Define carbohydrates and identify their basic subunits?

2 Answers

Hydrates of carbon are carbohydrates. The basic subunits of carbohydrates are called monosaccharides.

Explanation:

Carbohydrates are compounds of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen of the form C_mH_(2n)O_n. (See this answer to see why!) The simple unit of ratio of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen in carbohydrates is 1:2:1.

The basic monomers subunits of carbohydrates are called monosaccharides. Monosaccharides join together by polymerzation to for a polymer called a polysaccharide.

Here's a hierarchical breakdown of the subunits you might hear for a simple sugar.

Monosaccharides - one individual unit
Disaccharides - two monosaccharides joined by covalent bonds
Oligosaccharides 3-20 monosaccharides
Polysaccharides a lot (100+) of monosaccharides.

Nov 7, 2016

carbohydrate is one of the major nutrient it contains sugar and starch.