A biologist isolates a large, unidentified molecule from some cells in his lab.What type of reaction could he initiate to determine whether the molecule is a polymer and, thus, a macromolecule?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Hydrolysis can be used to determine whether a molecule is a polymer. Hydrolysis breaks down polymers into their monomer units by adding water. Therefore, if the biologist performs hydrolysis on the unknown molecule and observes the formation of smaller subunits, it can be concluded that the molecule is a polymer. Condensation and dehydration reactions, on the other hand, are used to form polymers by removing water, so they would not be useful in determining whether a molecule is already a polymer.

A Biologist Isolates a Large, Unidentified Molecule from Some Cells