What type of carbohydrate includes sucrose, lactose, and maltose?

The type of carbohydrate that includes sucrose, lactose, and maltose is disaccharides. Disaccharides are formed by the combination of two monosaccharide molecules through a glycosidic bond. Sucrose is composed of glucose and fructose, lactose consists of glucose and galactose, and maltose is made up of two glucose units.

Understanding the differences among carbohydrate types is important. Monosaccharides, which consist of single sugar units (like glucose and fructose), serve as the building blocks for more complex carbohydrates. Polysaccharides, on the other hand, are larger carbohydrate molecules made up of many monosaccharide units linked together, such as starch and glycogen. Complex carbohydrates refer to carbohydrates that consist of longer chains of sugar units, typically including both oligosaccharides and polysaccharides but do not specifically refer to the two-unit structure characteristic of disaccharides.