carbohydrates

• all living things have a similar biochemical basis because all monomers have similar if not the same function in all organisms
• monomers are small molecules that are joined together to form larger molecules
• polymers are large molecules made up of many repeating units called monomers
• examples of monomers are monosaccharides, amino acids and nucleotides
• during a condensation reaction the monomers are joined by a bond which is formed by the removal of a water molecule
• hydrolysis reactions break bonds formed in condensation reactions by the addition of a water molecule
• many monosaccharides join during condensation reactions forming glycosidic bonds between each monomer. this creates a polysaccharide
• examples of monosaccharides are glucose, fructose and galactose
• maltose is made up of a condensation reaction between 2 molecules of glucose
• lactose is made up of a condensation reaction between glucose and galactose
• sucrose is made up of a condensation reaction between glucose and fructose
• glucose has 2 isomers called a glucose and b glucose
• structure of alpha glucose

  
• structure of beta glucose

  
• the difference between a glucose and b glucose is that the b glucose has a hydroxyl group on the 2nd carbon
• glycogen is formed from many molecules of alpha glucose joined together by glycosidic bonds
• cellulose is formed from many molecules of beta glucose joined together by glycosidic bonds
• starch is formed from many molecules of alpha glucose joined together by glycosidic bonds
• function of glycogen is to store glucose in animal cells and release it when it is needed
• glycogen is heavily branched so can quickly release energy when needed
• function of starch is to store energy in plant cells and to provide structural support