Question

Describe the various ways of classifying carbohydrates. Give examples for each class.

Answer 1

Carbohydrates are classified according to the number of structural units:

- monosaccharides consist of only one unit (glucose, fructose,etc.). Monosaccharides are further classified by the number of carbon atoms (i.e., ribose contains five carbon atoms, whereas glucose contains six carbons).

- oligosaccharides consist of several (two-four) units. For example, sucrose is a disaccharide consisting of one glucose and one fructose molecules.

- polysaccharides consist of multiple structural units resulting in the formation of large molecules. For example, starch, glycogen and cellulose are polysaccharides consisting of glucose units.