Question 47

Water is the chemical solvent of the human body.

Water serves as the primary solvent in the human body, facilitating various biochemical reactions and the transport of nutrients and waste products throughout the cells and tissues.

A) Water

Water is indeed the correct answer as it makes up a significant portion of the human body, comprising about 60% of total body weight. It is essential for maintaining homeostasis, regulating temperature, and allowing biochemical reactions to occur efficiently, making it the most important solvent in biological systems.

B) Carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is not a solvent but rather a waste product of cellular respiration. While it plays a role in maintaining the body’s pH balance and is transported in the blood, it does not function as a solvent in the way that water does.

C) Ammonia

Ammonia is a toxic byproduct of protein metabolism and is not used as a solvent in the body. Although it is involved in the urea cycle to detoxify nitrogen waste, it does not serve the role of a solvent and is not present in significant amounts compared to water.

D) Oxygen

Oxygen is vital for cellular respiration and energy production but is not a solvent. It is transported in the blood bound to hemoglobin and is essential for aerobic metabolism, but it does not dissolve or facilitate chemical reactions like water does.

Conclusion

Water is unequivocally the primary chemical solvent in the human body, crucial for various physiological processes. All other options fail to fulfill the role of a solvent, either serving entirely different functions or existing in forms that do not facilitate the myriad of biochemical reactions essential for life. Thus, water stands out as the definitive answer.