Biology CH 5: Molecules; Polymers; Monomers; Dehydration Reaction; Hydrolysis

Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, and nucleic acids

Members of 3 of these classes (carbohydrates, proteins and nucleic acid) and are HUGE

Explain how the molecule works

- a long molecule consisting of many similar or identical monomers linked by covalent bonds - much as a train consists of a chain of cars

The repeating units that serve as the building blocks of a polymer; also have functions of their own

Specialized molecules that speed up chemical reaction

When monomers are connected by a reaction in which two molecules are covalently bonded to each other, with a loss of a water molecule

Each monomer contributes part of the water molecule that is released during the reaction; this reaction is repeated as monomers are added to the chain one by one, making polymer

- when polymers are disassembled to monomers- a process that is essentially the reverse of dehydration retain- it means to break using water- the bond between monomers is broken by the addition of a water molecule, with the hydrogen from the water attaching to one monomer and hydroxyl group attaching to the adjacent monomer- an EX is the process of digestion

- these molecules are constructed from only 40 to 50 common monomers- building a huge variety of polymers from such a limited number of monomers is analogous to constructing thousands of words from only 26 letters of the alphabet- the key is arrangement; the particular linear sequence that the units follow

Hydrolosis