Question

How are disaccharides and monosaccharides related?

Answer 1

Disaccharides are the condensation products of monosaccharides.

Explanation:

A condensation is a chemical reaction in which two molecules combine to form a larger molecule, together with the loss of a small molecule such as water.

For, example, two molecules of the monosaccharide, glucose, can condense to form a molecule of the disaccharide, maltose, and a molecule of water.

We could write the equation for the reaction as

`underbrace(2"C"_6"H"_12"O"_6)_color(red)("glucose") → underbrace("C"_12"H"_22"O"_11)_color(red)("maltose") + "H"_2"O"`