Great work! You have correctly identified polymer 1 as a polysaccharide!
Polysaccharides are usually composed of only a few types of saccharides, but a single polysaccharide molecule can contain up to 80 000 saccharide monomers!
While saccharide monomers (glucose, fructose) taste sweet, the polysaccharides starch and cellulose donΓÇÖt. However, if we chew on starch for long enough, enzymes in our saliva will hydrolyse (reintroduce water) the polymers back to monomers, giving a sweet taste.
The polysaccharide glycogen allows us to store many saccharide units in our body as a large molecule. The saccharide monomers are released when we need to use them for
energy.
Plants use the polysaccharide starch as their energy store and the
polysaccharide cellulose for their structural framework. It has been
calculated that, of all the organic carbon on the planet, almost 50%
is in the form of cellulose. Cotton is about 90% cellulose.
Another important polysaccharide is chitin, which makes up the
shells of many insects. Chitin is a highly cross-linked polymer, with
the cross-links giving the structure added strength.
