Uses of glucose Flashcards
(7 cards)
what are some uses of glucose?
storage
seeds
fruit
cell walls
growth and repair
respiration
how can glucose be used in storage and what is it turned into?
It turns into starch (insoluble)
can be stored in the roots,leaves or stems so that when photosynthesis can not happen e.g. in winter or at night it still has food as it can concert the starch back into glucose
how can glucose be used in seeds and what is it turned into?
it will be converted to lipids (fats)
this helps plants to make membranes and humans can use them to make oils such as sunflower oil
how can glucose be used in fruits and what is it turned into?
glucose and another sugar fructose are turned into sucrose for storing in fruit
this makes fruit taste nice so that animals eat them and spread their seeds everywhere through their faeces
how can glucose be used in cell walls and what is it turned into?
glucose is turned into cellulose which is used for making cell walls, a tough layer that surrounds the cell
this provides structural support and protection allowing plants to grow tall without any other support
and prevents the over expansion of the cell when osmosis moves water in
how can glucose be used in growth and repair and what is it turned into?
glucose is combined with nitrates to make amino acids which can then be made into proteins, enzymes, ribosomes and structural parts of the plant
allows the plant to grow and repair damaged tissues
leafs and nuts always contain lots of protein because they need to sustain the plant in its first few days of life
how can glucose be used in repiration and what is it turned into?
plants use glucose in repiration in order to release energy
the released energy can be used to turn the rest of the glucose into other useful substances which plants can use to build new cells and grow
also active transport needs energy e.g. roots absorbing mineral ions
