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Polysaccharides
Introducing Polysaccharides:
Polysaccharides are carbohydrate polymers made up of many
monosaccharides.
True polysaccharides have more than 10 monosaccharides joined together-
smaller chains are called oligosaccharides.
Polysaccharides are formed by joining together monosaccharides in a series of
condensation reactions.
Polysaccharides are broken down in a series of hydrolysis reactions to form
monosaccharides- this can happen in 2 ways:
Hydrolysis and hydrolsis
Snapped in half
Polysaccharides can be formed by:
Chaning the type of monosaccharide
Changing how the monosaccharides are bonded together
Polysaccharides are used as energy sources- alpha glucose is the main source
of energy in respiration
Excess chemical energy is stored in cells by forming polysaccharides of alpha
glucose.
Alpha glucose polysaccharies are well-suited to energy storage for a number of
reasons:
They are compact so a lot of energy can be stored
They are insoluble in water- don’t impact the water potential of a cell
They are large so they don’t diffuse out of the cell
They can be easily hydrolysed to alpha glucose when energy is needed
Polysaccharides 1
Polysaccharides
Introducing Polysaccharides:
Polysaccharides are carbohydrate polymers made up of many
monosaccharides.
True polysaccharides have more than 10 monosaccharides joined together-
smaller chains are called oligosaccharides.
Polysaccharides are formed by joining together monosaccharides in a series of
condensation reactions.
Polysaccharides are broken down in a series of hydrolysis reactions to form
monosaccharides- this can happen in 2 ways:
Hydrolysis and hydrolsis
Snapped in half
Polysaccharides can be formed by:
Chaning the type of monosaccharide
Changing how the monosaccharides are bonded together
Polysaccharides are used as energy sources- alpha glucose is the main source
of energy in respiration
Excess chemical energy is stored in cells by forming polysaccharides of alpha
glucose.
Alpha glucose polysaccharies are well-suited to energy storage for a number of
reasons:
They are compact so a lot of energy can be stored
They are insoluble in water- don’t impact the water potential of a cell
They are large so they don’t diffuse out of the cell
They can be easily hydrolysed to alpha glucose when energy is needed
Polysaccharides 1
