As food travels through the digestive system, it is exposed to a variety of pH levels. The stomach has a pH of 2 due to the presence of hydrochloride acid (HCl), and the small intestine has a pH ranging from 7 to 9. HCl converts pepsinogen into pepsin, an enzyme that digests proteins in the stomach. Which of the following most likely happens to pepsin as it enters the small intestine?

Question

Biology

Hannah Chambers

3 March, 14:26

As food travels through the digestive system, it is exposed to a variety of pH levels. The stomach has a pH of 2 due to the presence of hydrochloride acid (HCl), and the small intestine has a pH ranging from 7 to 9. HCl converts pepsinogen into pepsin, an enzyme that digests proteins in the stomach. Which of the following most likely happens to pepsin as it enters the small intestine?

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Answers (1)

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Lee Shepard · Answer 1

Answer: It becomes inactive.

Enzymes have an ideal pH, at which they best function. Many enzymes cannot function

at all outside their ideal pH range. Pepsin functions best in the extreme acid

environment of the stomach and will, therefore cease to function in the much higher.