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Summary Biological Molecules
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Covers the entirety of the 3.1 section including: 3.1.1 - Monomers and Polymers, 3.1.2 - Carbohydrates and 3.1.3 - Lipids
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3.1.1 – Monomers and PolymersMonomers – small and basic molecular units
- Monosaccharides, amino acids and nucleotides are all examples of monomers that
form a long, polymeric chain
Polymers – large and complex molecules that consist of many monomers joined together
- Carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acids are all examples of polymers made up of
multiple monomers
Condensation – the joining of two monomers involving the removal of water
- In carbohydrates, two monosaccharides form a glycosidic bond as part of their
condensation reaction, creating a disaccharide, allowing a polymer to be formed
Hydrolysis reaction – the splitting of polymers
- A disaccharide is split after the addition of a water molecule, forming two monomers
3.1.2 – Carbohydrates
Monosaccharides – Glucose, Fructose, Galactose
- There are two isomers of glucose: Alpha and Beta
- Alpha contains an H-OH bond whereas Beta
contains an OH-H bond
Disaccharides
- Sucrose = Glucose + Fructose
- Lactose = Glucose + Galactose
- Maltose = Glucose + Glucose
Starch
- Starch is used by plants as a method of storing energy
- Starch consists of two polysaccharides of alpha glucose: amylose and amylopectin
o Amylose – a long unbranched chain of alpha glucose molecules which gives it
a coil-like structure, making it an effective storage molecule
o Amylopectin – a long branched chain of alpha glucose molecules which allow
multiple enzymes to hydrolyse the monomer bonds, releasing energy quicker
- Starch is insoluble in water, having a benefit as it doesn’t disrupt water potential,
meaning that cells don’t experience osmolysis
Cellulose
- Cellulose consists of a long and unbranched chain of beta-glucose
- Multiple chains of beta-glucose form hydrogen bonds between each other. The
hydrogen bonds are individually weak, but a large number of hydrogen bonds
require a greater energy to break, creating strong microfibrils
- This advantage makes cellulose useful as a structural molecule, reinforcing plant cell
walls
- Cellulose is also insoluble to water, preventing water from entering plant cells
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