Monomers, Polymers & Reactions
This term refers to a single building-block molecule that can be joined together with others to form a larger structure.
What is a monomer?
Carbohydrates are primarily composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and serve as a quick source of this for cells.
What is energy?
Plants store excess glucose in the form of this polysaccharide.
What is starch?
Lipids do not dissolve well in water because they are nonpolar, making them described by this word meaning "water-fearing."
What is hydrophobic?
Saturated fatty acids lack double bonds in their carbon chains, causing them to be in this physical state at room temperature.
What is solid?
This chemical reaction joins two monomers together by removing a molecule of water
What is dehydration synthesis?
This 6-carbon monosaccharide is the primary fuel used by cells during cellular respiration.
What is glucose?
Animals store excess glucose in liver and muscle tissue in the form of this highly branched polysaccharide.
What is glycogen?
A standard fat molecule (triacylglycerol) is composed of one glycerol molecule attached to this many fatty acid tails.
What is three?
Unsaturated fatty acids contain carbon-carbon double bonds that introduce these into the hydrocarbon tail, preventing tight packing.
What are bends or kinks?
This process uses water to break down a polymer into smaller units, such as during digestion
What is hydrolysis?
A single sugar molecule is called a monosaccharide, while a carbohydrate composed of two sugars joined together is called this.
What is a disaccharide?
This tough polysaccharide makes up the cell walls of plants and provides structural support
What is cellulose?
Per gram, fats store more than __________ as much energy as carbohydrates like starch.
What is twice?
Phospholipids differ from fats because one fatty acid is replaced by this hydrophilic chemical group.
What is a phosphate group?
Proteins called __________ act as biological catalysts to speed up dehydration synthesis and hydrolysis reactions in cells.
What are enzymes?
This specific type of covalent bond connects sugar molecules together.
What is a glycosidic linkage (or glycosidic bond)?
This structural polysaccharide forms the exoskeletons of arthropods (like insects and crustaceans).
What is chitin?
Mammals store fat in this specialized tissue, which functions to cushion organs, insulate against heat loss, and store energy.
What is adipose tissue?
Steroids are lipids characterized by a carbon skeleton consisting of this specific structural arrangement.
What are four fused carbon rings?
Living organisms use a limited number of monomers to build thousands of unique macromolecules. The enormous diversity of biological molecules is primarily determined by this structural factor.
What is the order / arrangement of the monomers?
Fructose, glucose, and galactose are hexoses, while ribose and deoxyribose belong to this 5-carbon class of monosaccharides.
What are pentoses?
Milk sugar, or lactose, is a disaccharide made of glucose and galactose. People with lactose intolerance lack sufficient amounts of this enzyme needed to hydrolyze it.
What is lactase?
Unlike carbohydrates, proteins, and nucleic acids, lipids are unique among the major biological macromolecules because they are not considered true __________.
What are polymers?
This crucial steroid is a structural component of animal cell membranes and serves as the precursor for synthesizing steroid hormones.
What is cholesterol?