Hydrolysis of sucrose is called inversion because:

Explanation

The hydrolysis of sucrose is called an Inversion reaction because it results in a change in the sign of rotation of plane-polarized light from dextro (+) to laevo (-). Sucrose is a disaccharide composed of glucose and fructose molecules linked by a glycosidic bond. When sucrose is hydrolyzed with dilute acid or an enzyme called invertase, it gives an equimolar mixture of D(+) glucose and D(-) fructose. The laevorotation of fructose (-92.4°) is more than the dextrorotation of glucose (+52.5°), so the hydrolysis product has net laevorotation, resulting in the change in sign of rotation. The product is named as invert sugar because of this change in sign of rotation.