Answer to Question #142061 in Cell Biology for teeghan

Question

A starch molecule consists of countless monosaccharide simple sugars that have bonded together by dehydration synthesis. What might happen if you added water to a starch molecule? Justify your answer.

Answer 1

Starch is insoluble in cold water because it is a polymer consisting of many glucose molecules joined by glycosidic bonds. But in warm water or when heated with water, the starch granules swell and burst, causing them to break down and release the glucose molecules into the water. A process called gelatinization.