Question

What monosaccharides make up starch?

Answer 1

Hint: It is a carbohydrate, which further comes under the class monosaccharide which means simple sugars, and belongs to the aldose group. Carbohydrate has the general formula as ${ C }_{ n }{ H }_{ 2n }{ O }_{ }$.

Complete solution:
Monosaccharides are also known as simple sugars, and the most common of which is glucose whose formula is ${ C }_{ 6 }{ H }_{ 12 }{ O }_{ 6 }$. Glucose is the monosaccharide that makes up the starch. The number of carbon atoms in monosaccharides are found to be around 3 to 7 in number. To make up starch glucose molecules are linked together through glycosidic bonds that result in the formation of a polysaccharide. Thus, starch is also a polysaccharide.
Carbohydrates are of three types that are listed below:
-Monosaccharides- They are the simplest form of sugars that cannot be broken further. Their suffix is written as ‘ose’. Examples are glucose, fructose, etc. When alcohol is added to sugar it forms aldose while the addition of ketone in sugars form ketose. In carbohydrates, the number of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen are present in the ratio of 1:2:1. This formula also explains the origin of the term “carbohydrate”: the components are carbon and also the water
-Disaccharides- The two molecules of monosaccharides form a disaccharide after undergoing the dehydration reaction. The hydroxyl combines with hydrogen from each monosaccharide and forms a covalent bond resulting in the water molecule being released. Examples are sucrose, maltose, lactose, etc.
- Polysaccharides- When several monosaccharides are attached together through glycosidic bonds forming a long chain is known as a polysaccharide. The monosaccharides are either of different types or only one type with branched or unbranched chains. Examples are starch, amylose, etc.

Note:
Chemically the basic formula of the starch molecule is $ \left( { C }_{ 6 }{ H }_{ 10 }{ O }_{ 5 } \right) { n }$. It is a tasteless, white, solid carbohydrate, present in the form of minute granules in the tubers, seeds, and other parts of plants. It forms an important constituent of rice, maize, wheat, beans, potatoes, and many other food items.