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3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

SPECIFICATION

‒ The variety of life, both past and present, is extensive, but the
biochemical basis of life is similar for all living things.
‒ Monomers are the smaller units from which larger molecules are
made.
‒ Polymers are molecules made from a large number of monomers
joined together.
‒ Monosaccharides, amino acids and nucleotides are examples of
monomers.
‒ A condensation reaction joins two molecules together with the
formation of a chemical bond and involves the elimination of a
molecule of water.
‒ A hydrolysis reaction breaks a chemical bond between two molecules
and involves the use of a water molecule.

Source: AQA Spec

AQA A-Level Biology 3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

What are monomers?

Monomers are small, identical or similar molecules that can be joined together to make
larger molecules - called polymers.

What are polymers?

Polymers are large molecules, which are formed by joining many identical or very
similar monomers together.

Example of a Polymer

Monomer Bonds

Monomers: Key monomers to learn

Nucleic acids, amino acids, α&β glucose, fructose, fatty acids and glycerol are all
examples of monomers. Isomers are molecules with the same molecular formula but
different molecular arrangement.

DNA and RNA nucleotides

A nucleotide is made up of three components:
1. A nitrogenous base
2. A pentose sugar
3. One or more phosphate groups.

Two types of pentose sugar are found in nucleotides: Deoxyribose (found in DNA) and
ribose (found in RNA). Deoxyribose is similar in structure to ribose but it has an H
instead of an OH at the 2’ positions.

The diagram below shows the structure of a nucleotide.

AQA A-Level Biology 3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

Diagram of Nucleotides (DNA and RNA)

Image source: OpenStax College, Biology

AQA A-Level Biology 3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

Glucose
Glucose is a hexose sugar (a monosaccharide), which has six carbon atoms in each
molecule.

The two types of glucose are alpha (α) and beta (β). They are isomers, which means
they have the same molecular formula, but the atoms are connected in a different way.

In your exam, you need to know the structure of both types of glucose. This is actually
easy because there’s only one difference between them, as the diagram below shows:

The two types of glucose have these groups reversed,

as shown in the diagrams on the right.

Image source: OpenStax College, Biology

AQA A-Level Biology 3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

Other important monomers

Below are examples of fructose and amino acids - two monomers you need to know for
your exams.

Fructose

Amino acids

Image source: OpenStax College, Biology

AQA A-Level Biology 3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

Polymers: Key polymers to learn

The three main polymers you need to know:

1. Carbohydrates - monomers are joined by glycosidic bonds
2. Proteins - monomers are joined by peptide bonds
3. Lipids - monomers are joined by ester bonds.

Glycosidic bond

Image source: OpenStax College, Biology

AQA A-Level Biology 3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

Peptide bond

Peptide bond formation is a dehydration synthesis reaction. The carboxyl group of one
amino acid is linked to the amino group of the incoming amino acid. In the process, a
molecule of water is released.

Image source: OpenStax College, Biology

AQA A-Level Biology 3.1.1 Monomers and Polymers

Ester bond

Triacylglycerol is formed with an ester bond by the joining of

three fatty acids to a glycerol backbone in a dehydration reaction.
Three molecules of water are released in the process.

Image source: OpenStax College, Biology