Structural test: A monosaccharide cannot be broken down into simpler sugars by hydrolysis, it is a single sugar unit with the general formula \( \text{C}_n\text{H}_{2n}\text{O}_n \).
Glucose (\( \text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 \)), fructose (\( \text{C}_6\text{H}_{12}\text{O}_6 \)), and rhamnose (a deoxy hexose sugar) each satisfy this criterion, they are single-ring sugars.
Maltose, in contrast, yields two glucose molecules on hydrolysis because it is built from two glucose units joined by an \( \alpha \)-1,4 glycosidic bond, so it fails the single-unit test and is classified as a disaccharide, not a monosaccharide.