Starch, cellulose and glycogen are examples of polysaccharides found in living cells - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 1 - 2015 - Paper 1
Question 1
Starch, cellulose and glycogen are examples of polysaccharides found in living cells.
All three polysaccharides
- contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
- ... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:Starch, cellulose and glycogen are examples of polysaccharides found in living cells - VCE - SSCE Biology - Question 1 - 2015 - Paper 1
Step 1
contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.
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Answer
Polysaccharides, such as starch, cellulose, and glycogen, are organic compounds composed mainly of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O). While they primarily consist of these three elements, nitrogen (N) is generally not a component of polysaccharides. Therefore, this statement is false.
Step 2
are broken down by condensation reactions.
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Answer
This statement is also incorrect. Polysaccharides are typically broken down by hydrolysis reactions, not condensation. Hydrolysis involves the addition of water to cleave the bonds between monomer units.
Step 3
are formed by joining monomers of glucose.
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Polysaccharides are indeed formed by the polymerization of glucose monomers, through glycosidic bonds. For instance, starch and glycogen consist of numerous glucose units linked together.
Step 4
are synthesised using an input of water.
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This statement is misleading. While water is produced during the synthesis of polysaccharides (condensation reactions eliminate water), the synthesis process itself generally does not require water as an input. Instead, water is a byproduct.
