Final answer:
Monosaccharides are simple sugars that form the building blocks for more complex carbohydrates. Disaccharides are made from two monosaccharides, while polysaccharides can contain hundreds to thousands of sugar units, functioning in energy storage and structural support.
Step-by-step explanation:
Monosaccharides are the simplest form of carbohydrates, also known as simple sugars, and serve as the building blocks for more complex forms. Examples of these single sugar units include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Disaccharides, such as sucrose (table sugar), are created from the linkage of two monosaccharides through a process known as a condensation reaction. Polysaccharides, on the other hand, are complex carbohydrates comprised of long chains of monosaccharides. They can contain hundreds to thousands of sugar units and serve crucial roles in organisms, including long-term energy storage and structural support.
Plants often store energy as starch, while animals use a similar polysaccharide, glycogen. Starch in the diet is broken down into individual glucose units during digestion to provide a source of energy. Meanwhile, cellulose is another type of polysaccharide abundantly found in the plant cell walls providing structural support, and chitin serves a similar function in the exoskeletons of arthropods and cell walls of fungi.