Making and Breaking Polymers - Condensation Reactions

In This A-Level Biology Lesson “Making and Breaking Polymers” you will be introduced to important core biological concept of condensation reactions. It is essential that you know this topic inside-out as it always comes up in exams!

Carbohydrates (e.g. Starch and Glycogen), Proteins and Nucleic Acids (e.g. DNA and RNA) are Polymers – "Long complex molecules made up from many repeating units known as monomers", which are linked together by specific covalent bonds. For example, the covalent bond that links monosaccharides together is known as a glycosidic bond, whereas the covalent bond that links amino acids together to form proteins is called a peptide bond.

Condensation reactions involve the removal of a water molecule (H2O) [a Hydrogen is removed from one monomer whilst a Hydrogen and Oxygen [OH - a Hydroxyl group] is removed from the other monomer] resulting in the formation of a covalent bond between the monomers being joined together.