Apply: Amylose is a polysaccharide that consists of a long single chain of glucose molecules. Consider an amylose molecule with only four glucose molecules. How many water molecules are released when the 4-glucose amylose forms?

What do you think is the chemical formula for this amylose?

How many water molecules would be needed to break this amylose down into four glucose molecules?

Extend your thinking: Hydrolysis of the carbohydrates you eat begins in your mouth as you chew. How do you think this process might be affected if a person’s salivary glands were unable to produce saliva, which is mostly composed of water?

the diploid number of chromosomes is sometimes represented by the symbol 2n. for the fruit fly, the diploid number is 8, which can be written as 2n = 8, where n represents twice the number of chromosomes in a sperm or egg cell.

the relative atomic mass of an element is the mass of one atom of that element, relative to 1/12th of the mass of a  1212c atom. to convert to an absolute mass in kg, it is necessary to multiply by  1.661×10−271.661×10−27.

the relative atomic mass is roughly equal to the number of neutrons, plus the number of protons, in the nucleus of the atom.

for elements with more than one stable isotope (different types of nucleus with different numbers of neutrons but the same number of protons), the quoted mass is usually the average mass, weighted by the relative abundance of the different isotopes.

primary succession occurs in essentially lifeless areas regions in which the soil is incapable of sustaining life as a result of such factors as lava flows, newly formed sand dunes, or rocks left from a retreating glacier. secondary succession occurs