Coursework.Info - Inspiration in an Instant

On the left is an image preview of every page of this document, and below are the first 150 words with formatting removed:

The structure and function of carbohydrates Carbohydrates are a widely diverse group of compounds that are common in nature. Chemically, carbohydrates are molecules that are composed of carbon, along with hydrogen and oxygen - usually in the same ratio as that found in water (H2O). Typical carbohydrates are composed of strings or chains of monosaccharides - that is, chains of individual sugars. A monosaccharide (mono = one, saccharide = sugar) is the smallest carbohydrate unit. The type of monosaccharides in the chain, length of the chain, and method of linking all determine the composition of the carbohydrate. A listing of some of the saccharides include: * Monosaccharides - single molecules, usually with 5 or 6 carbons * pentoses - sugars with 5 carbons, including arabinose, xylose, ribose * hexoses - sugars with 6 carbons, including glucose, fructose, galactose, mannose * Disaccharides - sugars containing 2 monosaccharides * sucrose - glucose + fructose * maltose - glucose + glucose *...

To see the full version of this document, and 145,320 others