sugar: Nonlinear Function
Created: January 27, 2022
Modified: February 10, 2022

sugar

This page is from my personal notes, and has not been specifically reviewed for public consumption. It might be incomplete, wrong, outdated, or stupid. Caveat lector.
  • A sugar is any molecule with the empirical formula C(N)H(2N)O(N). These are like alkanes, which are C(N)H(2N + 2), except that
    • each carbon has an H and an OH substituent, instead of just H, and
    • instead of the two extra 'endcap' H's, we'll have a carbonyl group. If this group is at the end of a chain, this is an aldose. If it's in the middle, it's a ketose.
  • Sugars can form rings. One of the OH's will act as a nucleophile and attack the carbonyl group.