Question

carbohydrates are also known as saccharides. the word saccharide is a term derived from the greek word sakcharon, meaning sugar. though not all carbohydrates are sweet, many simple sugars, or monosaccharides, are sweet to the taste. the model shows the chemical structure of a monosaccharide called galactose. galactose has a 6 - atom ring shape. this means it has 6 atoms arranged in a hexagon, and each of those 6 atoms bonds with other atoms. in galactose, the 6 - atom ring is formed by one oxygen atom and 5 carbon atoms. but like in this model, people don’t always label the carbon atoms. what is the chemical formula of galactose? c h o

Explanation:

Step1: Count carbon atoms

There are 6 carbon atoms in the ring and no other carbon - atoms shown outside the ring, so the number of carbon atoms ($C$) is 6.

Step2: Count hydrogen atoms

Count all the hydrogen atoms attached to the carbon and oxygen atoms. There are 12 hydrogen atoms.

Step3: Count oxygen atoms

There are 6 oxygen atoms in the galactose structure.

Answer:

$C_6H_{12}O_6$