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long chain

long chain

1 5.1
A line of many atoms, usually carbon, joined together in a molecule
  • noun
  • Specialized
translation icon : cadena larga
  • Plastics are typically composed of molecules of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen chemically bonded together to form long chains known as polymers.
  • together to form long chains

Doesn't isn't starch just a long chain of sugars?

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Examples

  • Fats are described as saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated depending on the nature of the bonds in the long chains of carbon molecules.

  • Amylose is an insoluble carbohydrate made up of long chains of glucose molecules.

  • And carbohydrates, those are the things which are basically long chains of sugar.

  • And these amino acids link up into long chains called proteins.

  • It's composed of long chains of a sugar called chitin embedded in a protein matrix.

  • Fats are described as saturated, monounsaturated, or polyunsaturated depending on the nature of the bonds in the long chains of carbon molecules.

    Academic text (2004)
  • Plastics are typically composed of molecules of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen chemically bonded together to form long chains known as polymers.

    Academic text (2005)

Synonyms

long-chain molecule
vslong chain
  • Specialized
6.1

A very large group of atoms joined together in a long chain like in proteins or plastics

has same chemical meaning but focuses on atom sequence not the whole molecule

How Long

long chain
  • Specialized
1 5.1
chainlet
  • Specialized
8.3

Surface Forms

long chain singular
long chains plural

Morphology

long + chain

The meaning is a straightforward composition of 'long' (denoting extended length) and 'chain' (a linked sequence, here of atoms), so a learner who knows both words can infer a sequence of atoms that is lengthy. This is a literal, domain-specific use following ordinary English modifier + noun patterns and is cross-linguistically transparent, so it should be clear to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The noun long chain comes from the image of a real chain made of many links in a long line. In chemistry, each link is like an atom, so a long chain means 'many atoms joined together' in one molecule.