Sucrose - Glucose, Properties, Structure, Uses, FAQs

What is sucrose?

Firstly we will discuss here that what actually the word sucrose stand for. The word sucrose stands for the ordinary sugar that we generally consume in our day to day life or we call it as the table sugar. We all have eaten fruits and various sweet tasting items so the fruits or we can say that the naturally occurring items which are sweet in taste and consumed directly are called natural sugar or natural sucrose. Sucrose is made up of fructose and glucose.

Now we will discuss an interesting question here after discussing a little information about sucrose

Also read -

• NCERT Solutions for Class 11 Chemistry
• NCERT Solutions for Class 12 Chemistry
• NCERT Solutions for All Subjects

What is the chemical formula for sucrose?

So we can here simply give the chemical formula of sucrose or molecular formula of sucrose which is as we have discussed the chemical formula for sucrose so in the same way we will now discuss the chemical formula for the sucrose. As it is known that the naming in chemistry is according to the fixed standards of the chemistry and that fixed standard is called the IUPAC naming.

So according to the IUPAC naming of sucrose is. This is a very complicated naming but here as we can see that there are two symbols representing alpha and beta which are in turn the indication of the position where the groups are attached. Further talking about the naming we can see that the symbol D is also there which represents the rotation of the molecule whether it moves to the right or the left.

Properties of sucrose

While discussing the properties of any compound we come across two types of properties namely physical and chemical properties. As the name suggests the physical properties are those which are based on the physical appearances and the chemical properties are those which are based on the chemical reactions of the compounds. Now we will discuss some of the physical properties of sugar/sucrose.

• One of the physical properties is molar mass of sucrose or molecular weight of sucrose which is 342.30g/mol.

• Another physical property is appearance, so it is a white solid.

• The shape of its crystal is monoclinic.

• Its melting point is 367F.

• It is soluble in water unless its saturation point is reached.

Now discussing about the chemical reactions of sucrose and one such important chemical reaction is hydrolysis of cane sugar. In reaction of hydrolysis of cane sugar the ether bond is broken between the glucose and the fructose. This breaking of bonds may take years but this process can be initiated or fastened by adding the enzymes to it.

Sucrose structure

When we talk about sucrose in exact chemical terms we come to know that sucrose is a disaccharide which means that it is made up of two single units which is also called monosaccharides. The monosaccharides which constitute sucrose are glucose and fructose. It should be noted here that as the two monomer structure are different so they are linked together with the special type of bonding between them which is called glycosidic bonding or linkage. Here we must discuss more about this linkage. This glycosidic linkage is basically formed when an ether is used to link between the glucose at position 1 of the carbon molecule to the fructose molecule at 2 carbon position.

Such a type of bonding in chemistry is named as the glycosidic linkage. Sometimes what happens is that there is a linkage between the molecules with one reducing and the other non-reducing end which helps the saccharides to further bond to the other saccharides. But this is not the case with the sucrose because here the glycosidic linkage is formed between the reducing ends of the glucose that to the reducing ends of the fructose molecule so it formed sucrose which further cannot bond to the other saccharides.

Now we will discuss the sucrose function. Generally we come across three types of substances in nature namely carbohydrates, proteins, fats. As it is known that sucrose being a sugar comes under the category of the carbohydrates. When these carbohydrates are taken in the body the carbohydrates gets broken down with the help of the enzymes and releases glucose and fructose and as it is known that glucose gives energy. As soon as the sucrose gets broken down to glucose it gives energy to the cells and further helps to increase the efficiency of the work in both plants and animals

Glucose and sucrose

Talking about the glucose and sucrose together there are several similarities and differences. Firstly let’s discuss about the chemical formulas of the two. So the chemical formula of sucrose is and the formula for glucose is. It is clearly visible from the formula itself that that sucrose contain double the number of atoms as in the glucose. From this we get to know that glucose is a monosaccharide whereas the sucrose is the disaccharide made up of two different units namely glucose and fructose.

Also another important point which arises from the formula is that the glucose is the reducing sugar whereas the sucrose is a noon reducing sugar. Now we will discuss the sources from which these are obtained and where they are further applied or precisely discussing about their function. Glucose is obtained from the carbohydrates that we intake and this further break to get glucose to provide energy. Sucrose on the other hand is obtained from the fruits as a natural sugar and also from the sugarcane where the sugar so obtained is refined in order to get sucrose and it also provides energy to the body.

Also, students can refer,

• NCERT solutions for Class 12 Chemistry Chapter 14 Biomolecules
• NCERT Exemplar Class 12 Chemistry Solutions Chapter 14 Biomolecules
• NCERT notes Class 12 Chemistry Chapter 14 Biomolecules

Uses of sucrose

• Sucrose is added to the food items and different drinks in order to make them sweet.

• It provides energy to the body when taken in the right amount.

• As it is known that it is also used by the plants to transport the carbon to required parts.

• It is also used in the medicines to add flavour to them otherwise they cannot be taken easily.

Also check-

• NCERT Exemplar Class 11th Chemistry Solutions
• NCERT Exemplar Class 12th Chemistry Solutions
• NCERT Exemplar Solutions for All Subjects

NCERT Chemistry Notes:

• NCERT Notes Class 11th Chemistry
• NCERT Notes Class 12th Chemistry
• NCERT Notes For All Subjects