Lesson 3.1.2.2

3.1.2.2 Polysaccharides: glycogen, starch and cellulose Quiz: AQA Biology, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 3.1.2.2, Polysaccharides: glycogen, starch and cellulose: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Biology (7402), Unit 1: Biological molecules, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which polysaccharide is the main storage carbohydrate in animal cells?

    • Glycogen
    • Cellulose
    • Starch
    • Chitin

  2. Which monomer is cellulose made from?

    • Alpha-glucose
    • Fructose
    • Beta-glucose
    • Galactose

  3. Which monomer is used to build starch and glycogen?

    • Fructose
    • Galactose
    • Alpha-glucose
    • Beta-glucose

  4. Starch is made from which two polysaccharide components?

    • Amylopectin and glycogen
    • Amylose and cellulose
    • Cellulose and glycogen
    • Amylose and amylopectin

  5. What is the main function of cellulose in plant cells?

    • To store energy as an insoluble granule in the cytoplasm
    • To carry genetic information from the nucleus to the ribosomes
    • To give strength and support to the cell wall
    • To act as a catalyst for reactions in the cytoplasm

  6. Which polysaccharide is more highly branched than starch?

    • Sucrose
    • Maltose
    • Cellulose
    • Glycogen

  7. In which type of organism is starch the main storage polysaccharide?

    • Fungi only
    • Animals
    • Plants
    • Bacteria only

  8. A cell stores glucose as glycogen rather than as free glucose. Which statement best explains this?

    • Glycogen cannot be hydrolysed in the cell, so the glucose it contains is kept permanently for later use
    • Glycogen is insoluble and compact, so it has little effect on the water potential of the cell
    • Glycogen contains more energy per glucose unit than free glucose, so less material needs to be stored in cells
    • Glycogen is soluble, so it can be transported rapidly in the blood to the cells that need glucose most

  9. Why does the highly branched structure of glycogen help muscle cells during intense exercise?

    • Many terminal ends allow many glucose units to be hydrolysed and released at the same time
    • Branches make the molecule heavier, which increases its energy content per gram
    • Branches stop enzymes from acting, which keeps the store intact during exercise
    • Branches make glycogen dissolve easily so it can move quickly to the blood

  10. Humans cannot digest cellulose. What is the most likely reason?

    • Cellulose contains no glucose units that can be absorbed through the wall of the small intestine
    • Cellulose molecules are always too large to pass through the stomach and enter the small intestine
    • Humans lack an enzyme able to hydrolyse the beta-glycosidic bonds in cellulose
    • Cellulose is built from fructose units, which humans cannot break down because they lack the enzyme sucrase

  11. What is the mass in grams of a single linear polymer made from 1000 glucose units (180 each), formed by condensation?

    • 180000
    • 162018
    • 162000
    • 162036

  12. How many molecules of water are released when 1000 alpha-glucose units form a single unbranched starch-like chain?

    • 998
    • 1000
    • 1001
    • 999

  13. Which description matches the structure of cellulose?

    • Long unbranched chains of beta-glucose, with hydrogen bonds cross-linking neighbouring chains
    • Long branched chains of alpha-glucose, with few hydrogen bonds between chains
    • Long branched chains of fructose, linked by peptide bonds
    • Short helical chains of alpha-glucose, coiled and stored as granules

  14. Why are the alpha-1,4 bonds in starch digested more easily by human enzymes than the beta-1,4 bonds in cellulose?

    • Starch contains hydrogen bonds that are weaker than the hydrogen bonds in cellulose
    • Human enzymes are specific to alpha-glycosidic bonds, so they can hydrolyse starch but not cellulose
    • Cellulose contains more water molecules, which block the digestive enzymes
    • Starch contains phosphate groups which act as a substrate for digestion

  15. A student says glycogen and cellulose are both polymers of glucose, so they are equally easy to digest. Which evaluation is correct?

    • Incorrect, because glycogen uses alpha-glucose linkages that human enzymes hydrolyse, while cellulose uses beta-linkages they cannot
    • Correct, because both polymers contain the same monomer and are therefore broken down by the same enzymes
    • Correct, because the digestibility of a polymer depends only on its molecular mass and not on its bond types
    • Incorrect, because glycogen is a lipid store that cannot be digested by any enzyme found in the human gut

  16. Explain why the many branches of glycogen are a more useful structure for liver cells than an unbranched chain would be.

    • Branching reduces the number of glycosidic bonds, so less energy is needed to store glucose
    • Branching increases the mass of each glucose unit, so more energy is stored per molecule
    • Branching makes the molecule soluble in the cytoplasm, so it can be transported around the body
    • Branching gives many chain ends for simultaneous enzyme action, so glucose is released faster when blood glucose falls

  17. Why do parallel cellulose chains form strong fibres in plant cell walls?

    • Their branched structure lets the chains interlock and form tangles that resist stretching under load
    • Their straight, unbranched structure lets many hydrogen bonds form between adjacent chains, cross-linking them
    • Their coiled structure traps large volumes of water, and the water pressure inside makes the walls rigid with no exceptions
    • Their ionic bonds between glucose units form a tight lattice that holds the chains firmly in position

  18. A starch granule and a glycogen granule are compared. Which difference is most likely to be seen?

    • Glycogen granules are smaller and more branched than starch granules
    • Starch granules are made of fructose and glycogen granules of glucose
    • Glycogen granules contain beta-glucose, whereas starch granules contain cellulose
    • Starch granules are soluble and glycogen granules are insoluble

  19. Which property of cellulose is most important for its role in plant cell walls?

    • It is a polymer of amino acids joined by peptide bonds
    • It is a long unbranched polymer whose chains form rigid, hydrogen-bonded fibres
    • It is a branched polymer whose chains easily dissolve in water
    • It is a short polymer of two glucose units joined by a glycosidic bond

  20. Starch hydrolysis produces maltose and then glucose. What is the effect of hydrolysing a 1000-unit starch-like chain into 1000 separate glucose molecules?

    • The number of molecules increases from 1 to 1000, because 999 bonds are broken by hydrolysis
    • The number of molecules decreases from 1000 to 1 because water is added
    • The number of molecules stays the same because each glucose is simply rearranged
    • The number of molecules increases from 1 to 500 because each bond creates two molecules of glucose

All AQA Biology quizzes