GRADE 12 LESSON NOTE FOR WEEK 10

Carbohydrates

These are organic compounds containing carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen with the hydrogen and oxygen
present in the ratio of 2:1.

Carbohydrates are classified into simple sugars and complex sugars.

Simple Sugars
These are crystalline, soluble in water, and have a sweet taste. They are further divided into
monosaccharides, e.g., glucose, and disaccharides, e.g., sucrose.

Complex Sugars
These are also known as polysaccharides. They are non-crystalline, insoluble, and tasteless, e.g., starch,
cellulose. They are polymers derived from monosaccharides.

Monosaccharides
These are simple sugars with three to six carbon atoms per molecule.

The most common ones are hexoses, i.e., those containing six carbon atoms per molecule. Examples are
glucose, fructose, galactose, and mannose. They all have the same molecular formula C₆H₁₂O₆ but
different spatial arrangements.

Glucose

Also commonly known as grape sugar or dextrose.

Preparation

Glucose can be prepared by the hydrolysis of starch with dilute acid

(C6H10O5)n +nH⇒ ₂ O n( C6H12O6)

Test for glucose

Add few drops of Fehling’s solution to 5cm3 of glucose solution in a test tube. A brick red precipitate is
obtained on boiling.
Properties

1. Glucose is a strong reducing agent due to the presence of – CHO group. It reduces the Fehling’s solution to
red precipitate of copper (I) oxide.

2. It is readily fermented to ethanol and carbon (IV) oxide by the enzyme zymase in yeast.

C6H12O6 (aq) zymase

⇒
C2H5OH (aq) + CO2(g)

3. When heated with concentrated tetraoxosulphate (VI) acid it will be dehydrated to a black residue of carbon.

C6H12O6 zymas−6
⇒
H ₂O C

Uses

1. Used in the manufacture of jam and sweets.

2. Used as a source of energy for sick people and sports men and women.

Fructose

Commonly known as fruit sugar or laevulose.

Disaccharides

A disaccharide is derived from the condensation of two molecules of monosaccharides by the elimination of one
molecule of water.

Some common disaccharides are

Sucrose → glucose + fructose

Lactose → glucose + galactose

Maltose → glucose + glucose

Sucrose

Sucrose, also known as cane sugar is the common granulated sugar used to sweeten food.

Preparation

Sucrose is prepared from juices of sugar cane and sugar beet. The cane or beet is shredded and crushed. Then
extracted with water warmed at about 80° C . The solution is purified by treatment with slaked lime and carbon
(IV) oxide.

The purified solution is concentrated by crystallization, on cooling, brown crystals of sugar separates out. The
remaining solution, called molasses still contains reasonable amount of sugar and it’s used in the production of
ethanol by fermentation.

The brown sugar is refined by treatment with slaked lime and carbon (IV) oxide and decolourised with animal
charcoal.

Physical Properties

1. Sucrose is a colorless crystalline solid with a sweet taste.

2. It dissolves readily in water but not in alcohol.

Chemical Properties

1. It chars on strong heating with conc. H₂SO₄:

C12H22O11→H2O+12CC_{12}H_{22}O_{11} \rightarrow H_2O + 12CC12H22O11→H2O+12C

2. Inversion: When sucrose is boiled with dilute H₂SO₄ or HCl, it is hydrolyzed to an equal volume mix
of glucose and fructose.
This reaction can be effected by the enzyme invertase obtained from yeast.

sucrose + water invertase

⇔
glucose + fructose
 3. Sucrose is a non-reducing sugar since it does not have any free carbonyl group. It does not have any
effect on Fehling’s solution. It gives a positive test with Fehling’s solution only after hydrolysis.

Test for Sucrose

Add 5 cm³ of freshly prepared Seliwanoff’s reagent to 1 cm³ of sucrose solution. Warm in a water bath. The
mixture turns red after 10 min.

Uses of Sucrose

1. Caramel: When sucrose is heated to a temperature of about 210°C, which is above its melting point but
below its charring temperature, a yellow-brown substance is obtained. Caramel is used for flavoring and
in confectionery.
2. Sucrose is used to sweeten food and beverages.
3. It is used to produce ethanol by fermentation.

Maltose

This is another disaccharide with molecular formula C12H22O11

Properties of Maltose

1. It is a crystalline, soluble white solid.

2. It melts between 160°C - 165°C.
3. It is hydrolyzed by dilute acids to give two molecules of glucose.
4. It is a reducing sugar.

Polysaccharides

Polysaccharides are a group of complex carbohydrates composed of very long chains of monosaccharides
linked together by condensation, i.e by the elimination of one molecule of water for every bond formed between
two monosaccharide molecules.

condensation n
n monosaccharide ⇌ polysaccharides + water
hydrolysis 2

They can be hydrolysed step by step by dilute acids to yield the component monosaccharides as the final
products. Some import examples include; starch, glycogen (animal starch), cellulose and inulin. Inulin is
composed of repeating fructose units while the other three are composed of repeating glucose units.

Starch
This is a polysaccharide with a relative molecular mass of 15,000 to 300,000. It is composed of thousands of
repeating glucose units linked together to form a giant branched molecule.

Preparation

Using cassava tubers, first crush using a grinder. Thereafter, the crushed pulp is then mixed with water to
extract the starch. The water from the resulting starch solution is removed by decanting, leaving behind the
white starch residue in the container.

[Structure of Starch Molecule]

Properties

1. Starch is a white, odorless, and tasteless powder.

2. It is insoluble in water.
3. It forms gel when an aqueous suspension of starch is heated.
4. It is hydrolyzed by dilute acids to yield dextrin maltose and glucose. Further hydrolysis results in
glucose.

An enzyme amylase can also hydrolyze starch to dextrin and maltose.

5. Starch does not reduce Fehling’s solution.

Test For Starch

Add a few drops of iodine to some boiled starch. A dark blue coloration which disappears on heating and

reappears on cooling results.

Uses of Starch

1. Starch is used mainly as food.

2. It is used to produce ethanol and gluocose

3. It is used as a stiffening agent textile industry.

Cellulose

Cellulose is an unbranched polysaccharide with a relative molecular mass of 150000 to 1000000. I is composed
of glucose units which are linked in slightly different way from that in starch.
Cellulose is the main component of plant cell walls and plant fibres. It is found in the pure form in cotton wool.
Hemp, jute, flax, sisal and straw are composed mainly of cellulose.