Most carbohydrates are polymers
• Polymers are large, complex molecules composed of long chains of
monomers joined together.
• Monomers are small, basic molecular units.
• Examples of monomers include monosaccharides, amino acids and nucleotides. M
Carbohydrates are made from monosaccharides
• All carbohydrates contain the elements C, H and O.
• The monomers that they're made from are monosaccharides, e.g. Glucose, fructose and galactose.
• Glucose is a hexose sugar - a monosaccharide with six carbon atoms in each
molecule.
• There are two types of glucose, alpha and beta - they're isomers (molecules with the same molecular formula
as each other, but with the atoms connected in a different way).
• There's only one difference between the two:
Alpha-glucose Beta-glucose
Condensation reactions join monosaccharides together
• A condensation reaction is when two molecules join together with the formation of a new chemical bond, and a water
molecule is released when the bond is formed.
• Monosaccharides are joined together by a condensation reaction.
• A glycosidic bond forms between the two monosaccharides as a
molecule of water 's released.
• A disaccharide formed when two monosaccharides join together.
• Sucrose is a disaccharide formed from a condensation reaction between
a glucose molecule and a fructose molecule.
• Lactose is another disaccharide formed from a glucose molecule and
a galactose molecule.