Which term refers to a long polymer composed of many simple sugar monomers, usually glucose or its variants?

The correct term that refers to a long polymer composed of many simple sugar monomers, primarily glucose or its variants, is polysaccharide. Polysaccharides are complex carbohydrates formed when multiple monosaccharides, such as glucose, are linked together through glycosidic bonds. These structures can vary in length and branching patterns, which allows them to serve various functions in living organisms, such as energy storage (e.g., starch and glycogen) and providing structural support (e.g., cellulose in plant cell walls).

In contrast, monosaccharides are the simplest forms of carbohydrates, consisting of single sugar molecules, while disaccharides are composed of two monosaccharide units. Cholesterol is a type of lipid that plays a different role in the body, primarily related to cell membrane structure and the synthesis of certain hormones, and it does not relate to carbohydrates at all.