To determine whether a substance contains reducing sugars and/or polysaccharides (two types of carbohydrates) by using Benedict's reagent and iodine stain.

Carbohydrates are essential to living organisms, and the principal role of carbohydrates is the production of energy. Carbohydrates are groups of sugars that contain carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen in a 1:2:1 ratio. Three main units of carbohydrates are monosaccharides, disaccharides, and polysaccharides.

A monsaccharide contains one sugar unit, and has three to seven carbon atoms. Monosaccharides have a hydroxyl group bonded to each carbon atom; expect one, which is bonded to an oxygen atom thus forming a carbonyl group. If the carbonyl group is at the end of the chain then is it an aldehyde; therefore, if it is located in any other position it is a ketone. Common monosaccharides are ribose, deoxyribose, glucose, fructose, and galatose.

oined by dehydration synthesis to form a disaccharide. The hydroxide ions on carbon-1 of one molecule and the hydroxide ions on carbon-4 of another molecule give up two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom to form water, and then are joined together by the remaining oxygen atom. Common disaccharides are maltose, sucrose, and lactose.

The solutions that contain reducing sugars are the glucose/dextrose, table sugar, honey, sweet 'n' low, and the equal solution; therefore, the potato, cornstarch, gelatin, and egg white solutions will contain polysaccharides. The water will contain neither reducing sugars nor polysaccharides.

The results of the Iodine stain determined that the potato and cornstarch solution contained polysaccharides. All of the other solution showed that polysaccharides were not present.

Polysaccharides are the most abundant carbohydrate in the biosphere. Polysaccharides are long chains of monosaccharides, usually glucose, that are all hooked together by 1-4 glycosidi

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Approximate Word count = 674
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)