1. On a humid day, which is more comfortable to wear, a cotton T-shirt or a poly
ID: 518281 • Letter: 1
Question
1. On a humid day, which is more comfortable to wear, a cotton T-shirt or a polyester dress shirt? What property of the fabric makes that difference? Explain in chemical structure terms.
2. Cows, being mammals, cannot break the (1->4) glycoside linkages. How do cows turn all the grass they eat, filled with cellulose, into usable glucose for energy? How do bunnies?
3. Explain the benefit of glycogen over amylose and amylopectin. How are they structurally different?
4. Give two uses for nitrocelluloses.
Explanation / Answer
1.Cotton is composed of cellulose a polysacharide, the cellulose has three hydroxy group leading to extensive hydrogen bonding between cellulose chain and giving it hydrophilic property. The hydrophilic nature of cellulose gives high water absorbency and making it soft and comfortable.
In polyester there is a aromatic ring attached to either side of the carbonyl group. The aromatic ring gives rigidity to the material and making it uncomfortable.
2. Cows will have an enzyme cellulase which a human cannot have. The cellulase enzyme is used for diggesting cellilose which present in grass. Bunnies will have special type of diggestive system. There is a chamber called cecum where the fermentation takes place. There all the fibres will begins fermentation and absorbs the nutrients.
3. Both amylose and amylopectin are polysacharides of starch. Amylopectin starches are branched containing alpha 1,6 glycosidic linkages about every 30 units. Amylopectin has a structure like glycogen.
Amylose has a linear structure made up of hundreds of glucose molecules that is made up of alpha 1,4-glycosidic linkages. Amylose is a homopolymer made up of many glucose units.
4. Nitrocellulose is a major component of smokeless gunpowder.
Nitrocellulose membrane is a sticky membrane used for immobilizing nucleic acids in southern and northern blots. It is used for immobilizing proteins in western blots due to its non-specific foramino acids
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