Carbohydrates are organic molecules that only contain carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with the general formula Cn(H2O)n.Glucose, fructose and galactose are simple sugars.A single sugar is known as a monosaccharide and can act as a monomer for larger molecules called polysaccharides.Common polysaccharides are starch, glycogen, cellulose and chitin.Monosaccharides are soluble in water whereas polysaccharides are insoluble in water and are used as structural components of cell walls(cellulose, chitin) or energy storage molecules(starch, glycogen).
Carbohydrates
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Specification: OCR Biology A (H020), AS-level, 2.1.2 Biological molecules. Topic: Biological Molecules.
Key terms in this lesson
- monomer
- A small molecule that acts as a repeating structural unit of a larger polymer.
More in Biological Molecules
- Density of Water
- Cohesion, Adhesion and Surface Tension
- Specific Heat Capacity of Water
- Water as a Solvent
- Glucose
- Other Monosaccharides
- Condensation Reactions
- Hydrolysis
All 63 lessons in Biological Molecules · All OCR AS-level Biology topics