Both deoxyribose and ribose belong to a class of sugars called

Options

A. trioses
B. hexoses
C. pentoses
D. polysaccharides

Explanation

To answer the question "Both deoxyribose and ribose belong to a class of sugars called," we can follow these steps:

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Identify the Sugars**:
- We need to understand what deoxyribose and ribose are. Both are types of sugars that play crucial roles in the structure of nucleic acids (DNA and RNA).

2. **Analyze the Structure**:
- Ribose is a sugar with the chemical formula C5H10O5. It has five carbon atoms.
- Deoxyribose is similar but has one less oxygen atom, with the formula C5H10O4. It also has five carbon atoms.

3. **Count the Carbon Atoms**:
- Both ribose and deoxyribose contain five carbon atoms. This characteristic is essential for classifying these sugars.

4. **Classify the Sugars**:
- Sugars are classified based on the number of carbon atoms they contain:
- **Triose**: 3 carbon atoms
- **Tetrose**: 4 carbon atoms
- **Pentose**: 5 carbon atoms
- **Hexose**: 6 carbon atoms
- **Polysaccharides**: Composed of multiple sugar units, not defined by the number of carbons in a single unit.

5. **Conclusion**:
- Since both deoxyribose and ribose contain five carbon atoms, they belong to the class of sugars known as **pentoses**.

### Final Answer:
Both deoxyribose and ribose belong to a class of sugars called **pentoses**.

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