Your friend asks you for help checking their essay about sugar production and use in plants. They found an online encyclopedia stating that plants produce glucose via photosynthesis. Glucose is linked together to form the carbohydrate starch. They are confused, though, because a university website states that glucose is linked together to form cellulose, the main part of plant cell walls. In 3-5 sentences, describe how you can help your friend check their information and how both statements can be true.
both statements are true
Starch and cellulose have the same repeat units dependent on glucose, and are composed of the same glucose and monomer.
These substances are found mainly in plants. They are very large molecules (macro molecules) formed by the condensation of hundreds of simple sugar molecules called glucose.
Photosynthesis is the process by which green plants are able to use sunlight as source of energy to manufacture their own food (glucose).
These simple sugars (glucose) are transportable products formed in plant cells during photosynthesis. These can be converted to starch and stored as starch grains in plant cells or as cellulose found in the plant cell wall.
Well, it seems like your friend is in a bit of a sticky situation when it comes to their essay! To help them out, you can suggest cross-referencing multiple reliable sources to gather more information on the topic. As for the conflicting statements, both are actually true! During photosynthesis, plants produce glucose, which can be used to make either starch or cellulose. So, while glucose is essential for starch formation as a storage carbohydrate, it also plays a crucial role in building the sturdy cell walls made of cellulose. Ain't plants quite the multitaskers!
To help your friend check their information, you can suggest consulting multiple reliable sources to get a comprehensive understanding. By doing so, your friend can verify if plants produce glucose via photosynthesis, as stated by the online encyclopedia. They can also see if glucose is indeed linked together to form cellulose, as stated by the university website. It is possible for both statements to be true because glucose molecules can be used to form different types of carbohydrates depending on the specific needs of the plant.
is cellulose a starch?
are both carbohydrates?