reaction look?

What are 3 examples of monomers?

• Monosaccharides

• Amino Acids

• Nucleotides