What might the name "carbohydrate" might indicate about the chemical composition of sugars?

1 Answer
Meave60
Dec 23, 2016

See the explanation.

Explanation:

The ratio of hydrogen to oxygen in carbohydrates is 2:1, the same as water. So it's as if the carbon atoms are combined with water. For monosaccharides the general formula is #"CH"_2"O"#.

Monosaccharides

#"C"_6"H"_12"O"_6"# (glucose, fructose, galactose)

#"C"_5"H"_10"O"_5"# (ribose)

Disaccharides

#"C"_12"H"_22"O"_11"# (sucrose, maltose, lactose)

Polysaccharides

#("C"_6"H"_10"O"_5")"_n"# (starch and cellulose)

#"C"_24"H"_42"O"_21"# (glycogen)

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