Asked by
zehra khan
in
Exams, Education & References
at
12:00 PM on November 16, 2009
kevin joy's Answer
In the category of nutrients, there are monomers and polymers. Monomers are the "building blocks" of large macromolecules, or any molecule chain created through condensation reactions. These are the polymers, three or more monomers bonded together.
In the category of carbohydrates, there are monosaccharides, disaccharides, oligosacchaides, and polysaccharides. Just from the prefixes, you can tell that the monosaccharides are monomers, the disaccharides are two bonded monomers (monosaccharides) and oligosacchaides and polysaccharides are made up of many monomers (monosaccharides).
The monosaccharides are just a single carbon ring (in the natural aqueous environment of an animal). The monosaccharides include glucose, fructose, and galactose. The disaccharides are two carbon rings bonded together by a glycosidic linkage in a condensation (dehydration) reaction, which removes a molecule of water. Disaccharides include maltose (glucose + glucose), lactose (glucose + galactose), sucrose (glucose + fructose), and more.
When we consume food, we are taking in the large polysacchaides such as starch and smaller molecules such as maltose. We take these long molecules and digest them - break up their glycosidic linkages until they are monosaccharides (monomers) that we can absorb throughout out alimentary canal (usually in small intestine).
Answered at
2:25 PM on November 16, 2009
Read answer
