Question

What are the monomers and polymers of carbohydrates?

Answer 1

Hint: Carbohydrates are macromolecules made up of thousands of small molecules. Thus every carbohydrate must contain a basic repeating unit which is the simplest form of carbohydrates or sugars. Such a unit becomes the monomer and multiple monomers combined are called polymers.

Complete answer:
Carbohydrates are biomolecules and one of the most essential nutrients needed by our body that are abundantly available in nature. These naturally occurring substances can be found in food, wood and linen.
The three main constituent elements of carbohydrates are: carbon, oxygen and hydrogen. The long carbon-carbon chains are the backbone of carbohydrate structures. The common formula used to identify a carbohydrate molecule is $$C_x(H_{2}O{)}_y$$ which comes from the name itself carbohydrates (hydrated forms of carbon). The general formula was derived from a common observation that most carbohydrates had an equal ratio of carbon and oxygen molecules.
The most important organic functional groups found in carbohydrates are alcohols $$(OH)$$, aldehydes $$(CHO)$$ and ketones $$(C=O)$$.
The word ‘monomer’ stands for a single unit that is the smallest fragment and the building block of any macromolecule. This basic unit keeps repeating itself to provide a uniform structure.
The word ‘polymer’ stands for a long chain of monomers repeatedly attached to one another.
The monomers of carbohydrates are the monosaccharide units that are the basic building blocks of all sugars and starches. The polymers of carbohydrates are disaccharides and polysaccharides that consist of two or more monomers respectively.
Examples of monosaccharide are: glucose, fructose and galactose.
Examples of disaccharides are: sucrose, lactose and maltose.
Examples of polysaccharides are: all complex sugars containing more than hundreds of monosaccharide units.

Note:
Polymers of carbohydrates i.e. disaccharides and polysaccharides are formed by connecting the monosaccharide units though glycosidic bonds. A glycosidic bond is a covalent bond and an ether-like linkage that connects the hydroxyl groups of two monosaccharide units.