Question 6 Mrs. Ruhala set up an experiment where she tested for the presence of monosaccharides in food. She took a cracker, and it tested negative for monosaccharides. Then she put the cracker in her mouth, chewed it for a few minutes, and then spit it out into a test tube. It now tested positive for monosaccharides. What happened ? a An enzyme in her mouth broke down the polysaccharides in the cracker into monosaccharides. Mrs. Ruhala is a magical being and ewww . The physical action of chewing broke down the lipids in the cracker and producing a positive reaction Water in the saliva catalyzed the cracker proteins and broke them into monosaccharides

Answer 1

The correct explanation for what happened is: An enzyme in her mouth broke down the polysaccharides in the cracker into monosaccharides.

In this case, the enzyme amylase, found in saliva, begins the process of carbohydrate digestion by breaking down polysaccharides (like starch) into simpler sugars, which are monosaccharides. The physical action of chewing increases the surface area of the food, making it easier for enzymes to access and act on the carbohydrates. This leads to the production of monosaccharides, which then could test positive in the experiment. The other options provided are incorrect regarding the role of saliva and enzymes in this context.