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Is formaldehyde the simplest carbohydrate?

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No. Formaldehyde is not the simplest carbohydrate since in the first place it is not a carbohydrate. [This is the structure of formaldehyde]. In Pharmacognosy, Tyler et al defines Carbohydrates as “polyhydroxy aldehydes or polyhydroxy ketones whose chemical formulae [generally] are in the form Cm(H2O)n”. read more

Formaldehyde has the formula $\ce{CH2O}$, and the ratio of atoms in a simple carb is $\ce{1C:2H:1O}$. This fits the formula of formaldehyde. When I researched this, I found some sources saying that formaldehyde is the simplest carb, but other sources saying it is glycolaldehyde ($\ce{C2H4O2}$). read more

I checked some data on carbohydrates and came up with: Formerly the name "carbohydrate" was used in chemistry for any compound with the formula Cm(H2O)n. Following this definition, some chemists considered formaldehyde CH2O to be the simplest carbohydrate, while others claimed that title for glycolaldehyde. read more

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