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IB Biology B1.1: Carb. & Lipids — Practice Questions & Answers
IB Biology B1.1 study notes: monosaccharides to polysaccharides, condensation and hydrolysis, and the structure and roles of triglycerides and phospholipids.
Here are 10 practice questions with full answers and explanations.
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Practice questions with answers
1
Multiple choice
What is a key chemical property of carbon that allows for diverse compounds?
Ability to form up to four covalent bonds
High electronegativity
Inability to form double bonds
Low reactivity
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Why Carbon can form up to four covalent bonds, enabling a vast diversity of stable organic molecules.
2
Multiple choice
What type of bonds can carbon form?
Single and double bonds
Ionic bonds only
Its tendency to readily participate in hydrogen bonding, facilitating the formation of complex polar molecules
Metallic bonds only
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Why Carbon forms both single and double covalent bonds, increasing the variety of possible compounds.
3
Multiple choice
What is the process by which monomers are linked to form polymers?
Condensation reaction
Hydrolysis reaction
Oxidation reaction
Reduction reaction
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Why Condensation reactions join monomers into polymers, releasing a water molecule for each bond formed.
4
Multiple choice
What is the process by which polymers are broken down into monomers?
Hydrolysis reaction
Condensation reaction
Dehydration reaction
Polymerization reaction
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Why Hydrolysis breaks polymers into monomers by adding water across each bond.
5
Multiple choice
What happens to water molecules during hydrolysis?
They are split to provide -H and -OH groups
They are released as a byproduct
They are not involved
They are condensed
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Why In hydrolysis, water is split so its -H and -OH groups are added to the separated monomers.
6
Multiple choice
Which of the following is an example of a monosaccharide?
Fructose
Sucrose
Maltose
Lactose
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Why Fructose is a single sugar unit, making it a monosaccharide.
7
Multiple choice
What is a key property of glucose that makes it suitable for energy use?
Solubility and transportability
Insolubility
Yields energy from reduction
Chemical Instability
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Why Glucose is soluble and easily transported in blood, allowing it to be delivered to cells for respiration.
8
Multiple choice
What is the function of polysaccharides like starch and glycogen?
Energy storage
Structural support
Cell signaling
Enzyme catalysis
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Why Starch and glycogen store glucose compactly for later release as an energy source.
9
Multiple choice
Why are starch and glycogen relatively insoluble?
Large molecular size
High polarity
Low branching
Presence of double bonds
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Why Their large molecular size keeps starch and glycogen insoluble, so they do not affect cell water potential.
10
Multiple choice
How are alpha-glucose monomers added or removed from polysaccharides?
Via condensation reactions catalyzed by enzymes, forming glycosidic bonds during addition and hydrolysis reactions during removal
Through simple hydrolysis reactions, where water directly breaks the glycosidic bonds without enzyme involvement
None of the options
Through the action of proteases that cleave peptide bonds, indirectly facilitating the addition or removal of glucose monomers
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Why Enzymes catalyse addition by condensation forming glycosidic bonds, and removal by hydrolysis of those bonds.
Key terms in Carb. & Lipids
Monosaccharide: A single sugar unit, such as glucose, fructose or galactose; the building block of carbohydrates.
Disaccharide: A carbohydrate of two monosaccharides joined by a glycosidic bond, such as sucrose or lactose.
Polysaccharide: A large carbohydrate of many monosaccharides, such as starch, glycogen or cellulose.
Condensation reaction: A reaction that joins two molecules with the formation of a bond and the release of water.
Hydrolysis: A reaction that uses water to break a bond and split a molecule into smaller units.
Glycosidic bond: The covalent bond linking two monosaccharides in a di- or polysaccharide.
Triglyceride: A lipid formed from glycerol and three fatty acids joined by ester bonds; the main energy-storage lipid.
Phospholipid: An amphipathic lipid with a hydrophilic phosphate head and two hydrophobic fatty-acid tails, forming membrane bilayers.
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