Monomers and Polymers - Biology | Socratic (2024)

FAQs

Monomers and Polymers - Biology | Socratic? ›

Monomers are smaller molecules, and when bonded together, make up polymers . -Fatty acids are the monomers for lipids , for example, and regardless of how they are bonded (as a saturated or unsaturated fat, for example), they will form lipids.

Answer and Explanation:

Polymers are large molecules made up of many subunits called monomers linked together to form a chain. Therefore, the relationship between monomers and polymers is that polymers are made up of monomers. For example, proteins are all made up of a polymer known as a polypeptide.

Polymers make up many of the materials in living organisms, including, for example, proteins, cellulose, and nucleic acids. Moreover, they constitute the basis of such minerals as diamond, quartz, and feldspar and such man-made materials as concrete, glass, paper, plastics, and rubbers.

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) are polymers composed of monomers called nucleotides. An RNA nucleotide consists of a five-carbon sugar phosphate linked to one of four nucleic acid bases: guanine (G), cytosine (C), adenine (A) and uracil (U).

Many macromolecules are polymers � large molecules made from two or more repeating units (called monomers). As an analogy, a polymer is like a freight train with many cars. The individual cars would represent the monomers making up the polymer.

The prefixes tell how many parts; mono- means one (a monomer is a single unit, just one building block) while poly- means much or many (a polymer is a string of hundreds or thousands of conjoined monomers).

Monomers are atoms or small molecules that bond together to form more complex structures such as polymers. There are four main types of monomer, including sugars, amino acids, fatty acids, and nucleotides.

By definition, polymers are large molecules made by bonding (chemically linking) a series of building blocks. The word polymer comes from the Greek words for “many parts.” Each of those parts is scientists call a monomer (which in Greek means “one part”).

Explanation: Monomers are small molecules that can combine to form larger molecules called polymers. Amino acids make up proteins. Monosaccharides such as glucose make up polysaccharides like starches.

The monomers combine with each other using covalent bonds to form larger molecules known as polymers. In doing so, monomers release water molecules as byproducts. This type of reaction is known as dehydration synthesis, which means “to put together while losing water.”

What are polymers and monomers for kids? ›

Polymers are very big molecules made up of many smaller molecules layered together in a repeating pattern. The smaller molecules are called monomers. Some polymers are natural, like wood, potatoes and cotton, while others are man-made, like paper and plastic.

monomer, a molecule of any of a class of compounds, mostly organic, that can react with other molecules to form very large molecules, or polymers. The essential feature of a monomer is polyfunctionality, the capacity to form chemical bonds to at least two other monomer molecules.

Polymers are formed by two main ways called addition and condensation polymerization. In addition, polymerization, an initiator (or catalyst) reacts with a starting monomer. The result of this initiation reaction is a monomer attached to the initiator with an unsatisfied bond.

Examples of naturally occurring polymers are silk, wool, DNA, cellulose and proteins. In our previous section on network polymers, we mentioned vulcanized rubber and pectin. Vulcanized rubber is a synthetic (man-made) polymer, while pectin is an example of a natural polymer.

A monomer is a molecule that can bond to another identical molecule to form a polymer. A polymer is a substance that is formed from smaller identical molecules. The relation between them is that monomers make polymers.

The monomers are the building blocks of the polymers. The polymers are the building blocks of the macromolecules. Note: In biology, the macromolecules are referred to as the major categories of molecules that are present in the cell such as proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and nucleic acids.

The common building blocks used to synthesize polymer network are multifunctional monomers. These multifunctional monomers act as branching points, which eventually connect multiple polymer chains to form crosslinked networks.

Monomers join together to make polymer chains by forming covalent bonds—that is, by sharing electrons. Other bonds then hold the groups of chains together to form a polymer material.