All Organic Chemistry Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #4 : Help With Organic Carbohydrates
What is the name of the following molecule?
Alpha-L-galactopyranose
Alpha-D-glucofuranose
Beta-L-glucofuranose
Alpha-D-glucopyranose
Beta-D-galactofuranose
Alpha-D-glucofuranose
Stereochemistry from second to fifth carbon is R, S, R, R, which indicates D-glucose. The Haworth structure is a five-membered ring, so the molecule is in its furanose form. The molecule has its anomeric hydroxyl group pointing down, so it's the alpha anomer.
Example Question #11 : Help With Organic Carbohydrates
Which of the following correctly describes a reducing sugar?
None of these
A reducing sugar has an acetal/ketal group when in its cyclic form, and is able to oxidize other chemicals (while itself being reduced).
A reducing sugar has a hemiacetal/hemiketal group when in its cyclic form, and is able to reduce other chemicals (while itself being oxidized).
A reducing sugar has a hemiacetal/hemiketal group when in its cyclic form, and is able to oxidize other chemicals (while itself being reduced).
A reducing sugar has an acetal/ketal group when in its cyclic form, and is able to reduce other chemicals (while itself being oxidized).
A reducing sugar has a hemiacetal/hemiketal group when in its cyclic form, and is able to reduce other chemicals (while itself being oxidized).
A reducing sugar contains a hemiacetal/hemiketal group which means that in its open chain form it contains a ketone/aldehyde group. Sugars containing a free aldehyde group can be oxidized to a carboxylic acid, while sugars containing a free ketone group must be tautomerized to an aldehyde group through an ene-diol intermediate (shown below), and this can be oxidized to a carboxylic acid.
Reducing sugars are detectable with the formation of either a precipitate or a solution color change after addition of Tollens' Reagent, Benedict's solution, or Fehling's solution.
Example Question #11 : Help With Organic Carbohydrates
Alpha-D-glucopyranose:
Glucose (pictured) is defined as which of the following?
Ketopentose
Triose phosphate
Ketohexose
Aldopentose
Aldohexose
Aldohexose
Glucose in its open chain form (shown below), has a free aldehyde group (an aldose), and it contains six carbons (a hexose). Together, glucose is shown to be an aldohexose.
Example Question #12 : Help With Organic Carbohydrates
Alpha-D-glucopyranose
Which of the labelled carbon atoms is the anomeric carbon?
B
C
E
A
D
A
The anomeric carbon is formed from the original carbonyl carbon in the straight-chain form of the molecule being attacked by a hydroxyl group to form a hemiacetal. This is seen as a carbon that is bonded to two oxygen atoms. In the case of glucose, the carbon labelled A is a hemiacetal, and is considered to be the anomeric carbon.
Example Question #13 : Help With Organic Carbohydrates
Shown below is the structure of a sugar molecule.
Which of the following is the most appropriate classification of this sugar?
Ketoheptose
Aldoheptose
Aldohexose
Ketohexose
Aldoheptose
In this question, we're given the structure of a sugar molecule, and we're asked to identify which answer choice represents the correct identification of this molecule.
To answer this question, there are two things we need to look at. For one, we need to determine whether it is an aldehyde sugar (aldose) or a ketone sugar (ketose). The first carbon atom in the molecule (shown at the very top in the image) is shown as . This means that the carbon contains a double bond to the oxygen. Furthermore, since it also contains a bond to a hydrogen, we can conclude that this is an aldehyde functional group. Consequently, we know that this must be an aldose sugar.
Next, we need to look at the number of carbon atoms in the molecule. In the image shown in the question, there are a total of seven carbon atoms. Thus, this sugar would be classified as a heptose sugar (seven carbons) rather than a hexose sugar (six carbons).
Putting these two pieces of information together, we know that the sugar is both an aldose and a heptose. Therefore, this sugar is an aldoheptose.
Example Question #1 : Help With Organic Proteins
Which of the following is an example of a basic amino acid?
Aspartic acid
Tyrosine
Lysine
Leucine
Alanine
Lysine
Lysine's R-group includes an amine (-NH2), which can be ionized by picking up a hydrogen. This ability classifies lysine as basic.
Example Question #1 : Other Groups
Which of the following amino acids can participate in the formation of a disulfide bridge?
Cysteine
Tyrosine
Alanine
Aspartic acid
Phenylalanine
Cysteine
Cysteine's R-group contains a sulfhydryl group (-SH), which can participate in the formation of a disulfide bridge in a protein's tertiary and/or quaternary structure. Cysteine is the only amino acid to contain a sulfur atom.
Example Question #3 : Help With Organic Proteins
Which of the following amino acids is the only one to contain a side chain that results in an achiral amino acid?
Lysine
Aspartic acid
Alanine
Glycene
Glycene
The only achiral amino acid is Glycene. Glycene's side chain is simply a hydrogen. Because a hydrogen already exists on the fundamental structure of an amino acid backbone, a side chain of a single hydrogen atom causes glycene to be achiral.
Example Question #3 : Help With Organic Proteins
How many essential amino acids are there?
Nine
Zero
Twenty
Ten
Twelve
Nine
The nine essential amino acids are valine, leucine, isoleucine, histidine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, methionine, threonine, and lysine. These amino acids must be consumed in the diet, since they cannot be synthesized by adult humans.
Example Question #1 : Help With Organic Proteins
What is the D/L configuration and the absolute (R/S) configuration of the following amino acid (cysteine)?
L, S
L, R
D, R
Cysteine is achiral
D, S
L, R
Cysteine is an unusual amino acid. Although each of the normal biological amino acids have the L configuration (with the exception of glycine, which is achiral), meaning they can be drawn with the Fischer projection as shown:
the fact that cysteine contains a sulfur group makes the side chain a higher priority than the carboxylic acid. Therefore, the absolute configuration of cysteine will be R, and not S like the other amino acids.
Certified Tutor
Certified Tutor