Question

What is the chemical process in which smaller compounds are joined to form larger compounds, releasing water?

Answer 1

This type of reaction is called a condensation reaction.

Explanation:

The process when a `H_"2"O` is reacted with a larger compound to form 2 smaller molecules is called hydrolysis.One could think of the hydrolysis of sucrose into different glucose molecules.

The reverse process when two smaller molecules react into a bigger one releasing water is released is called condensation reactions. An example for this reaction is the formation of a peptide chain when two amino acids are linked together releasing water. This process is shown here.