Question

What are the monomers and polymers of carbohydrates?

Answer 1

Monosaccharides:

• A carbohydrate that cannot be hydrolyzed further to give a simpler unit of polyhydroxy aldehyde or ketone is called a monosaccharide.
• Examples are glucose and fructose.

Oligosaccharides:

• Carbohydrates that yield two to ten monosaccharide units, on hydrolysis, are called oligosaccharides.
• Example: One molecule of sucrose on hydrolysis gives one molecule of glucose and one molecule of fructose.

Polysaccharides:

• Carbohydrates that yield a large number of monosaccharide units on hydrolysis are called polysaccharides.
• Examples are starch, cellulose, and glycogen.

Thus, a monosaccharide behaves as a monomer of carbohydrates and polysaccharides are polymers of carbohydrates.