The number of 'ends' in a glycogen molecule would be

Options

A. equal to the number of branches plus one
B. equal to the number of branch points
C. one
D. two, one on the left side and another on the right side

Answer

To determine the number of 'ends' in a glycogen molecule, we need to understand its structure and how it is formed.

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Glycogen Structure**:
- Glycogen is a polysaccharide made up of glucose units. It is a branched polymer, meaning it has a main chain with branches coming off of it.

2. **Formation of Glycogen**:
- The glucose units in glycogen are linked together primarily by alpha-1,4-glycosidic bonds, forming the linear chains.
- At certain points, branches occur due to the formation of alpha-1,6-glycosidic bonds, which connect additional glucose units to the main chain.

3. **Identifying 'Ends'**:
- An 'end' in this context refers to a terminal glucose unit that is not connected to another glucose unit on one side.
- For every branch that occurs in the glycogen molecule, there is an additional terminal glucose unit formed.

4. **Calculating the Number of Ends**:
- If we denote the number of branching points in the glycogen molecule as 'B', then:
- Each branch creates an additional end.
- Therefore, the total number of ends in the glycogen molecule is equal to the number of branches (B) plus one for the main chain.
- This can be expressed mathematically as:
\[ \text{Number of ends} = B + 1 \]

5. **Conclusion**:
- Based on this understanding, the correct answer to the question is that the number of 'ends' in a glycogen molecule is equal to the number of branches plus one.

### Final Answer:
The number of 'ends' in a glycogen molecule would be equal to the number of branches plus one (Option A).