Question

Number of optical isomers glucose is:
(A). $8$
(B). $16$
(C). $32$
(D). $4$

Answer 1

Hint: Glucose has its origin from a Greek word meaning “sweet”. As you know, it is a type of sugar and we get it from foods that we eat. Moreover, glucose has four chiral carbons, so accordingly glucose well has ${{\text{2}}^{\text{4}}}{\text{ = 16}}$ isomers.

Complete step by step answer:
As we all know, glucose has the molecular formula of ${C_6}{H_{12}}{O_6}$ .It is a simple sugar and is the most abundant monosaccharide (that is a subcategory of carbohydrates).
From our primary classes, we know that glucose is mainly made by plants and most algae during photosynthesis from water, carbon dioxide and energy from sunlight. It is meant to be the most important source of energy in all the organisms.
D- Glucose is the naturally occurring form of glucose whereas L-glucose is produced synthetically and even in small amounts generally of less importance.
The Fischer projections of D and L-glucose are:

There are $16$ optical isomers of glucose .
The structure of glucose is:

The carbon atoms at $2,3,4$ and $5$ are chiral centers. The maximum number of optical isomers possible are ${2^n}$ , where n is the number of chiral carbons.
So, as there are $4$ chiral carbons, the number of optical isomers are ${2^4}$ that is $16$.

So, the correct answer is Option b .

Additional information:
How glucose affects our body and from where it is made? Glucose mainly comes from the foods we eat that are rich in carbohydrates such as bread, potatoes. The process of breakdown of food by the enzymes results in the production of glucose in the body. As the glucose is absorbed in the intestines, it passes to the bloodstream. When it goes to the bloodstream it is known as blood glucose or blood sugar. Insulin hormone helps glucose to move in the bloodstream. You must have heard about diabetes. The persons having diabetes have higher glucose levels as required normally in a person. High blood glucose levels for a long period of time can cause damage to our kidneys, eyes and to the other organs.

Note: Glucose is a naturally occurring substance. It is found in fruits and plants. Glucose is released from animals from the breakdown of glycogen. Glucose is also known as aldose, hexose and dextrose. It is known as dextrose as it rotates the plane polarized light to the right and results in the origin of D-configuration.