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Showing posts from November, 2018

Biological Polymers

Biological Polymers Biological polymers are small, similarly composed molecules that come together to form bigger molecules in a chain-like structure (Bailey, 2018). The smaller molecules are called monomers (one molecule). When they come together they form polymers (multiple molecules). Biological or natural polymers are used to create tissue or other structures and functions in a living organism. (Picture of a glucose polymer) There are four main types of biological polymers. Carbohydrates, protein, lipids, and nucleic acids (Lumen, 2016). Carbohydrates : These molecules are composed of sugar monomers. Carbohydrates are known as saccharides and as a monomer they are called polysaccharides. The purpose of this polymer is to store energy. A couple examples of types of sugar monomers are glucose and starch (glucose picture above). Glucose is processed during respiration and is stored as energy in humans. Starch is the form of glucose for plants (Bailey, 2018). Pro...

Single Displacement Reaction

Single Displacement Reaction A single displacement reaction is when an element reacts with a compound and in the product, takes then the place of another element in that compound (Studer, 2018). That is why sometimes it’s also known as a single replacement reaction. This website has a video of how a single displacement reaction works: https://study.com/academy/lesson/single-displacement-reaction-definition-examples.html The reaction that will be shown in this blog will be between potassium (K) and water (H2O). the elements in this reaction will be potassium, hydrogen, and oxygen. 2K + 2H 2 O → 2KOH + H 2 As shown in the reaction, potassium starts as a single element and water is a compound molecule. After the reaction takes place potassium has replaced a bit of hydrogen and bonded to an oxygen-hydrogen compound. Potassium is a metal and reacts with water rapidly to create a colorless solution that ends up being potassium hydroxide (“webelements, 2018). This re...