Question

Carbohydrates, a class of compounds containing the elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, were originally thought to contain one water molecule \(\left(\mathrm{H}_{2} \mathrm{O}\right)\) for each carbon atom present. The carbohydrate glucose contains six carbon atoms. Write a general formula showing the relative numbers of each type of atom present in glucose.

Short answer

The general formula for glucose, assuming one water molecule for each carbon atom, is \(C_6H_{12}O_6\).

Step-by-step solution

Determine the number of carbon atoms in glucose

Given that glucose contains six carbon atoms, we can represent this as: C=6

Determine the number of water molecules

According to the original belief, for each carbon atom, there is one water molecule present. So for six carbon atoms, there will be six water molecules: Water molecules = 6

Determine the number of hydrogen and oxygen atoms

In each water molecule, there are two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. Since there are 6 water molecules, the total number of hydrogen and oxygen atoms can be calculated as: H = 2 × Water molecules = 2 × 6 = 12 O = 1 × Water molecules = 1 × 6 = 6

Write the general formula of glucose

Now that we know the relative number of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen atoms in glucose, we can write the general formula as follows: C₆H₁₂O₆