Question

Assertion (A) : All monosaccharides are reducing sugars. Reason (R) : They reduce Fehling's and Tollens' reagent.

Carbohydrates are the major components of all living organisms. Sugars are carbohydrates. The major types of sugars include monosaccharides and disaccharides. The main difference between monosaccharides, disaccharides and polysaccharides is that monosaccharides are monomer of sugars and disaccharides are composed of two monomers, whereas polysaccharides are composed of a large number of monomers. Monosaccharides are single sugar molecules which act as the building blocks of disaccharides and polysaccharides. Disaccharides are also simple sugars. Disaccharides are classified into two groups according to their reducing strength : Reducing and Non-reducing sugars. When a polymer is formed from a monomer, a condensation reaction occurs that forms a glycosidic bond and water molecule is lost. Starch, glycogen and cellulose are examples of polysaccharides. Starch is found in many parts of plant cell and consists of amylose and amylopectin. Glycogen is the major carbohydrate storage product found in humans. It is present in liver, muscles and brain. Cellulose is the most abundant organic molecule on Earth. It makes up around 50% of all organic carbon. Answer the following questions :