Academic Integrity: tutoring, explanations, and feedback — we don’t complete graded work or submit on a student’s behalf.

Methanol and ethanol are both catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). After AD

ID: 488221 • Letter: M

Question

Methanol and ethanol are both catalyzed by alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH). After ADH catalysis, methanol becomes formaldehyde, which is highly toxic. For a person with 50L body water where methanol and ethanol can rapidly distribute. The Km of ADH for ethanol is 10-3 M and for methanol is 10-2 M. which approximately equal to their Kd. The density of both methanol and ethanol are 0.8 g/mL. If the person consumed 80 mL of methanol (50 mL can be fatal to full a full grown adult) and 100-proof whiskey is used to compete with methanol. How much 100-proof whiskey has to be consumed to have 95% of ADH working on ethanol?

Explanation / Answer

Km is 10-3M. For occupation 95% of sites, 1/0.05 = 20*Km ethanol. = 10^-2 M ethanol.

Mol Weight ethanol = 46

which is 0.92 g/l you need in the blood. 40 L blood, you need 36.8g you're told density ethanol 0.79 g/ml so you need 36.8/0.79 = 46.6 ml it's 50% by vol so drink 93 ml