Question

Define (in words) the general structure of a sugar molecule in its linear form and explain in which way nature uses sugars to build more complex materials (10 mark in total)

Answer 1

Some of that carbohydrate is in the form of sugars. These provide the potato, and the person eating the potato, with a ready fuel source. A bit more of the potato's carbohydrate is in the form of fiber, including cellulose polymers that give structure to the potato’s cell walls. Most of the carbohydrate, though, is in the form of starch, long chains of linked glucose molecules that are a storage form of fuel. When you eat French fries, potato chips, or a baked potato with all the fixings, enzymes in your digestive tract get to work on the long glucose chains, breaking them down into smaller sugars that your cells can use.

Carbohydrates are biological molecules made of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen in a ratio of roughly one carbon atom to one water molecule. This composition gives carbohydrates their name: they are made up of carbon (carbo-) plus water (-hydrate). Carbohydrate chains come in different lengths, and biologically important carbohydrates belong to three categories: monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

Structure of glucose:-

Glucose is a group of carbohydrates which is a simple sugar with a chemical formula C6H12O6. It is made of six carbon atoms and an aldehyde group. Therefore, it is referred to as an aldohexose. It exists in two forms viz open-chain (acyclic) form or ring (cyclic) form.here we will see about linear form or acyclic form , as asked in the question.

The primary source of energy required for living organisms is glucose. Plants and algae prepare glucose during the process of photosynthesis with the help of water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide. It is naturally found in fruits, honey. Glucose in animals is obtained by the process of glycogenolysis.

Steps to Draw Open Chain Structure of a Glucose Molecule:-
Step 1: Draw 6 carbon atoms

Step 2: Draw extended arms for all the carbon atoms excluding the first one.

Step 3: Now draw hydrogen to carbon bond such that four are on one side and one on the other side.

Step 4: The remaining spaces should be filled with an OH group.

Step 5: Complete the ends with two single-bonded hydrogen bond and one double-bonded carbon.

in which way nature uses sugars to build more complex materials:-

Complex carbohydrates are very common in animals, plants, and bacteria. They are constituents of cell membranes, as well as subcellular materials of cells. They are also found in physiological fluids such as blood, tears, milk, and urine. It was estimated recently that the covalent structures of between 4,000 and 6,000 natural carbohydrates have been determined.

Many complex carbohydrates are unsubstituted at their reducing ends and are referred to as polysaccharides; examples include the oligosaccharides of milk, the cellulose of plant cell walls, and storage forms such as starch and glycogen. Many other naturally occurring complex carbohydrates are covalently connected to other molecules, such as proteins or lipids, by glycosidic linkages of the sugar residues at their reducing ends to form glycoconjugates.