Cellulose Molecule

Question

If it takes a student 5 minutes to "cut up or digest" the small portion of cellulose shown, how long would it take to digest the entire cellulose molecule that is 100 times longer?

Answer 1

This question is trying to see if you understand the structure of cellulose. Unlike glycogen, which has many branch points where glucose can be accessed, cellulose an only be digested linearly. Therefore, the time it takes to digest would be entirely dependent on the length of the cellulose. Since the enzymes can only digest the cellulose into glucose at the end of the molecule it would take 100 times longer if you are digesting from one end, or 50 times longer if digesting from both ends.

100 times longer x 5 minutes = 500 minutes