Types of Saccharide
- Carbohydrates are one of the main carbon-based compounds in living organisms
- All molecules in this group contain C, H and O
- Carbon atoms are key to the structure of organic compounds because
- Each carbon atom can form covalent bonds; this makes the compounds very stable
- Covalent bonds are so strong they require a large input of energy to break them
- Carbon atoms can form covalent bonds with oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur
- Carbon atoms can bond to form straight chains, branched chains, or rings
- Each carbon atom can form covalent bonds; this makes the compounds very stable
- Carbon atoms are key to the structure of organic compounds because
- Carbon compounds can form small, single subunits, or monomers, that bond with many repeating subunits to form large molecules, or polymers
- This is a process called polymerisation
- The three types of carbohydrates are monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides
Monosaccharides
- Monosaccharides are the monomers of carbohydrate; they can join together to make carbohydrate polymers
- Monosaccharides are simple carbohydrates
- Monosaccharides are sugars
- There are different types of monosaccharide formed from molecules with varying numbers of carbon (C) atoms, for example
- Triose (3C) eg. glyceraldehyde
- Pentose (5C) eg. ribose
- Hexose (6C) eg. glucose
Disaccharides
- Two monosaccharides can join together via condensation reactions to form disaccharides
- A condensation reaction is one in which two molecules join together via the formation of a new chemical bond, with a molecule of water being released in the process
- The new chemical bond that forms between two monosaccharides is known as a glycosidic bond
Polysaccharides
- Starch, glycogen, and cellulose are examples of polysaccharides
- Polysaccharides are carbohydrate polymers; repeated chains of many monosaccharides joined by glycosidic bonds in a condensation reaction
Starch
- Starch is the storage polysaccharide of plants
- It is stored as granules inside plant cells
- Plants make glucose during photosynthesis and the molecules of glucose are joined to make the polysaccharide starch
- Starch is constructed from two different polysaccharides
- Amylose and amylopectin
Glycogen
- Glycogen is the storage polysaccharide of animals and fungi
- It is highly branched and not coiled
- Glycogen is compact which means that much can be stored in a small space
- Liver and muscles cells have a high concentration of glycogen, present as visible granules; this enables a high cellular respiration rate
Examiner Tip
Although cellulose is an important polysaccharide you do not need to know about it in this topic.
Make sure you are clear on the differences between starch and glycogen.