Question:
Which one of the following is not a polymer?
Which one of the following is not a polymer?
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Ask whether the molecule is built from a repeating monomer unit; cholesterol is one fixed steroid structure, not a chain of repeats.
Updated On: Aug 7, 2026
- DNA
- Albumin
- Cholesterol
- Dextran
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The Correct Option is C
Solution and Explanation
Step 1: Recall what makes a molecule a polymer.
A polymer is a large molecule built from many repeating smaller units, called monomers, joined together by covalent bonds into a chain or network. The defining feature is repetition of a basic unit many times over.
Step 2: Check DNA.
DNA is a polymer of nucleotides. Each nucleotide, a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base, is a repeating unit, and thousands to millions of these units are linked to build a DNA strand. So DNA is a polymer.
Step 3: Check Albumin.
Albumin is a protein, and every protein is a polymer of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. Albumin has hundreds of amino acid units strung together, so it is a polymer.
Step 4: Check Dextran.
Dextran is a polysaccharide, made of many glucose units linked together mainly through alpha-1,6 glycosidic bonds. Since it is built from repeating glucose monomers, dextran is a polymer, commonly used as a biomaterial in drug delivery and as a plasma volume expander.
Step 5: Check Cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a steroid, a single, relatively small molecule built from a fused four-ring hydrocarbon structure with a hydroxyl group and a short hydrocarbon tail. It is not assembled from repeating monomer units at all, it is one fixed molecular structure. So cholesterol is not a polymer.
Step 6: Compare all four.
DNA, albumin, and dextran are all built by linking many repeating monomers, nucleotides, amino acids, and glucose units respectively, so they qualify as polymers. Cholesterol has no repeating monomer unit, so it stands apart from the other three.
Final Answer:
Cholesterol is not a polymer.
A polymer is a large molecule built from many repeating smaller units, called monomers, joined together by covalent bonds into a chain or network. The defining feature is repetition of a basic unit many times over.
Step 2: Check DNA.
DNA is a polymer of nucleotides. Each nucleotide, a sugar, a phosphate group, and a nitrogenous base, is a repeating unit, and thousands to millions of these units are linked to build a DNA strand. So DNA is a polymer.
Step 3: Check Albumin.
Albumin is a protein, and every protein is a polymer of amino acids joined by peptide bonds. Albumin has hundreds of amino acid units strung together, so it is a polymer.
Step 4: Check Dextran.
Dextran is a polysaccharide, made of many glucose units linked together mainly through alpha-1,6 glycosidic bonds. Since it is built from repeating glucose monomers, dextran is a polymer, commonly used as a biomaterial in drug delivery and as a plasma volume expander.
Step 5: Check Cholesterol.
Cholesterol is a steroid, a single, relatively small molecule built from a fused four-ring hydrocarbon structure with a hydroxyl group and a short hydrocarbon tail. It is not assembled from repeating monomer units at all, it is one fixed molecular structure. So cholesterol is not a polymer.
Step 6: Compare all four.
DNA, albumin, and dextran are all built by linking many repeating monomers, nucleotides, amino acids, and glucose units respectively, so they qualify as polymers. Cholesterol has no repeating monomer unit, so it stands apart from the other three.
Final Answer:
Cholesterol is not a polymer.
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