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Multiple Choice
How many stereocenters are present in a molecule of sucrose?
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Verified step by step guidance
1
Identify the structure of sucrose, which is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose units linked together.
Recall that a stereocenter (chiral center) is a carbon atom bonded to four different groups, leading to non-superimposable mirror images (enantiomers).
Examine each carbon atom in both the glucose and fructose units of sucrose to determine which carbons are attached to four distinct substituents, thus qualifying as stereocenters.
Count all such stereocenters in the entire sucrose molecule, making sure to consider the ring forms and the glycosidic linkage that connects the two sugar units.
Sum the total number of stereocenters found in both sugar units to arrive at the final count of stereocenters in sucrose.