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AS Biology > Biological Molecules 1- Molecules of life > Flashcards

Biological Molecules 1- Molecules of life Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a Monomer?

A

A monomer is a small, simple chain of molecules that form a polymer

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2
Q

What is a polymer?

A

A polymer are large, complex molecules composed by a long chain of monomers.

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3
Q

What is a condensation reaction?

A

A condensation reaction is what joins monomers together to form long chains of polymers by extracting a molecule of water.

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4
Q

What is a hydrolysis reaction?

A

A hydrolysis reaction is when a molecule of water is used to spilt up two molecules by breaking the chemical bond.

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5
Q

Monosaccharides

What 3 elements does a carbohydrate contain?

A

Carbon, Oxygen and Hydrogen

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6
Q

Monosaccharides

What is the monomer that carbohydrates are made from?

A

Monosaccharides

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7
Q

Monosaccharides

Give three examples of monosaccharides

A

Glucose
fructose
Galactose

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8
Q

Monosaccharides

Why is glucose considered to be a hexose sugar?

A

Because it has 6 carbon atoms in each molecule of glucose

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9
Q

Monosaccharides

What are the two types of Glucose?

A

Alpha glucose and Beta glucose

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10
Q

Monosaccharides

What is an isomer

A

Isomers are molecules that have the same molecular formula as each other but the atoms are connected in a different way to each other.

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11
Q

Monosaccharides

What do two Monosaccharides join together to form?

A

A disaccharide

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12
Q

Monosaccharides

What do more than to Monosaccharides join together to form?

A

A Polysaccharide

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13
Q

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW BOTH STRUCTURES OF THE ISOMERS OF GLUCOSE

A

drawings on mind maps

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14
Q

Name two properties of carbohydrates

A

Carbohydrates are a good source of energy as they are made from monosaccharides which are sugars and they are also good at storing energy in a stable form.

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15
Q

Disaccharides

When two monosaccharides are joined together what bond is formed?

A

A glycosidic bond.

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16
Q

Describe what happens when two monosaccharides join together

A

Monosaccharides join together by a condensation reaction and a molecule of water is released and a glyosidic bond is also formed.

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17
Q

What happens when water is added to a Disaccharide?(Hydrolysis reaction?

A

During a hydrolysis reaction a molecule of water is added to break the Glycosidic bond which spits the disaccharide into two (monosaccharide)

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18
Q

How is the Disaccharide Sucrose formed?

A

Sucrose is formed by the condensation reaction between Glucose and Fructose.

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19
Q

How is the Disaccharide Maltose formed?

A

Maltose is formed by the condensation reaction between Glucose and Glucose.

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20
Q

How is the Disaccharide Lactose formed?

A

Lactose is formed by a condensation reaction between Glucose and Galactose.

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21
Q

What are the three disaccharides I need to know?

A

Maltose
Sucrose
Lactose

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22
Q

How do you test for a Reducing Sugar?

A

To test for a reducing sugar you

1. Add Benedict’s Reagent (Blue) solution you are testing and heat up in a water bath until boiling point.

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23
Q

What is a negative result of The reducing sugars test?

A

If the solution remained blue then there is no reducing sugar present as no coloured precipitate has formed.

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24
Q

What is a positive result of the reducing sugars test? Also state the colours

A

If the solutions contained a reducing sugar, a coloured precipitate would form to indicate that there is a sugar present .
GREEN—-> YELLOW—->ORANGE—->BRICK RED PRECIPITATE.

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25
What do the strengths of the colours indicate?
The stronger the colour the higher/stronger concentration of reducing sugar present.
26
What are the colour strengths in the reducing sugars test used to do?
They are used to measure the amounts of concentrations of reducing sugar in each solution.
27
What are two accurate ways of comparing the concentrations of reducing sugar?
* Filter the solution and measure the precipitate | * Remove the precipitate and use a colorimeter to measure the absorbance of the remaining Benedict's Reagent.
28
What are 3 examples of reducing sugars?
All monosaccharides and some disaccharides and they are maltose and lactose.
29
What are the coloured precipitates in the Benedict's test?
GREEN YELLOW ORANGE RED
30
What can you do if there isn't a reducing sugar present?
If there isn't a reducing sugar present this could mean that there could be a non-reducing sugar present.
31
How do you test for a Non-reducing sugar?
1. Firstly, you need to break them(e.g. sucrose) down into disaccharides - Get a brand new sample(not one containing the old Benedict's Reagent) of the solution and add dilute hydrochloric acid 2. Then gently heat up in a water bath until it reaches its boiling point 3. You then need to neutralise the solution using sodium hydrocarbonate 4. Then carry out the Benedict's test that you would do when testing for a reducing sugar.
32
Polysaccharides | What are polysaccharides?
Polysaccharides are macromolecules consisting of two more monosaccharide's- joined together by glycosidic bonds.
33
Give an example of a polysaccharide? | -Amylose
For example lots of alpha glucose molecules join together by a condensation reaction (glycosidic bond is formed) to form Amylose.
34
How is a polysaccharide formed?
A polysaccharide is formed by the condensation reaction between two or more monosaccharide's
35
What are polysaccharides broken down into and how?
Polysaccharides are broken down into their continent monosaccharide's by a hydrolysis reaction.
36
Name three polysaccharides
1. Starch 2. Glycogen 3. Cellulose
37
Starch | What is starch made up of?
Starch is made up of thousands of molecules of alpha glucose joined together by condensation reactions.
38
What is starch a mixture of?
Starch is also a mixture of two polysaccharides of alpha glucose which are amylose and amylopectin
39
What are the two polysaccharides of alpha glucose?
Amylose and amylopectin
40
Where is starch found?
Starch is found in small grains inside the chloroplasts
41
How is glucose stored in plants?
In plants excess glucose is stored as starch.
42
What happens when plants needs more energy?
When plants need energy they break down the starch into glucose so it can be released.
43
Name a factor of starch grains
They are insoluble in water so don't effect the water potential up and down the xylem
44
Amylose | Describe the structure of amylose
Amylose is: 1. Very long and unbranched 2. Angled glycosidic bonds between the alpha glucose molecules cause the chain to coil giving it a helical structure- coiling makes it good for storage are more can fit in a small place 3. Hydrogen bonds form between the alpha glucose molecules which provides more stability to its helical structure.
45
Amylopetin | Describe the structure of Amylopectin
1. Long but shorter than amylose 2. Branched- means that enzymes can break down the molecule to get to the glycosidic bonds easier- so glucose gets released quicker.
46
Glycogen | What is glycogen made up?
Glycogen is the same as starch as it is made up of alpha glucose.
47
Describe how the structure of glycogen is similar to the structure of starch(amylopectin)
Glycogen is a lot similar to starch as it has the same coiled and helical structure
48
How is the structure of glycogen different to starch?
Glycogen has much shorter chains and it is more highly branched than starch
49
Where is glycogen found? if starch is found In plants
Glycogen is found in animals and bacteria only never plants
50
Where is animals is glycogen found?
In the muscles and the liver
51
What is glycogen?
Glycogen is a form of energy it is excess glucose that animals store as glycogen.
52
Is glycogen branched or unbranched?
Glycogen is quite highly branched
53
Why does glycogens coiled structure make it good for storage?
Because it is tight and compact which means a lot can fit in a small space
54
Name a property of glycogen
Glycogen is insoluble so this means that water doesn't enter or leave the cell by osmosis.
55
FACT
GLYCOGEN IS ANOTHER POLYSACCHARIDE OF ALPHA GLUCOSE
56
Why is it important that animal starch's structure is more highly branched? link to the importance of animals
This is because the enzymes can break down the molecule quicker and get to the glycosidic bonds quicker so glucose can be released quicker as some animals have a high metabolic rate and need energy fast.
57
Cellulose | What is cellulose made up of?
Cellulose is made up of many monosaccharides of Beta glucose joined together by glycosidic bonds and formed by a condensation reaction.
58
Describe the structure of cellulose
Cellulose is a very long, straight and unbranched chain of beta glucose molecules that run parallel to each other.
59
Why is cellulose straight
They are straight as when beta glucose molecules join together they form straight chains of cellulose
60
Where is cellulose found?
cellulose is found in plant cell walls
61
How are the straight cellulose chains linked together?
they are linked together by weak hydrogen bonds
62
When two cellulose chains have been linked together what do they form?
When cellulose chains have been linked together they form strong fibres called micro fibrils.
63
Why is it important that cellulose molecules form strong fibres called micro fibrils and not just hydrogen bonds.
It is important as they provide structural support for the plants cell wall and they cell wall is to prevent the cell from bursting
64
Why do cellulose molecules run parallel to each other?
They run parallel to each other to allow hydrogen bonds to form cross linkages between adjacent chains.
65
FACT
CARBOHYDRATES IS ONE OF THE PLANTS MAIN STORAGE | CELLULOSE IS THE MAIN COMPONENT IN A PLANTS CELL WALL
66
Why is cellulose a important component in a plants cell wall? -talk about structural support
1. Micro fibrils and Macro fibrils provide tensile strength- which means they can stand very high forces. 2. The macro fibrils are arranged in a mesh fashion(criss cross structure) which provide extra strength 3. They are very difficult to digest as it takes quite a lot of energy to hydrolyse the bonds found in cellulose and therefore requires enzymes
67
What are micro fibrils group together to form?
They are grouped together to form macro fibrils
68
Where are macro fibrils found?
They are found embedded in pectins which act as glue and altogether they from plant cell walls
69
In plant cell walls how are macrofibrils arranged?
They are arranged in a mesh fashion- they criss cross quite a lot
70
How does cellulose allow plant cell walls to fulfil their functions? Talk about support
1. plant cell walls provide support for the rest of the plant as plants don't have a skeleton 2. plant cell walls also allow turgidity to the cell without it bursting 2. cell wall also protects the delicate cell membrane
71
How does the cell wall become permeable to certain ions?
The criss crossing of the macro fibrils

AS Biology (4 decks)

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