Dimitri is measuring the amount of oxygen released by a Venus flytrap plant. He determines that his plant has released 600 molecules of oxygen (O2). If this is correct, how many molecules of glucose did the Venus flytrap create?

Question

50
100
300
600

Answer 1

The Venus flytrap, like other plants, performs photosynthesis to produce glucose (C6H12O6) and releases oxygen (O2) as a byproduct. The photosynthesis equation is:

\[ 6CO_2 + 6H_2O \rightarrow C_6H_{12}O_6 + 6O_2 \]

From the equation, we can see that for every 6 molecules of oxygen produced, 1 molecule of glucose is created.

Given that Dimitri observed the release of 600 molecules of oxygen, we can calculate the number of glucose molecules produced using the ratio from the equation:

\[ \text{Glucose produced} = \frac{\text{Oxygen molecules}}{6} = \frac{600}{6} = 100 \]

Therefore, the Venus flytrap created 100 molecules of glucose.