Carbohydrates

Carbohydrates are compounds with the general molecular formula CH2O. They are made up of three elements Hydrogen, Carbon and Oxygen and are seen in three forms; Monosaccharide, Disaccharides and polysaccharides.

Monosaccharides have the general formula (CH2O)n, where n is a number in between 3 and 9, Monosaccharides are the basic molecular unit (monomers) that all carbohydrates are composed of. We will need to know the following

Monosaccharides:

C=3= Triose
C=4= Tetrose
C=5= Pentose
C=6= Hexose

Disaccharides are the result of two or more Monosaccharides being condensed together. One monosaccharide loses an H atom from carbon 1 and the other loses an OH atom from carbon 4 to create the bond, this reaction is known as a condensation reaction which involves the loss of water, there are two different bonds that can be formed, this depends on the types of Monosaccharides used.

Hydrolysis is the reversing of the above reaction, to form two Monosaccharides from one Disaccharide; to work one water molecule is required to give back a Hydrogen (H) and a Hydrogen peroxide (HO) molecule back.