Question

What are monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides and explain their functions?

Answer 1

Monosaccharide, disaccharides, and polysaccharides are the three major categories of molecules in Carbohydrates.

Monosaccharides, known as simple sugar, is the simplest form of carbohydrates. Its basic molecular formula is CH2O. Monosaccharides are glucose, fructose, and galactose. Its primary function is to be the source of energy of living organisms. It is also the primary requirement for the formation of disaccharides and polysaccharides.

Disaccharides are formed when two monosaccharides are bonded together through a covalent bond. Common Dissaccharides are sucrose  (glucose+fructose) or table sugar, maltose (glucose+glucose), and lactose (glucose+galactose). Its primary function is to provide nutrition for monosaccharides. Sugar in food is mostly dissaccharides.

Polysaccharides are formed when another monosaccharides is bonded to the disaccharides. This bond is called glycosidic bond. Two major polysaccharides are starch and glycogen. Starch is made by plants while glycogen is made by animals. Polysaccharides' major function is to immediately release energy from its storage. When glucose is consumed, some of them are stored and will only be released when the body needs it to satisfy the body's immediate need of energy.