Question

Answer the following question.
What is the basic structural difference between glucose and fructose?

Answer 1

Both Glucose and Fructose are hexose sugars with six carbon atoms but Glucose is an aldohexose and fructose is ketohexose which means the functional group present in glucose is an aldehyde and the functional group in fructose is a ketone.

\[\begin{array}{cc}
\phantom{..}\ce{O}\phantom{..}\ce{H}\phantom{.}\ce{OH}\phantom{.}\ce{OH}\phantom{}\\
\phantom{}||\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{.}\\
\ce{CH2OH-C-C-C-C-CH2OH}\\
\phantom{....}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{}\\
\phantom{....}\ce{HO}\phantom{..}\ce{H}\phantom{..}\ce{H}\phantom{..}\\
\text{D-fructose}
\end{array}\]

\[\begin{array}{cc}
\phantom{}\ce{OH}\phantom{..}\ce{H}\phantom{.}\ce{OH}\phantom{.}\ce{OH}\phantom{....}\\
\phantom{.}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{....}\\
\ce{CHO-C-C-C-C-CH2OH}\\
\phantom{}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}|\phantom{...}\\
\phantom{}\ce{H}\phantom{.}\ce{HO}\phantom{.}\ce{H}\phantom{..}\ce{H}\phantom{..}\\
\text{D-glucose}
\end{array}\]