How does acidity affect the rate of inversion of sugars in syrups?

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Multiple Choice

How does acidity affect the rate of inversion of sugars in syrups?

Explanation:
Acidity speeds up the inversion of sucrose because the reaction is acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond. Protonation of the glycosidic oxygen by H+ makes the bond a much better leaving group and helps generate an oxocarbenium ion intermediate. Water then attacks to form glucose and fructose. Because the rate of this hydrolysis is proportional to the H+ concentration, increasing acidity (lower pH) increases the rate. At neutral or basic pH, the reaction proceeds far more slowly, so inversion occurs much less rapidly. Hence, the rate of inversion increases in acidic medium.

Acidity speeds up the inversion of sucrose because the reaction is acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of the glycosidic bond. Protonation of the glycosidic oxygen by H+ makes the bond a much better leaving group and helps generate an oxocarbenium ion intermediate. Water then attacks to form glucose and fructose. Because the rate of this hydrolysis is proportional to the H+ concentration, increasing acidity (lower pH) increases the rate. At neutral or basic pH, the reaction proceeds far more slowly, so inversion occurs much less rapidly. Hence, the rate of inversion increases in acidic medium.

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