Which one of the following carbohydrates will show mutarotation?

Maltose

The answer is (1) maltose.

Mutarotation is the change in optical rotation of a cyclic sugar due to the interconversion of the alpha and beta anomers. Maltose is a disaccharide composed of two glucose units linked together by an \(\alpha\)-1,4-glycosidic bond. This bond allows the anomeric carbon of the glucose units to be free, which is necessary for mutarotation to occur.

Sucrose, starch, and cellulose are all non-reducing sugars. This means that they do not have a free aldehyde or ketone group, which is necessary for mutarotation to occur. Therefore, only maltose will show mutarotation.

Here is a table of the four carbohydrates and their ability to show mutarotation: