Science

Grade 11/12 • Unit 5: The Structures, Properties, and Functions of Biomolecules

LESSON 5.2
Carbohydrates
Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Learning Competency 2

Learning Objectives 2

Warm-Up 2

Learn about It 4
Carbohydrates and Their General Structures 4
Simple Sugars 5
Aldoses and Ketoses 5
Classification Based on Carbons Present 7
α-form and β-form 7
Disaccharides 8
Polysaccharides 10
Carbohydrates and Their Functions 11
Energy Source 11
Energy Storage 12
Structural Purposes 12
As a Component of Glycoproteins 12

Key Points 13

Check Your Understanding 13

Bibliography 15
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Grade 11/12 • Unit 5: The Structures, Properties, and Functions of Biomolecules

Lesson 5.2
Carbohydrates

Bread is a very good source of carbohydrates.

Introduction
Many people regard carbohydrates in a negative light, as many of them believe that
carbohydrates can cause unwanted weight gain. These biomolecules, however, have many
important functions in all types of organisms. What are carbohydrates and what are their
properties and functions?

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 5: The Structures, Properties, and Functions of Biomolecules

Learning Competency
At the end of this lesson, the given DepEd learning competency should be met
by the students.
● Explain how the structures of biological macromolecules such as
carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acid, and proteins determine their
properties and functions (S11/12PS-IIIe-22).

Learning Objectives
In this lesson, you should be able to do the following:
● Determine the building blocks of carbohydrates.
● Know how carbohydrates are formed from these building blocks.
● Explain how the structures of carbohydrates determine their properties
and functions.

Grade 11/12 • Unit 5: The Structures, Properties, and Functions of Biomolecules

Learn about It

Essential Question
What are carbohydrates?

Carbohydrates and Their General Structures

Among all the biomolecules, carbohydrates make up the greatest proportion of the body
mass of organisms. Carbohydrates are biomolecules that are most well known for their
members, which are sugars.

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Historically, the word carbohydrate came from the root words, “carbon” and “hydrate”,
which translates to “hydrated carbon” with a chemical formula of Cn(H2O)n. However, this
chemical formula represents carbohydrates incorrectly as there are no whole water
substituents in the molecule, but are rather represented by other functional groups.

A carbohydrate is a biomolecule that has either a ketone group or an aldehyde group, as

well as the presence of many groups of hydroxyls. There is also the presence of many
elements aside from the carbon, oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen found in the other
biomolecules.

Fig. 1. Glucose is a six-carbon carbohydrate with an aldehyde group and a lot of hydroxyl
groups.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 5: The Structures, Properties, and Functions of Biomolecules

Carbohydrates are also chiral molecules due to the presence of at least one chiral carbon
atom. These can exist as either dextrorotatory or the levorotatory forms, which account
for the existence of the L- or D- enantiomers and are based on the orientation of the
molecule. Most carbohydrates found in our body are in their D-form.

Carbohydrates are polyhydroxylated aldehydes and ketones commonly called sugars. They
can be classified as simple or complex sugars. Simple sugars cannot be converted into
smaller groups. Complex sugars are made up of long chains of simple sugars.

Simple Sugars
Simple sugars or monosaccharides have the general formula CnH2nOn, where n varies from
3 to 8. These compounds have a single aldose or ketose group.

Aldoses and Ketoses

They can be classified into aldoses and ketoses, based on which is present in the sugar.
The suffix, -ose, refers to a carbohydrate, while the prefixes, aldo- and keto-, refer to the
aldehyde and ketone functional group present in the molecule, respectively. Examples of
aldoses and ketoses are shown in figure 2.

Carbohydrates, like many other molecules, also have isomers. Isomers are molecules with
the same molecular formulas but different structures. Many of the sugars in Fig. 2 are
isomers. Erythrose and threose are a set of isomers, the same as ribose, arabinose, xylose,
and lyxose.

These line-structure formats are also known as Fischer projections, which is a method of
visualizing organic molecules in a line-structure format. It is named after Emil Fischer, the
person who discovered it. These are especially useful in visualizing and representing
carbohydrates since the structural isomeric differences between them are easily seen.

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Grade 11/12 • Unit 5: The Structures, Properties, and Functions of Biomolecules

Fig. 2. Family of aldoses

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Fig. 3. Family of ketoses

Classification Based on Carbons Present

Monosaccharides can be classified using the prefixes tri-, tetra-, penta- and so on depending
on the number of carbons present in the molecule. For example, glucose, a six-carbon
aldose, and ribulose, a five-carbon ketose, can be classified as aldohexose and ketopentose,
respectively.

α-form and β-form

Anomers are differences in geometry visible in the carbons of some sugar molecules. In the
acyclic form of sugars, the anomeric carbon is not a stereocenter but becomes one in the

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cyclic forms. Figs. 2 and 3 show the open-chain structures of monosaccharides. However, in
an aqueous environment, monosaccharides are often in their cyclic form, either in α- or the
β-form.

In the α-form, the -OH in carbon 1 and -CH2OH in carbon 5 are pointed towards opposite
sides of the ring plane. In the β-form, the -OH in carbon 1 and -CH2OH in carbon 5 are
pointed in the same direction.

Fig. 4. Anomeric forms of glucose

The cyclic configurations are formed as a result of the aldehyde or ketone group’s reactions
with alcohol. The carbonyl of the aldehyde or ketone group reacts with the oxygen from the
alcohol. Most monosaccharides will be found in their cyclic forms in aqueous solutions.
These cyclic forms are commonly represented in a format known as a Haworth projection,
wherein the carbon labeled “1” is the anomeric carbon.

The number of carbon atoms also dictates how carbohydrates are named. Cyclic sugars with
5 carbons are furanoses, those with 6 are pyranose, 7 for septanose, and so on.

Disaccharides
Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides joined together by a glycosidic bond. They
are formed through condensation reactions, where monosaccharides are joined with the
loss of water. They are broken down into their respective monosaccharides through

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hydrolysis, which breaks them apart with the addition of water.

In the presence of an acid catalyst in aqueous solutions, glycosidic bonds can be broken and
disaccharides will be broken down into two monosaccharides.

Fig. 5. The condensation reaction of two monosaccharides forms a disaccharide.

Some examples of disaccharides are lactose and sucrose. Lactose, which is composed of
galactose and glucose, can be found in both human and cow’s milk.

Fig. 6. Lactose

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Sucrose, which is commonly known as table sugar, is composed of glucose and fructose.
Whether raw or refined, all table sugar is sucrose.

Fig. 7. Sucrose

The glycosidic bonds can be either alpha or beta glycosidic bonds. These can primarily be
differentiated through the positioning of oxygen. An alpha bond has the oxygen of the
aldehyde/ketone group beneath the ring’s structure, whereas the beta bond has it above.

Polysaccharides
Polysaccharides consist of ten to a thousand monosaccharide units. They may consist of
only one or many types of monosaccharides. Examples of polysaccharides are cellulose and
starch.

Cellulose consists of glucose units linked by β-glycosidic bonds. It functions as a structural

unit that gives strength and rigidity to plants. Wood, for example, is about 50% cellulose
while leaves, grass, and cotton are primarily cellulose.

Starch also consists of glucose units however, unlike cellulose, glucose units are linked by
α-glycosidic bonds. It functions as the major food storage in plant seeds and tubers. Starch
is made up of two major carbohydrates, amylose and amylopectin. These two can be
differentiated based on a structure with the former being linear and the latter being
branched. Potatoes and rice are rich sources of starch. Animals have digestive enzymes that
break down starch into glucose units and use glucose as a source of energy. Fig. 5 shows its
structures

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An additional type, the oligosaccharide, refers to a polysaccharide with less than 10 units of
monosaccharides.

Polysaccharides can be classified based on the heterogeneity of the monosaccharides

present within the entire complex. Homopolysaccharides contain only one type of
monosaccharide unit, whereas heteropolysaccharides are composed of two or more
monosaccharide types.

Carbohydrates and Their Functions

Carbohydrates, like the other biomolecules, perform many significant functions. Some of
the most notable include energy storage and structural support.

Energy Source
Some of the most basic sources of energy of organisms are in the form of carbohydrates.
Glucose and lactose are utilized by many organisms to power metabolic processes. These
sugar molecules can be stored for later use.

Fig. 8. Structures of starch, glycogen, and cellulose

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Energy Storage
Some of the most basic sources of energy of organisms are in the form of carbohydrates.
Glucose and lactose are utilized by many organisms to power metabolic processes. These
sugar molecules can be stored for later use.

Structural Purposes
There are also certain carbohydrates that organisms use for structural support, either as a
coating to the cell or as a brace for the entire body.

Cellulose is a carbohydrate found in plants and is used as one of the primary methods of
structural support by the plant cell. It also makes up a large portion of plant fibers, wood,
and other reinforced plant organs. Chitin, on the other hand, is a carbohydrate found in the
exoskeleton of arthropods. Chitin provides the rigid outer structure of these animals and is
used for protection and preventing dehydration.

Fig. 9. Chitin can be found in the exoskeletons of insects.

As a Component of Glycoproteins
Glycoproteins are proteins that are bound to carbohydrates. While glycoproteins
themselves strictly are not carbohydrates, the bonding between the two biomolecules
greatly affects the function of the product.

Glycoproteins are found in the cell membrane and help stabilize its structure. It also

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performs other functions, like playing roles in viral growth, molecule recognition, and
receptors.

Key Points

● A carbohydrate is a biomolecule that has either a ketone group or an aldehyde

group, as well as the presence of many groups of hydroxyls.
● Carbohydrates can be classified as simple or complex sugars. Simple sugars cannot
be converted into smaller groups. Complex sugars are made up of long chains of
simple sugars.
● Simple sugars or monosaccharides have the general formula CnH2nOn.
● Disaccharides consist of two monosaccharides joined together by a glycosidic bond.
● Condensation reactions can build disaccharides, and hydrolysis reactions can break
them down into their respective monosaccharides.
● Polysaccharides consist of ten to thousands of monosaccharide units.

Grade 11/12 • Unit 5: The Structures, Properties, and Functions of Biomolecules

Bibliography

Boyer, Rodney. 2006. Concepts in Biochemistry Third Edition. Danvers: John Wiley & Sons Inc.

Brown, T.L. et al. 2003. Chemistry, The Central Science. New Jersey: Pearson Education, Inc.

Collins, Caylee. “Building and Running a Homemade Agarose Gel Electrophoresis.”

Instructables.
https://www.instructables.com/id/Building-and-Running-a-Homemade-Agarose-Gel-E

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lectr/.

McMurry, J. 2008. Organic Chemistry. Brooks Cole/CENGAGE Learning.

Nelson, D. L. and Cox, M.M. 2005. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry. New York: W.H.
Freeman and Company.

“Protein Structure.” Nature Education. Accessed April 19, 2022.

https://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/protein-structure-
14122136.

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