3.1.1 Biological molecules

monomer

A small unit from which polymers are made

polymer

A large molecule made up of a large number of monomers

Condensation reaction

chemical bonding of monomers losing a water molecule (dehydration reaction)

Hydrolysis

breaks chemical bonds in a polymer using a water molecule

examples of monomers

Monosaccharides, amino acids and nucleotides

disaccharides

Maltose, Sucrose and Lactose

Glucose + Glucose

Maltose

Glucose + Fructose

Sucrose

Glucose + Galactose

Lactose

Carbohydrate polymers

Glycogen, Starch, Cellulose

polymer of amino acids

polypeptides

monomers of Polypeptides

amino acids

polymers of nucleic acid

DNA and RNA

Nucleic acid monomers

nucleotides

isomers of glucose

α-glucose (HO bottom) and β-glucose (OH top)

why a triglyceride is not classified as a polymer

doesn’t have repeating monomers in a chain