Question

state the function of glycogen and cellulose and describe how their structures are suitable to functions.

Answer 1

Glycogen: Glycogen is a polysaccharide made up of alpha glucose monomers and thus store energy for use during glucose crisis. There are 1-6 glycosidic bonds occur between glucose which allow glycogen to be branched. Glycosidic bonds between glucose molecules are not easily hydrolyzed and thus canbe stored for future use. It is hydrolyzed by three to four parts of water during shortage of glucose in the blood.

Cellulose: Cellulose is a tough, hard and fibrous polysaccharide. Cellulose is composed of thousands of glucose molecules attached together in the form of a chain. Side by side arrangements of several such chains form stable fibers of great tensile strength.

It is the structure of cellulose which makes it very useful. 30% of the plant cell wall is composed of cellulose which serves many functions including connecting cells with each other resulting into formation of tissues, controlling the shape of plant cells and allowing cells to withstand the turgor pressure of the fluids inside them.