Question

glucose is not readily available in the diets of most heterotrophs. so, how do organisms combat this to still go through glycolysis for energy? organisms, like humans, will obtain most of their daily calories from food in the forms of carbohydrates, fats, and proteins. the catabolism of these molecules will allow for their monomers to enter glycolysis and the citric acid cycle. what happens in the absence of food? starvation leads to significant weight loss. in fact, people can lose up to 10 pounds per week with no food consumption. this dramatic and life threatening weight loss stems from the fact that these people are unable to receive the nutrients they need from food to go through glycolysis and the subsequent steps of cellular respiration. a) identify the macromolecule being catabolized to power cellular respiration when a person is starving. b) identify the monomers of the macromolecule identified in part (a). connect your answer from part (a) to justify how this leads to dramatic weight loss in people who are starving.

Answer 1

When a person is starving, fat is catabolized to power cellular respiration, leading to weight loss.

Step-by-step explanation:

When a person is starving and does not have access to food, the macromolecule that is catabolized to power cellular respiration is fat.

The monomers of fat are fatty acids and glycerol. These molecules can be converted into acetyl CoA and processed through the Krebs cycle to produce ATP.

Starvation leads to dramatic weight loss because the body starts breaking down fat stores to produce energy. As a result, people can lose up to 10 pounds per week without food consumption. This weight loss occurs because the body is unable to obtain the necessary nutrients from food to go through glycolysis and the subsequent steps of cellular respiration.