Hydrolysis of a polysaccharide results in monosaccharides. This is an example of which type of reaction?

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Hydrolysis of a polysaccharide to monosaccharides is a breakdown reaction that uses water to cleave bonds, yielding smaller units. This is the hallmark of catabolic processes in metabolism, where large molecules are decomposed to release energy and provide building blocks for the cell. Building polysaccharides from monosaccharides would be anabolic, which is the opposite of what’s happening here. Metabolic is a broad umbrella term for all biochemical reactions, not the specific type of reaction. Oxidative refers to electron transfer events, which isn’t the defining feature of this hydrolysis.