Living Environment - What Is the Relationship Between a Polymer and a Monomer?

Michael Anazco                                                Ms. Gappelberg (Period 7)

Living Environment                                                         December 1, 2017

                     Organic Compounds/Textbook

Read pages 42-46 and do the formative assessment on the bottom of page 46.

Reviewing Main Ideas

1.What is the relationship between a polymer and a monomer?

The relationship is a polymer is a string of monomers strung together and monomers are building blocks or each individual subunit of polymers.

2. Explain how both nucleic acids and proteins are polymers. Be sure to describe the monomers that make up the polymers.  

Nucleic acids are polymers because they are long chains of many nucleotides (the monomers of nucleic acids) linked together. Proteins are polymers because they are long chains of many amino acids (the monomers of proteins) linked together.

Critical Thinking

3. Compare and Contrast How are carbohydrates and lipids similar? How are they different.         

Carbohydrates and lipids are similar because both molecules are macromolecules. This means they a molecule containing a very large number of atoms, such as a protein, nucleic acid, or synthetic polymer. The difference is that carbohydrates are molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, and they include sugars and starches. While lipids are nonpolar molecules that include fats, oils, and cholesterol.

4. Infer Explain how the bonding properties of carbon atoms result in the large variety of carbon-based molecules in living things.

The bonding properties of carbon atoms result in the large variety of carbon-based molecules in living things because all matter is composed of basic elements that cannot be broken down to substances with different chemical or physical properties.

Biochemistry

5. Why might fatty acids, amino acids, and nucleic acids increase the hydrogen ion (H*) concentration of a solution? Explain your answer.

Fatty acids, amino acids, and nucleic acids increase the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution because the usages of fatty acids, amino acids, and nucleic acids rely on carnitine to increase the hydrogen ion concentration of a solution enzyme.