Very important source of quick energy.Most abundant biomolecules on Earth.Serve as important structural components.
Monosaccharides
Simple sugars.They are the smallest unit that make up carbohydrates. They are the building blocks.
ex: Glucose
ex: Fructose
ex: Galactose
Disaccharaides
Made up of 2 monosaccharides
ex: Maltose
2 glucose molecules stuck together.
Oligosaccharides
Short chain of monosaccharidesLess than 20 monosaccharides linked together.A disaccharide can be referred to as an oligosaccharide.
ex: Maltotriose
Contains 3 glucose molecules.
Polysaccharides
More than 20 monosaccharides with 20 bonds, it becomes a Polysaccharide.Most carbohydrates in nature are found as polysaccharides.Known as Glycans
Homopolysaccharides
Contains only a single type of monosaccharide. ex: only glucose molecules linked together.Can be unbranched or branched.
ex: Starch
Storage for monosaccharides in plants. It is the main carbohydrate in the human diet.Only made up of glucose.Unbranched = AmyloseBranched = Amylopectin
ex: Glycogen
Unbranched = AmyloseBranched = AmylopectinBranch points occur more frequently in Glycogen
ex: Cellulose
Structural components in plants. They make up the cell wall.
ex: Dextron
Structural components in bacteria and yeast.
Heteropolysaccharides
Contains 2 or more types of different monosaccharides. ex: a long chain of fructose and glucose molecules.can be unbranched or branched.