Glucose and fructose are examples of which carbohydrate category?

Glucose and fructose are examples of which carbohydrate category?

• A. Monosaccharides
• B. Disaccharides
• C. Polysaccharides
• D. Oligosaccharides

Answer: (A)

This item tests how carbohydrates are categorized by the number of sugar units. Glucose and fructose are monosaccharides, the simplest carbohydrates made of a single sugar unit. They cannot be broken down into smaller sugars and serve as the basic building blocks for all other carbohydrates. Glucose is an aldohexose and fructose is a ketohexose, both six-carbon sugars, which explains why they appear as the simplest, commonly eaten sugars. When two monosaccharides join, they form disaccharides; longer chains become polysaccharides; and oligosaccharides have just a few units. For this reason, glucose and fructose are monosaccharides.

This item tests how carbohydrates are categorized by the number of sugar units. Glucose and fructose are monosaccharides, the simplest carbohydrates made of a single sugar unit. They cannot be broken down into smaller sugars and serve as the basic building blocks for all other carbohydrates. Glucose is an aldohexose and fructose is a ketohexose, both six-carbon sugars, which explains why they appear as the simplest, commonly eaten sugars. When two monosaccharides join, they form disaccharides; longer chains become polysaccharides; and oligosaccharides have just a few units. For this reason, glucose and fructose are monosaccharides.