What type of carbohydrate is formed when two monosaccharides combine?

When two monosaccharides combine through a dehydration synthesis reaction, they form a disaccharide. This reaction involves the removal of a water molecule, allowing the monosaccharides to link together via a covalent bond known as a glycosidic bond.

Disaccharides, such as sucrose (formed from glucose and fructose) or lactose (formed from glucose and galactose), consist of two monosaccharide units. This structural feature distinguishes disaccharides from other categories of carbohydrates.

Polysaccharides consist of long chains of monosaccharide units, typically joined together in large numbers, which would not apply in this case. Meanwhile, oligosaccharides are carbohydrates that contain 3 to 10 monosaccharide units, which is also not the result of combining just two monosaccharides, while monosaccharides are the simplest form of carbohydrates and do not represent a combination of two units. Therefore, the formation of a disaccharide is the accurate outcome when two monosaccharides bond together.