Question

Identify the polysaccharide among the following :

• A. Fructose
• B. Maltose
• C. Glucose
• D. Cellulose

Hint:

Common polysaccharides to remember: Starch, Cellulose, and Glycogen.
Common disaccharides: Sucrose, Lactose, and Maltose.
Common monosaccharides: Glucose, Fructose, and Galactose.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Recall the classification rule for carbohydrates.
Carbohydrates are grouped by how many sugar units they break into on hydrolysis: one unit means monosaccharide, two units means disaccharide, and hundreds or thousands of units means polysaccharide.
Step 2: Sort the given options by this rule.
Glucose and fructose each break down into a single unit, since they are already the simplest sugars, so both are monosaccharides. Maltose splits into two glucose units on hydrolysis, so it is a disaccharide.
Step 3: Examine cellulose separately.
Cellulose is built from thousands of $\beta$-D-glucose units joined one after another by $\beta$-1,4-glycosidic bonds, forming long chains that make up plant cell walls.
Step 4: Match to the definition and conclude.
Since cellulose alone contains a very large number of linked sugar units, it is the polysaccharide among the four options.
\[ \boxed{\text{Cellulose}} \]