Which of the following polymers is commonly broken down by hydrolysis into simple sugars?

• A. Protein
• B. Nucleic acid
• C. Starch
• D. Lipid

Answer: (C)

Hydrolysis breaks bonds in polymers by adding water, producing smaller units. Starch is a plant storage polysaccharide made of glucose units linked by glycosidic bonds. When these bonds are cleaved by enzymes such as amylase, starch is broken down to glucose and other simple sugars. This makes starch a typical source of simple sugars during digestion. In contrast, proteins break down to amino acids, nucleic acids to nucleotides, and lipids to glycerol and fatty acids, none of which are simple sugars.