Question

Agar obtained from red algae is

• A. made up of cellulose
• B. a heteropolymer
• C. an oligosaccharide
• D. a homopolymer

Answer 1

The correct option is B a heteropolymer

Agar, obtained from the red algae Gelidium and Gracilaria is a heteropolysaccharide made up of two different units - galactose and 3,6-anhydro-L-galactopyranose.

Cellulose is a structural homopolymer made of glucose units.
A homopolymer is a polysaccharide made of only one type of monomer unit.
Oligosaccharides are carbohydrates with 3-10 monosaccharide units. An example is a stachyose which has 4 monosaccharide units - one glucose, two galactose and one fructose unit.