Grade 10-

Carbohydrates
notes-
Monosaccharid
es
Disaccharides

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 Polysaccharide
s
(2010-2011)

Carbohydrates
Characteristics
a. Carbohydrates contain the three elements
1. Carbon
2. Hydrogen
3. Oxygen
b. The second half of the name comes from the fact
that hydrogen and oxygen atoms are present in the
ratio of 2:1 as they are in water (hydrates refers to
water ).
c. The general formula for a carbohydrate can be
written as Cx(H2O)y

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Carbohydrates are divided into three main groups:
1. Monosaccharides
2. Disaccharides
3. Polysaccharides

Monosaccharides
Characteristics
1. They are sugars .
2. They dissolve easily in water to form sweet
solutions .
3. They have the general formula (CH2O)n .
4. Consist of single sugar molecule (mono means
one).

According to the number of carbon atoms the

Monosaccharides have types :

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Q: So what makes the difference between the
galactose, glucose and fructose?
A: The Structural formula

The molecular and structural formulae:

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For any molecule or substance there is a structural
and molecular formula
a)the molecular formula: it shows the number and
kinds of atoms in a molecule
eg. C6H12O6, H2O
b)Structural formula: in which atoms are shown in
relation to each other, and bonds are shown, so it is
the formula that shows the arrangement of the
atoms including the bonds.
We will study the structure of glucose only, But in
the following diagram we will show you the structural
formulae of glucose, fructose, and galactose and
note the difference although all they have the same
molecular formula which is Molecular Formula:
C6H12O6
Structural formula:

glucose fructose galactose

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The structural formula for glucose

Ring structures:

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One important aspect of the structure of Pentoses
and hexoses is that the chain of carbon atoms is long
enough to close up on itself and form a more stable
ring structure.
This can be illustrated using glucose as an
example:
When glucose forms a ring carbon atom number 1
joins to the oxygen on carbon atom number 5. The
ring therefore contains oxygen, and carbon atom
number 6 is not part of the ring .

The hydroxyl group __OH on carbon atom 1 may

be above or below the plane of the ring.

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α Glucose : the form of glucose where the OH group
on carbon number 1 is below the plane of the ring.

α Glucose
β glucose: the form of glucose where the OH group
on carbon number 1 is above the plane of the ring.

β glucose

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 ISOMERS: Two forms of the same chemical.
Like the α and β glucoses are isomers.
Roles/Functions of monosaccharides in
living organisms:
1. Source of energy in respiration, due to the
large number of carbon – hydrogen bonds.
These bonds can be broken to release a lot of
energy to help in making ATP from ADP and
phosphate.
2. Building block for larger molecules.
eg1. Glucose is used to make
polysaccharides like starch, glycogen and
cellulose.
eg.2 ribose (a pentose) is used to make RNA
(ribonucleic acid) and ATP.
eg3. Deoxyribose (a pentose) a sugar used
to make DNA.

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 Lesson - Disaccharides and the glycosidic
bond
Two monosaccharides are joined together by process
known as Condensation.
Condensation: is a chemical reaction in which two
molecules combine to form one single molecule, together
with the loss of a small molecule. If the small molecule is
water, it is known as a dehydration reaction.

The formation of the disaccharide:

Two hydroxyl (-OH) groups line up alongside each
other. One -OH combines with a hydrogen atom
from the other to form a water molecule. This
allows an oxygen ‘bridge’ to form between the two
molecules, holding them together and forming a

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 disaccharide (Di means “two”). The bridge is
called a glycosidic bond.

• In theory any two –OH groups can line up &

since monosaccharides have many –OH groups,
there are a large number of possible
disaccharides. However, only a few of these are
common in nature.
• Disaccharides, like monosaccharides are
sugars.
The reverse of this kind of condensation is the
addition of water which is known as hydrolysis. This
takes place during the digestion of disaccharides &
polysaccharides when they are broken down to
monosaccharides.

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Hydrolysis: A reaction where water is one of the reactants, and a
larger molecule is split into two smaller molecules, one of which has
the hydrogen from the water and the other has the OH group from
the water.

http://science.nhmccd.edu/biol/dehydrat/dehyd
rat.html

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http://www3.interscience.wiley.com:8100/legac
y/college/pruitt/0471473219/bioinquiries/appb/f
lash/animation3.html

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Examples of disaccharides:
Disaccharide Building block
(monosaccharides)
1.Lactose Glucose +galactose
2. sucrose Glucose+ fructose
3. Maltose Glucose+ glucose

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 Lesson
Polysaccharides
Characteristics:

1. Polysaccharides are polymers whose subunits

are monosaccharides. They are made by joining
many monosaccharides molecules by
condensation.
2. They are not sugars.

• Glucose is the most important carbohydrate fuel

in human cells. The small size and solubility in
water of glucose molecules allows them to pass
through the cell membrane into the cell. Energy
is released when the molecules are metabolised.

(C6H12O6 + 6O2 6CO2 + 6H2O).

• Disaccharides are soluble in water, but they are

too big to pass through the cell membrane by
diffusion. They are broken down in the small
intestine during digestion to give the smaller
monosaccharides that pass into the blood and
through cell membranes into cells.

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C12H22O11 + H2O C6H12O6 + C6H12O6

• Monosaccharides are used very quickly by cells.

However, a cell may not need all the energy
immediately and it may need to store it.
• Monosaccharides are converted into
disaccharides in the cell by condensation
reactions.
• Further condensation reactions result in the
formation of polysaccharides. These are giant
molecules which, importantly, are too big to
escape from the cell. These are broken down by
hydrolysis into monosaccharides when energy is
needed by the cell.

• Glucose is the main source of energy for cells, it

is important for living organisms to store it in
appropriate form.

• Problems associated with storage of

glucose-

• If glucose itself accumulated in cells, it would

dissolve and make the contents of the cell too
concentrated, which would seriously affect its
osmotic properties.

• It is also a reactive molecule and would

interfere with normal cell chemistry.
• These problems are avoided by converting it,
by condensation reaction, to a storage

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 polysaccharide which is a convenient,
compact, inert, and insoluble molecule.
• This is in the form of starch in plants and
glycogen in animals.

Starch and glycogen

Starch is a mixture of two substances
a) Amylose
b) Amylopectin

Amylose Amylopectin
1. Made of many α- 1. Made of many 1,4
glucose molecules. linked α-glucose
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2. long, unbranching chain molecules .
of several thousand 1,4 2. The chains are shorter
linked glucose than amylose and
molecules branched. The branches
3. The chains are curved are formed by 1,6
and coil up into helical linkages.
structures like springs.
DIAGRAM FROM BOOKLET-PG 7-FIG2.5 DIAGRAM FROM BOOKLET-
PG 7- 2.6a

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 Amylose

Starch is found in:

1. Chloroplast
2. storage organs such as potato tubers and seeds of
cereals and legumes.

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Glycogen

• It is like amylopectin but it is more branched .

• Glycogen granules are stored in the liver and
muscles of animals .

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 Cellulose
Characteristics:
1.The most abundant organic molecule on the planet
due to its presence in plant cell walls and its slow rate
of breakdown in nature.
2. Mechanically strong molecule.
3. Cellulose fibers have very high tensile strength.
4. Provide support and strength for plants (rigidity) .
5. Cellulose fibers determine the shape of the plant
cell.
6. Polymer of β-glucose.
Between 60-70 cellulose molecules become tightly
cross- linked to form bundles called microfibrils.
Microfibrils are in turn held together in bundles called
fibers by hydrogen bonding. A cell wall has several
layers of fibers running in different directions to
increase strength.

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