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20 Dec 2025

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2 pages

Understanding Monosaccharides and Disaccharides in Biology

anna🦋🧬📓🔬

@biannnl

Carbohydrates are everywhere in your daily life – from the... Show more

# CARBOHYDRATES

MONOSACCHARIDES,

• Both sugars and starch are examples of carbohydrates.

• All carbohydrates contain only the elements ca

Monosaccharides - The Building Blocks

Think of monosaccharides as the Lego bricks of the carbohydrate world – they're single sugar molecules that build everything else. Glucose is the most important one you'll encounter, with its chemical formula C₆H₁₂O₆.

All carbohydrates contain only three elements: carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. When a sugar has six carbon atoms (like glucose, galactose and fructose), we call it a hexose sugar. If it has five carbons like ribose, it's a pentose sugar.

Here's what makes monosaccharides special: they're water-soluble because of their many OH groups (hydroxyl groups). These groups form hydrogen bonds with water molecules, making the sugars hydrophilic $water-loving$ . This is why sugar dissolves so easily in your tea!

Key Tip: Remember that monosaccharides are the monomers – they join together to make larger carbohydrates like disaccharides and polysaccharides.

Glucose Forms and Disaccharides

Alpha and beta glucose are isomers – basically two different arrangements of the same glucose molecule. The only difference? In alpha glucose, the hydroxyl group on carbon 1 points below the ring, whilst in beta glucose it points above the ring.

When two monosaccharides react together, they form disaccharides. For example, two alpha glucose molecules join to create maltose through a condensation reaction. This process creates a water molecule as a byproduct and forms a glycosidic bond between the sugars (specifically a 1,4 glycosidic bond in maltose).

The brilliant thing about glycosidic bonds is they're reversible. Add water back to a disaccharide and you get hydrolysis – the bond breaks and you're left with your original monosaccharides again. In living cells, enzymes speed up this process.

Exam Insight: You'll often be asked to identify condensation and hydrolysis reactions – just look for water being made or used!

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20 Dec 2025

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2 pages

Understanding Monosaccharides and Disaccharides in Biology

anna🦋🧬📓🔬

@biannnl

Carbohydrates are everywhere in your daily life – from the bread you eat to the sugar in your drinks. Understanding how these essential molecules work is crucial for your A-level Biology success and helps explain how your body gets energy... Show more

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Monosaccharides - The Building Blocks

Key Tip: Remember that monosaccharides are the monomers – they join together to make larger carbohydrates like disaccharides and polysaccharides.

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Glucose Forms and Disaccharides

Exam Insight: You'll often be asked to identify condensation and hydrolysis reactions – just look for water being made or used!