BiologyCode 9700
Carbohydrates and lipids
What this topic asks you to be able to do
- describe and draw α-glucose and β-glucose in their ring forms
- define what is meant by a monosaccharide, a disaccharide and a polysaccharide, and by a monomer, a polymer and a macromolecule
- state the part played by covalent bonds when smaller molecules link together to make polymers
- state that sucrose is non-reducing, whereas glucose, fructose and maltose are reducing sugars
- describe how a glycosidic bond forms through condensation, referring to disaccharides (including sucrose) and polysaccharides
- describe how hydrolysis breaks glycosidic bonds in polysaccharides and disaccharides, making reference to the non-reducing sugar test
- outline the molecular structure of starch (amylose and amylopectin) and of glycogen, two polysaccharides, and connect these structures to the functions they serve in living organisms
- describe the molecular structure of cellulose, a polysaccharide, and outline how the way cellulose molecules are arranged helps plant cell walls to carry out their function
- state that triglycerides are hydrophobic, non-polar molecules, and describe how a triglyceride molecule is built, referring to glycerol, fatty acids (saturated and unsaturated) and how ester bonds are formed
- relate what triglycerides do in living organisms to their molecular structure
- describe how a phospholipid molecule is built, referring to its hydrophobic (non-polar) tails made of fatty acids and its hydrophilic (polar) head made of phosphate