Question

1. Fill in the blanks in the table below:

Monomer	Polymer	Name examples of some polymers of this type
	Nucleic acid	RNA ___________
Amino acids		Enzymes _____________
		Starch Cellulose

2. Highlight the correct answer for each pair: Which is bigger, a monomer or a polymer? an amino acid or a protein? a monosaccharide or a polysaccharide? a nucleotide or DNA?
3. Fill in the blanks: Condensation reactions ______________ (make or break?) polymers by __________ (adding or removing?) water.
4. Name an example of a polysaccharide. What is the name of the monomer that comprises this polysaccharide?
5. What is the function of the polysaccharide you named in #4? Where is it found (animals or plants)?

Answer 1

Monomer	Polymer	Name examples of some polymers of this type
Nucleotides	Nucleic acid	RNA
Amino acids	Proteins	Enzymes
Glucose	amylose; amylopectin	Starch
Glucose	Cellobiose	Cellulose

RNA is made up of monomers called nucleotides. Each nucleotide is made up of a nitrogenous base, a five carbon pentose sugar called ribose and a phosphate group.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins. Enzymes are made from proteins by stringing together between 100 and 1,000 amino acids in a very specific and unique order and folds into proteins.

Starch is a polysaccharide made up of glucose monomers joined in α-1,4 linkages. The simplest form of starch is the linear polymer amylose; amylopectin is the branched form. Amylose is a polysaccharide made of α-D-glucose units, bonded to each other through α(1→4) glycosidic bonds. Amylopectin is a water-soluble polysaccharide and highly branched polymer of α-glucose units found in plants.

Cellulose is a polysaccharide assembled from glucose monomer units. It is the main constituent of plant cell walls. The repeating unit of this natural polymer is a dimer of glucose, known as cellobiose.

• Bigger compounds in each pair is highlighed.

A monomer or a polymer - A polymer is bigger than a monomer.

An amino acid or a protein - A protein is bigger than an amino acid.

A monosaccharide or a polysaccharide - A polysaccharide is bigger than a monosaccharide.

A nucleotide or DNA - A DNA is bigger than a nucleotide.

• Condensation reactions make polymers by removing water.

During condensation reaction, two molecules combine to form a single molecule with the loss of a water molecule in dehydration reaction.

• Example of a polysaccharide - Glycogen

Glycogen is a multibranched polysaccharide made up of glucose monomers.

• Glycogen is the storage form of energy in animals. Glycogen serves as the main energy storage in animals, fungi, and bacteria. Glycogen is mainly stored in the liver and the muscles and provides a readily available source of energy to the body if blood glucose levels decrease.