Identify Incorrect Statement Regarding Carbohydrates and Monosaccharides
The incorrect statement from the following with respect to carbohydrates is:
Options
All monosaccharides are reducing sugars.
The monosaccharide units obtained from hydrolysis of oligosaccharides are always the same.
Starch and cellulose are typical examples of polysaccharides, which are very high molecular weight compounds of more than ten monosaccharide units.
Open chain and cyclic structures co-exist at equilibrium that are responsible for certain properties as in the case of -glucose.
Topics & Concepts
Step-by-Step Solution
To determine the incorrect statement regarding carbohydrates, let us analyze each of the given options:
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Option A: "All monosaccharides are reducing sugars."
Monosaccharides (whether aldoses or ketoses) possess a free carbonyl group (in open-chain form) or a hemiacetal/hemiketal group (in cyclic form) capable of acting as a reducing agent towards Tollen's reagent and Fehling's solution. Thus, all monosaccharides are reducing sugars. This statement is correct. -
Option B: "The monosaccharide units obtained from hydrolysis of oligosaccharides are always the same."
Oligosaccharides are carbohydrates that yield to monosaccharide units upon hydrolysis. These constituent monosaccharide units can be either identical or different:- Hydrolysis of maltose yields two identical units of :
- Hydrolysis of sucrose yields two different monosaccharide units ( and ): Since the monosaccharide units are not always the same, this statement is incorrect.
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Option C: "Starch and cellulose are typical examples of polysaccharides, which are very high molecular weight compounds of more than ten monosaccharide units."
Polysaccharides are polymers consisting of a large number (typically ) of monosaccharide units linked by glycosidic bonds. Starch and cellulose are well-known naturally occurring polysaccharides with high molecular weights. This statement is correct. -
Option D: "Open chain and cyclic structures co-exist at equilibrium that are responsible for certain properties as in the case of -glucose."
In aqueous solution, -glucose undergoes mutarotation, reaching a dynamic equilibrium between its open-chain structure and its cyclic - and -pyranose forms. This statement is correct.
Hence, the incorrect statement is given by Option B.