Polymers

Large molecules built up by repetitive bonding together of monomers

The same thing repeated

Copolymers

Obtained when two or more different monomers polymerize together

They can be random or alternating things that are repeated

Types of Polymers

Proteins - Natural Polyamides

Made up of amino acids, contain both an amine group and a carboxylic acid group

An amino acid just being repeated over and over

Starch and Cellulose - Polymers of Sugars

Also called carbohydrates

used for energy

Nucleic Acids

Make up DNA molecules

Fats and Oils

These are esters formed between alcohol glycerol and carboxylic acids

Proteins

Proteins are polymers of amino acids

Amino acids all have the general structure: N2CHRCOOH

The r group represents a functional group that varies depending on the specific amino acid in question

There are twenty amino acids in human metabolism

When 2 amino acids bond together, water is released as the carboxyl end of one amino acid bonds to the amine end of the adjacent one forming a peptide bond

Since water is lost, the process is called - Condensation Synthesis or Condensation Polymerization (we can just call it a condensation reaction lolz)

When many amino acids bond together to create long chains, the structure is called a protein (it’s also called a polypeptide because it contains many peptide bonds).

Carbohydrates

There are two types of carbs:

• Simple Sugars

  • Glucose, sucrose, fructose, etc.

• Complex Carbs

  • Carbs made of long chains of sugars
  • Starches, cellulose

Simple Sugars

• All carbs are made up of units of sugar (A.K.A. saccharide units)
• Carbs that contain one sugar unit are called monosaccharides
• Disaccharides have two sugar units bonded together
• For example, common table sugar is sucrose, a disaccharide that consists of a glucose unit bonded to a fructose unit

Complex Carbs

• These are polymers of the simple sugars
• In other words, they’re long chains of simple sugar units bonded together
• For this reason the complex carbs are often referred to as polysaccharides
• Glycogen, another polymer of glucose, is the polysaccharide used by animals to store energy
• Both starch and glycogen are polymers of glucose
• Starch is a long, straight chain of glucose units, whereas glycogen is a branched chain of glucose units