Question

The human body can get energy by metabolizing proteins, carbohydrates, or fatty acids, depending on the circumstances. Roughly speaking, the energy it gets comes mostly from allowing all the carbon atoms in the food molecules to become oxidized to carbon dioxide by reaction with oxygen from the atmosphere. Hence the energy content of food is roughly proportional to the carbon content.

Let's consider linoleic acid, a fatty acid from which fats are made, and glucose, one of the simplest carbohydrates. Using the idea above about energy content, calculate the ratio of the energy the body gets metabolizing each gram of linoleic acid to the energy the body gets metabolizing each gram of glucose.

Round your answer to 2 significant digits.

Answer 1

Roughly speaking, the energy it gets comes mostly from allowing all the carbon atoms in the food molecules to become oxidized to carbon dioxide by reaction with oxygen from the atmosphere. Hence the energy content of food is roughly proportional to the carbon content

Step-by-step explanation: