What monosaccharides make up lactose?

1 Answer
Jun 27, 2015

The monosaccharides that make up lactose are galactose and glucose.

Explanation:

The structure of galactose, #"C"_6"H"_12"O"_6#, is

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The structure of glucose, #"C"_6"H"_12"O"_6#, is

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The #"OH"# on #"C-1"# of galactose can combine with the #"OH"# on #"C-4"# of glucose to form lactose

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We could write the equation for the formation of lactose as

# underbrace("C"_6"H"_12"O"_6)_color(red)("galactose") + underbrace("C"_6"H"_12"O"_6)_color(red)("glucose") → underbrace("C"_12"H"_22"O"_11)_color(red)("lactose") + "H"_2"O"#