One of the roles of blood is to transport nutrients around the body and deliver molecules such as sugars and lipids to cells. A scientist makes the observation that since blood is composed of water, sugars tend to dissolve, while lipids aggregate.Which of the following claims would be the most useful way for scientists to explain this phenomenon?
Answer
A
Smaller and simpler molecules such as sugars tend to dissolve, while larger and complex molecules such as lipids aggregate out.
B
When water is heated, it takes less heat to dissolve sugars than it does to dissolve lipids.
C
Water molecules stay close together as a result of adhesion, while lipids aggregate out as result of cohesion.
D
Water dissolves some molecules while causing the aggregation of others because of hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions.
Explanation
Water is polar, so it interacts well with hydrophilic substances such as many sugars, helping them dissolve. Lipids are largely nonpolar and hydrophobic, so they do not mix well with water and tend to clump together. Thus, hydrophobic and hydrophilic interactions best explain the observation; molecule size alone, as in choice A, does not explain it.
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