Question

The standard compound for determination of configuration in the ‘sugar chemistry’ is
(A) Glycolaldehyde
(B) Glyceraldehyde
(C) Glucose
(D) Fructose

Answer 1

Hint The standard compound for determination of configuration in sugar chemistry must be the one which has an asymmetric carbon and can exist as a pair of enantiomers.

Complete step by step solution:
Let us discuss the key points required;
Glycolaldehyde- It is the smallest possible molecule that contains an aldehyde group along with a hydroxyl group with a chemical formula as ${{C}_{2}}{{H}_{4}}{{O}_{2}}$ .
Glyceraldehyde- It is the simplest aldose with the chemical formula as ${{C}_{3}}{{H}_{6}}{{O}_{3}}$ . It is a triose monosaccharide.
Glucose- It is the most abundant monosaccharide in the category of carbohydrates with the chemical formula as ${{C}_{6}}{{H}_{12}}{{O}_{6}}$ .
Fructose- It is a ketonic monosaccharide with the same chemical formula as that of glucose i.e ${{C}_{6}}{{H}_{12}}{{O}_{6}}$ .
Among all of the above given and described molecules, glyceraldehyde is the one which has an asymmetric carbon and can exist as a pair of enantiomers.
Thus, glyceraldehyde is the standard compound for determination of configuration in the ‘sugar chemistry’.

Thus, option (B) is correct.

Note: Do note that the glucose and fructose are the sugar substitutes and not the standard compounds. Also, glycolaldehyde is not the compound of sugar chemistry.