Energy, Enzymes, and Catalysis Problem Set

Energy, Enzymes, and Catalysis Problem Set

Problem 2: Equilibrium constant for sucrose hydrolysis.

The equilibrium constant for the conversion of the disaccharide sucrose to the simple sugars glucose and fructose is 140,000. What can you conclude about the reaction: sucrose + H2O

glucose + fructose?

A. It is a closed system.

B. It never reaches equilibrium.

C. It is spontaneous, starting with sucrose.

D. The equilibrium constant increases when the starting concentration of sucrose is increased.

E. At equilibrium, the concentration of sucrose is much higher than the concentrations of glucose and fructose.

The Biology Project
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics
University of Arizona
Wednesday, September 25, 1996
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