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9th grade How small molecules join into big ones worksheet

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How small molecules join into big ones

Grade 9 Science Worksheet

NameDate

Circle the best answer, or write your answer on the line.

  1. Building-block chain, not to scale. 3 water beads arrive, one at each bond. Ari eats a piece of bread. Enzymes break a 4-unit piece of its starch into single glucose units. Which description fits?

    • Neither: starch comes apart without water
    • Hydrolysis: water is released as each bond splits
    • Hydrolysis: water is added across each bond it splits
    • Dehydration synthesis: water is released as each bond splits
  2. Read this first

    Use this

    Building-block chain, not to scale.

  3. Bo's bean plant stores sugar by joining glucose units into a starch piece of 4 units. Which description fits?

    • Dehydration synthesis: each glycosidic bond forms and releases a water
    • Hydrolysis: each glycosidic bond forms and uses a water
    • Neither: the glucose units link with no water change
    • Dehydration synthesis: each glycosidic bond forms and uses a water
  4. Esme eats a bowl of beans. Digestive enzymes split a protein chain of 5 amino acids into single amino acids. Which description fits?

    • Neither: the protein comes apart without water
    • Hydrolysis: a water is added at each peptide bond it breaks
    • Dehydration synthesis: a water is released at each peptide bond it breaks
    • Hydrolysis: a water is released at each peptide bond it breaks
  5. Digestive enzymes split one insulin A chain, 21 amino acids long, all the way into single amino acids. How many waters are used, Kira?

  6. Milo reads about a fat. One glycerol and three fatty acids join into a triglyceride. Which description of the new bonds is correct?

    • Three ester bonds form and 3 waters are released
    • Three peptide bonds form and 3 waters are released
    • Three ester bonds form and 3 waters are used
    • Four ester bonds form and 4 waters are released
  7. Noah stirs table sugar into tea. Sucrose is one glucose joined to one fructose. Which description of the new bond is correct?

    • One ester bond forms and 1 water is released
    • One glycosidic bond forms and 1 water is released
    • One glycosidic bond forms with no water involved
    • Two glycosidic bonds form and 2 waters are released
  8. Use this

    Building-block chain, not to scale. 7 amino-acid beads in a row, each neighbor pair joined by a peptide bond. 6 water beads drift away, one at each join.

  9. Pia's cell links 7 amino acids into a short chain. Which description of the new bonds is correct?

    • Six glycosidic bonds form and 6 waters are released
    • Six peptide bonds form and 6 waters are used
    • Seven peptide bonds form and 7 waters are released
    • Six peptide bonds form and 6 waters are released
  10. Ren tests a rule: each bond formed releases one water. The table shows four chains built by joining beads. Which chain breaks the rule?

    • Chain P: 2 monomers but just 1 water
    • Chain S: 6 monomers but just 5 waters
    • Chain R: 3 monomers but just 2 waters
    • Chain Q: 3 bonds but 4 waters
  11. Four chains split completely by hydrolysis (model data)

    chainmonomers madewaters used
    W33
    X67
    Y88
    Z109
  12. Tala tests a rule: each bond split uses one water. The table shows four chains split into single monomers. Which row follows the rule?

    • Chain X: 6 monomers and 7 waters
    • Chain Z: 10 monomers and 9 waters
    • Chain Y: 8 monomers and 8 waters
    • Chain W: 3 monomers and 3 waters
  13. One chain of 5 beads, built and then split (model data)

    reactionwater changewaters
    building by dehydration synthesisreleased4
    splitting by hydrolysisused4
  14. Zee compares building and splitting the same chain of beads. Which statement matches the table?

    • Building used 4 waters, and splitting released 4
    • Splitting uses 5 waters, one for each of the 5 beads
    • Splitting uses 4 waters, the same count that building released
    • Splitting releases 4 waters, as building does
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9th grade How small molecules join into big ones worksheet – printable
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About this worksheet

How small molecules join into big ones. Every version has 10 questions, and the answer key prints on the second page.

What your child will learn

  • I can tell dehydration synthesis (monomers join, a covalent bond forms, one water is released per bond) from hydrolysis (a water is added across a bond and the polymer splits). Digestion is hydrolysis.
  • I can name the bond: peptide (amino acids), glycosidic (sugars), ester (glycerol and fatty acids).
  • I can count: a chain of n monomers has n − 1 bonds, so building it releases n − 1 waters and splitting it completely uses n − 1 waters. I can work backward from the waters to the monomers.
  • I can say why a polymer has less mass than its monomers added up (the released waters left), and why the pieces from hydrolysis have more mass than the chain (the added water).
  • I can say that digested food is not turned into new atoms: its atoms are rebuilt into new molecules, for example sugar's carbon, hydrogen and oxygen combine with nitrogen to build amino acids.

Standard: HS-LS1-6

Words to know

monomer: A small building block, such as one amino acid or one sugar

polymer: A large molecule made of many monomers joined together

covalent bond: A bond where atoms share electrons

dehydration synthesis: Join pieces while losing water: one water per bond

hydrolysis: Split a chain by adding a water across each bond

peptide bond: The bond between two amino acids

glycosidic bond: The bond between two sugars

ester bond: The bond between glycerol and a fatty acid

Common mistakes

Your child mixed up joining and splitting. Joining pieces releases a water; splitting a chain uses a water.

Your child counted one water for every piece. A chain of 5 pieces has only 4 joins. Draw 5 dots in a row and count the gaps between them.

Your child thought the pieces just stick or come unstuck. Real molecules join by covalent bonds, and each join releases a water.

What to say

Ask: which one puts together while losing water?

Ask: what leaves when two pieces join?

Questions parents ask

What is the most common mistake with how small molecules join into big ones?

Your child mixed up joining and splitting. Joining pieces releases a water; splitting a chain uses a water.

How can I help my child with how small molecules join into big ones?

Ask: which one puts together while losing water?

Are these 9th grade science worksheets free to print?

Yes. All 6 printable versions at each level are free to print, with the answer key, and no account is needed.

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